Community environmental health activism in South Gate, Los Angeles County, CA
Imagine that you are attending a community workshop about cleaning up the environment in your city. Local environmental justice activists are there to explain how the effects of pollution are disproportionately higher in your area than in other parts of the county.
After everyone is seated, the workshop leader says, “Before we start, I want to ask for some information. Will everyone here who lives adjacent to a polluting site please stand?” As you get up, you look around and nearly all the people in the room are on their feet! Clearly, this community has an environmental problem. But the workshop is not just about the problem—it’s also about finding solutions.