Tonight Shippensburg University welcomed guest lecturer Wawa Gatheru, a leader in the contemporary U.S. environmental justice movement. She had many interesting things to say, but since I am an historian, I especially appreciated her discussion of how the legacy of American slavery has led to environmental inequity today.
Wawa Gatheru pointed to two ways this happened. First, the surplus wealth generated by slave labor in the United States enabled the Industrial Revolution to flourish here, and of course it was with industrialization that the fossil fuel industry took off, generating the climate crisis of today.
Secondly, the slave labor force remained an underclass population even after the Civil War ended and slavery was abolished. Many former slaves moved into cities and took up jobs based in industry. Then, in the 1930s, redlining policies promoted by the Federal Housing Administration prevented black Americans from living in certain areas. Polluting factories and junkyards were placed in the districts where these people were forced to live, so that even today folks who come from these zip codes have a lower life expectancy, and higher rates of conditions such as asthma.
Despite the challenges that Wawa Gatheru’s fellow Gen-Zers face, there is reason for hope and activism, and Gatheru’s basic message stressed these possibilities.
Wawa Gatheru pointed to two ways this happened. First, the surplus wealth generated by slave labor in the United States enabled the Industrial Revolution to flourish here, and of course it was with industrialization that the fossil fuel industry took off, generating the climate crisis of today.
Secondly, the slave labor force remained an underclass population even after the Civil War ended and slavery was abolished. Many former slaves moved into cities and took up jobs based in industry. Then, in the 1930s, redlining policies promoted by the Federal Housing Administration prevented black Americans from living in certain areas. Polluting factories and junkyards were placed in the districts where these people were forced to live, so that even today folks who come from these zip codes have a lower life expectancy, and higher rates of conditions such as asthma.
Despite the challenges that Wawa Gatheru’s fellow Gen-Zers face, there is reason for hope and activism, and Gatheru’s basic message stressed these possibilities.
