More and more stories are breaking about the prevalence of toxins and harmful chemicals in the water or air consumed by poor people and people of color. Just a few weeks ago, I was on the phone with a national NAACP leader who described a scenario in Tennessee, her home state.

“Monique,” she said, “The water is polluted in Dixon. The officials warned the White residents, but they didn’t say anything to the Black ones, and now people are getting sick. Sometimes we have a hard time sharing with you just how much race is still a factor for us…”

She didn’t have to explain at all, really. Being from the Bay Area–where toxins pollute the Bayview/Hunters Point area of San Francisco and petrochemical plants poison the air of thousands of children in the East Bay–I know all too well the environmental justice issues that plague our communities.

Still, in Dixon, TN, where the Holt family drank water contaminated by the Dixon County Landfill for 12 years, the situation is dire. The family is sick and in need of a strong community voice not only against the injustices of environmental oppression, but also the opportunity to promote sustainable communities through “green” strategies and a ban on dumping. A “Justice for Dixon” rally is scheduled for Saturday, September 5, 2009 to help raise awareness about the prevalence of the injustice against families like the Holts, who continue to live in unsafe–even toxic–environments, not abroad, but right here in America.

For more information on “Justice for Dixon” contact Pastor Jerry Jerkins (Tennessee Missionary Baptists Convention) at info@jerryjerkinsministries.com or Jimmie Garland (Tennessee NAACP State Office) jimmie.garland@hotmail.com.

Resources

“Poisoned Water, Government Response, and Race”

“Dickson County, TN – Toxic Terror in a Tennessee Town”

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