GRAPHIC: JORDAN SHARER ’25/THE HAWK
The first thing many of us picture when we hear “civil rights” is probably a protest, a demonstration or a case going to the Supreme Court. However, recent civil rights issues are also erupting in neighborhoods poisoned by environmental toxins, communities trying to recover from contaminated drinking water and even in prisons. This is where environmental justice must play a role.
Environmental justice means ensuring everyone has equal access to clean air, safe water and a healthy environment. The fact is, this playing field is far from level. Research has shown that low-income communities and communities of color are most likely to be near facilities that burn toxic waste, busy roads with toxic air emissions or factories with toxic chemical emissions. The water crisis in Flint, Michigan, and the decades of health issues in Louisiana’s “Cancer Alley” are just two examples of this extreme.
As someone majoring in criminal justice, I find myself taking note of how these issues interrelate with the justice system. Prisons, for instance, tend to be located on previously polluted land or in flood zones, subjecting inmates to exposure to heat waves, contaminated water and environmental hazards. Meanwhile, corporations that cause irreversible damage to the environment face only minor fines. The imbalance of who pays the fine and who bears the blame is a form of unjust legal judgment.
Individuals have taken action to fight the imbalance. In Juliana v. United States, for instance, activists and students demanded the government take more action on climate change, the way we do constitutional rights. On St. Joe’s campus, fighting for sustainable initiatives and holding institutions accountable are part of that same battle.
Environmental justice is not just about the Earth or our individual campus. It is also about dignity, equality and the fundamental rights we are all entitled to.