The 5th & Hill Campaign

    I was very grateful to hear Claudia Lennhoff and Dimitri Love of the 5th & Hill Campaign speak about to something that is very personal and close to them. To be honest, I had never heard of the 5th & Hill Campaign until they came to our class to speak with us. I think our education system should talk about issues that are not only relevant in time, but also in geographic closeness. Without doing so, how can you expect students to be active members of their community? Regardless, I was very grateful for the opportunity that I was given and hope to learn more about Environmental Racism, specifically in my community. 

    Something that I was most surprised of was the effect of toxic waste on people in the 5th & Hill community and how long lasting the effects were. It is easy to think that there would be one direct response for one cause, but there were a number of illnesses that each individual faced due to the toxic waste in the area. The worst of these illnesses being cancer. The severity of Claudia's cancer as well as other members of the community was particularly upsetting. I remember Claudia saying the doctor told her that her cancer was probably the easiest to treat, but because of her exposure to the toxic waste, it was incredibly aggressive. Seeing Claudia becoming moved talking of her friends and loved ones passing due to the toxic waste made me feel the pressure of this movement. These were people, not just statistics or graphs. 

    Another thing that was particularly disturbing was the lack of local and state government involvement in this issue, as well as a lack of transparency from Ameren, the corporation that caused this mess. It is very frustrating to see the people you have elected or people who are supposed to be "just like you" commit these horrible acts against people. Watching people constantly choose capitalism over justice is sickening. It makes you consider how many other organizations and corporations are like them.     Sadly, we cannot ask these corporations to change their greedy ways. Rather, the only way that we can combat this issue is by forcing change. It is by educating ourselves and raising up the voices of those who are being oppressed. It is holding companies and our government accountable for their misdoings. We cannot sit by while people's lives are at risk.    

Comments

  1. SerenityMarch 10, 2021 at 9:36 AM

    I agree with everything you've said, and I really like how you wrote "Seeing Claudia becoming moved talking of her friends and loved ones passing due to the toxic waste made me feel the pressure of this movement. These were people, not just statistics or graphs". Hearing people's real-life stories and experiences makes the lack of response and publicity even more heartbreaking. With the publishing of the News Gazette article I hope there will be more action and support from the community.

    ReplyDelete
  2. ArianaMarch 10, 2021 at 8:35 PM

    Yeah for me the most shocking part was just how many people were being diagnosed with seemingly "rare" cancers all within the same block of each other. At some point the word "rare" becomes a toss up when many people are contracting the disease within close distance. It's just so frustrating that even this is not enough evidence. Claudia mentioned that since they cannot "directly" tie the toxic waste as a root cause of the cancer, it isn't sufficient evidence. With this fact checking method, fighting feels hopeless when authorities continue to dismiss and disregard the community's voice. I'm in awe and inspired of the work Claudia, Dimitri, and the residents continue to do. This is not a fight that should stop, no matter how difficult the road is.

    ReplyDelete
  3. KatelynMarch 11, 2021 at 6:03 PM

    I really appreciate your point about how this issue, quite literally, hits so close to home. Something so dire happening in our own community that seemingly so few people have actually heard about is sickening. I've always thought about myself having to travel some amount of distance to aid people in need (especially at any kind of systemic level), but seeing such a devastating example of environmental racism happening in our own proverbial backyard makes me realize that I don't have to go far to see people suffering so completely unnecessarily.

    ReplyDelete

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Working With DREAAM House

A few weeks ago I participated in the collaboration of our Social Justice class and DREAAM House. The event was to hold an outdoor scavenger hunt for the children at DREAAM House. There were about 20 or so children that were participating in the activity, ranging in age from about 4 to 11. Children that were younger and may not be able to read were given sheets with pictures of the objects that they were to find. The older kids were given sheets with the names of the objects that they were supposed to find, leaving a space for them to draw an image of it. The objects varied from a stick as long as your arm to an animal in the clouds. Regardless of age or ability, the kids were intrigued in the activity. Shortly into our walk to the Boneyard Creek, it started to drizzle, but the kids were unphased. They were excited to start looking and even starting before we got there. We separated into groups, each one consisting of a member from DREAAM and a member from our class. Despite the rain, ...
Read more

Thank You

       Last spring I was accepted into Uni. I spent the summer planning and arranging classes that I would like to take in the fall and spring. Honestly, when I heard of the Topics in Social Justice class, I was quite a bit intimidated by it. Going to Catholic school since Kindergarten, political conversations, whether they be about race, the environment, or human rights issues, were (and are) a very taboo topic. Even at my previous high school, being involved in a political conversation with a liberal perspective was always a battle that I was going to lose. As hard as it is to say, over time, I learned to just keep my mouth shut at school because speaking up was never going to do any good. My flame was put out just as soon as it started burning, so I did not sign up for Topics in Social Justice. What good would it be?      Well, in a turn of events, I ended up taking Topics in Social Justice, and I could not be more grateful for that happy little acc...
Read more