My Journey to Environmental Justice

I remember the first time hearing the phrase Environmental Justice in a social change seminar I took my sophomore year of high school. Although I REALLY didn't know what it meant at the time, I took a lot of interest in the topic and what is meant for my personal life.

I wanted to visualize the issue especially coming from a community made up of working-class people of color that included a large amount of non-English speaking immigrants. We discussed the basics, how climate change is disproportionately affecting communities like mine, and that the environmental burden falls heavier on some than on others.

Truthfully, I was convinced that there were more pressing issues than the environment, an assumption a lot of people wrongfully make. Throughout high school, I had focused on issues in social justice that I deeply cared about such as racism, homophobia, xenophobia, sexism, and so on. I even continually tried to get my family interested in them and attempted to explain how these issues affected their lives as well, even if they didn't see it.

It wasn't until I got to college that I discovered, or better yet was reminded, that the environment is an incredibly intersectional issue and that we CANNOT continue fighting for equality without understanding how environmental injustice occurs and affects so many people. I was forced to take a step back and evaluate not only my own environmental impact, but my community's. This meant coming to the realization that even though I thought I was doing the right "stuff" for the environment, that it was barely enough.

I felt really powerless and afraid that I was too late in the fight against climate change and injustice, but with that fear I joined the Environmental Coalition and set out to change my unsustainable lifestyle. It was definitely challenging at times, but I knew the importance these changes held, especially for communities like mine, who are already facing burdens of climate change.

That's why, when I came home from school for the first time, I set out to bring that sustainability to my family. It was difficult. My family had so many methods of doing things that were completely unsustainable. From grocery shopping to drinking water, it was tough to try and get them to change their ways of living, even with such small details that they took for granted.

Although it was frustrating, I realized that I didn't need to police anyone or be there to make sure they did things right. I came to the understanding that it's everyone's personal responsibility to care and change their lifestyle. So, I began to explain the importance of the environment, just as it was explained to me. The personal significance for them though, came through the personal impacts it had on our surrounding community.

Together, we began to question why so many times on the weather app it says that Waukegan's air quality is "unhealthy for sensitive groups," or why so many factories near us are under investigation for causing health issues in the community. These discussions are often ignored especially by immigrants or working-class people who don't always have the privilege to focus on these issues and completely change their way of life. But again, I set out to show them that the environmental impact is present and real.

It is still a work in process but I see the value it has held in my own understanding of environmental justice and the importance of it. Especially during the COVID-19 Pandemic we can see the huge inequalities that shine through in times like these and why it is important to challenge these structures that have been normalized to us. These are definitely tough times but it shouldn't be a halt in our activism or need for change but a driving force against the stark disparities we are seeing in the world right now.