Thursday, 10 Oct 2002

SAN FRANCISCO, Calif.

The administrative tasks surrounding the startup of the Environmental Justice and Health Union were interrupted by a philosophical challenge. EJHU is focused on bringing environmental justice activists and environmental health professionals together to eliminate environmental disease in poor, minority communities in the U.S. A member of our advisory board asked me why I used the term “poor, minority communities.”

I had already given the issue some thought. In my daily life, I use the term “low-income communities of color” as it more accurately represents the class and race idea I want to convey. I prefer that term because, for many people, “poor” has multiple negative connotations, including implications about character; meanwhile, “minority” is somewhat vague, as it may relate to sexuality, religion, race, and so forth. “Poor, minority” has been used repeatedly to construct histories that validate racist social structures. However, I worry that “low-income communities of color” may be perceived as either unduly academic or “politically correct” by people who are unaware of why that term may be preferred to “poor, minority communities.”

Because the goal of the Environmental Justice and Health Union is to invite people to participate, I discussed the issue with several people over the past few months but did not gain a consensus on which term to use. It is not difficult to see why. The longer term is more accurate; the shorter term is more widely used. I wanted to strive for both, and I thought it might even be possible to reclaim “poor, minority” by using the term to describe a difficult situation without blaming the victim, as is too often done. In the end, I simply chose the shortest term. In hindsight, I should have had a clearer rationale for my initial decision so that I could more readily defend the choice. Instead, I await further feedback and discussion with the advisory group before making a final choice.

Meanwhile, I have started to pull together my launch speech for the party tonight. I intend to give a short explanation of why I decided to start the Environmental Justice and Health Union, what its mission is, and what tools will be used to achieve that mission. The challenge will be to keep it short. So many people have given so much to get me to this point. My family exposed me to the different ways people live and encouraged me to follow my dreams. My friends and mentors taught me about the complex relationships between race, class, and the environment, and participated in my struggle to develop the language to discuss such issues. My responsibility now is to make sure this organization gives to others even more than has been given to me.

So, that’s what I plan to discuss over appetizers, drinks, and four extra-large pizzas (two veggie, two combo). Now, if only I could get the darn email to work right …