Abstract

Excerpted From: Abigail Fleming and Photini Kamvisseli Suarez, When Justice Destroys Cement Monsters, 54 University of Memphis Law Review 889 (Summer, 2024) (105 Footnotes) (Full Document)

Through the lens of one historically Black neighborhood in Miami, Overtown, this Article examines the impacts of pollution produced by cement plants on human health and community well-being and explores the barriers to justice and potential paths for structural change. To explore transformative changes, the Article follows the journey of one young boy, Boulder, living in Overtown who faces exposure to the noise, smoke, and overall impacts on health and well-being stemming from a cement plant located adjacent to his house.

The process of cement production, detailed in Section II, expels various pollutants which have been found to have negative health impacts on individuals nearby who suffer exposure to these pollutants. These impacts can vary based on preexisting health conditions, levels and time of exposure, and age at exposure. Other factors, including race and gender, can make exposure to pollutants more likely to have detrimental effects. In examining pollutant exposure in Black communities, one fact becomes abundantly clear: Black individuals are more vulnerable physically and socioeconomically to the negative impacts of this pollution due to systemic racism. The many long-term, compounding, and understudied impacts of these inequities exacerbate the negative effects of cement plant pollution, putting the future of Black communities in jeopardy. For this reason, it is vital to understand how to prevent these environmental injustices from occurring in the first place by opposing the repeated and disproportionate exposure of Black communities to high sources of pollution and to learn how to address historical injustices created by the presence of such polluting sources in Black communities.

Section I of this Article will discuss the details of Overtown as a historically Black community as well as the specifics of the cement plant there. This section will also review community and resident actions taken to combat the historical harms caused by local contamination and pollution, including a partnership between the University of Miami Environmental Justice Clinic and the Overtown Parks Group, a resident-led advocacy group. Section II of this Article discusses the process of cement production and the specific pollutants that it produces as well as the health impacts of these pollutants. This section further discusses the disproportionate health and socioeconomic impacts of this pollution on Black communities due to preexisting health conditions, social inequities, and systemic racism, as well as specific subsets of the population who are particularly vulnerable, including women and children. This section then discusses the details of the impacts of cement pollution in Overtown. Section III of this Article discusses the various barriers to justice that exist with regards to the harm caused by cement pollution in communities. These barriers include limitations of state and federal law in combatting air pollution. Section III then discusses strategies to move forward in achieving justice for communities impacted by polluting plants, including community-led initiatives, community-based data, and policy campaigns, as well as a focus on environmental justice and reparations approaches.

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The disproportionate and disruptive presence of cement plants in EJ communities leads to exacerbated impacts of the pollution produced by these plants. These impacts include long- and short-term health impacts, which Black communities are more susceptible to for a multitude of reasons that are rooted in systemic racism. Further, these impacts include socioeconomic barriers and injustices that can permanently alter the course of people's lives and have overall negative impacts on community well-being. Given the extensive and complex negative health implications of this exposure, particularly long-term exposure for Black communities situated near polluting sources, it is essential for advocates to locate and partner with communities who are suffering from exposure to polluting sources, particularly cement plants. Despite the limitations that state and federal laws may have in addressing air pollution, local advocacy support and community-driven partnerships have the potential to raise awareness about the specific instances of injustice, such as the plant located in Overtown, and address the root causes of this widespread harm. Increased understanding of the impacts of the harm done by cement plants will further allow for preventative advocacy efforts to ensure that such plants are not located near communities that will suffer disproportionate impacts from the plant's presence.

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