Introduction
Minnesota has long had a reputation for being a great place to live: a strong economy, great schools, good healthcare infrastructure, and (if you don’t mind cold winters) 10,000 lakes and beautiful nature for all to enjoy. What USNews and other “best state” analyses do not talk about, however, are the deep racial disparities of life in this midwestern state. Minnesota has some of the widest racial gaps in the country with respect to educational attainment, employment, poverty, homeownership, health, and incarceration rates (Gordon, 2019).
Racialized injustices in Minnesota extend to the natural environment as well. As in the rest of the United States, people of color in Minnesota are significantly more likely to live, work, and play near toxic facilities, to have lower access to parks and greenspace, to suffer from health conditions linked to environmental toxic exposures (e.g., lead poisoning, asthma, certain types of cancer), to breath air higher in pollutants such as particulate matter, or to be exposed to environmental hazards at their workplace.
Though the roots of these injustices are deeply embedded in the economic, political, and cultural life of our state, many people are taking a stand for justice and transformation. This book is the story of Minnesotans engaged in the work of Environmental Justice, the “fair treatment and meaningful involvement of all people regardless of race, color, national origin, culture, education, or income…” (US Department of Energy). Environmental Justice demands social justice, equal access to a clean and healthy environment, and an end to institutional discrimination.
Minnesota is home to a network of individuals and organizations creating and modeling more equitable relationships within society, and between human society and the more-than-human world that sustains all life. Thanks to these individuals confronting systemic racism woven into the fabric of our culture, Minnesota can become a birthplace of change, setting an example for other states to follow.
The following chapters are brief introductions to the lives and work of some of these Minnesota residents who advocate for Environmental Justice. Their stories were captured in interviews conducted by Macalester College students in Spring 2018, 2019 and 2020. Because the scope of Environmental Justice is large, the work of these individuals is widely varied. Each person featured in this volume takes their own unique approach to re-imagining justice. For some it is through a traditional job in a non-profit, government, or a private company. For others, the work of environmental justice involves organizing people, planning protests, and challenging unjust laws. Still others focus on inspiring the rest of us, and strengthening the movement as a whole, through their music, art, writing or performance. The work featured in this volume covers a broad span, showcasing the depth and breadth of Environmental Justice. More importantly, this book celebrates the extraordinary everyday people who choose to take action in the face of injustice. While their approaches to Environmental Justice work are diverse, they are united in their persistence and their creativity.
In addition to elevating the voices and work of those described in these pages, we hope this book can be a resource for those seeking their own starting point in the EJ movement.
References:
Environmental Justice. (n.d.). Retrieved September 28, 2020, from https://www.energy.gov/lm/services/environmental-justice
Gordon, C. (2019). Race in the Heartland: Equity, Opportunity, and Public Policy in the Midwest. Retrieved January 30, 2021, from https://www.epi.org/publication/race-in-the-heartland/
