Environmental Justice: Grassroots Activism and Its Impact on Public Policy Decision Making

TLDR

Evidence shows that people of color and low‑income communities face higher environmental and health risks, prompting a grassroots movement to challenge environmental racism and influence policy. Grassroots groups organize, educate, and empower themselves to improve the administration of health and environmental policies. Over the past two decades, grassroots activism has achieved measurable changes in federal treatment of communities of color, linking environmentalism with social justice and civil rights.

Abstract

A growing body of evidence reveals that people of color and low-income personshavebornegreaterenvironmentalandhealthrisksthanthesocietyatlargeintheirneighborhoods, workplace, and playgrounds. Over the last decade or so, grass-roots activists have attempted to change the way government implements environ-mental,health,andcivilrightslaws.Grassrootsgroupshaveorganized,educated,and empowered themselves to improve the way government regulations andenvironmental policies are administered. A new movement emerged in oppositionto environmental racism and environmental injustice. Over the last 2 decades orso, grassroots activists have had some success in changing the way the federalgovernment treats communities of color and their inhabitants. Grassroots groupshave also organized, educated, and empowered themselves to improve the wayhealth and environmental policies are administered. Environmentalism is nowequated with social justice and civil rights.