Campus climate: What is environmental racism?
Environmental racism is an issue that has become deeply rooted in many communities across the nation, disproportionately affecting communities of color and leaving behind a trail of irreversible consequences according to Cedric Taylor, a professor at Central Michigan University.
This leads some students to grapple with the ripple effects of environmental racism, affecting their transition to predominantly white communities.
Taylor, an associate professor of sociology, has spent time researching environmental justice. He said one of the most decisive factors in exposure to environmental harms and injustices is the color of a person’s skin.
“The reality is that communities of color are more likely to be proximate to environmental harms and exposures,” he said. “They’re more likely to be encountering things like contamination, air pollution, noise pollution.”
Taylor said people of color are also less likely to be involved in the decision making processes that contribute to the environmental challenges in their communities.
“Once there is an issue, an environmental event, communities have a difficult time usually in getting the situation remedied,” he said.
Residents in these communities also often face redlining issues, which is a discriminatory practice used to withhold certain services such as loans or insurance from those living in areas classified as “hazardous.”
Environmental racism can often lead to increased risks for health problems such as cancer and respiratory issues.
However, the consequences of environmental racism extend beyond physical health, and can affect the mental health of minority individuals. Stress, strain and a lack of resources to address these issues can compound, affecting the mental health of these communities Taylor said.
“We can only imagine the kind of emotional and mental fallout from being a second class citizen in a country that says all people are equal,” Taylor said. “That we all deserve the same kinds of protections under the law.”
Taylor said that the effects of environmental racism can follow people and students from communities where environmental racism is highly prevalent to areas with fewer cases, such as Mount Pleasant.
“The spaces that we occupy are very much connected,” he said. “The health issues … the mental impact, you can’t exactly go and switch those off. Once you enter CMU, you can carry these experiences into these other spaces.”
From struggle to solace
D'Naughtia Curry, a senior at CMU, said moving from her hometown to Mount Pleasant presented a unique challenge for her.
Growing up in Pontiac, Michigan, Curry said she was used to being around Black and Hispanic communities, which made up a majority of the population.
The city of Pontiac has a long history of redlining, which has caused many of the lower-class residents into lower-income neighborhoods–many of these residents being people of color.
Curry, who is African American herself, said she has noticed the gentrification of many of these redlined areas throughout the years.
“My town before – it used to be very vibrant,” she said. "But now I think a lot of places are becoming more and more expensive, so it forces those people to migrate out of those areas.”
Since coming to CMU, she hasn’t seen a similar situation in Mount Pleasant, which she believes is due to the larger white population in the city.
“It was a culture shock for me,” she said. “Being around so many people who did not look like me or did not look like the people I grew up with, that was very hard. So, I had negative feelings being on campus.”
Curry came to CMU to pursue a career in public relations. She said she encountered many hurdles during her initial years at CMU, which was only exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic.
As a recipient of the Leader Advancement Scholarship, she was also a part of the LAS community living in Calkins Hall, which she said was predominately white.
“I felt like such an outsider,” Curry said. “I didn’t have any friends during that time, so I was just really discouraged.”
Despite her struggles, Curry said she was eventually able to find solace by engaging with different organizations and speaking with various, diverse groups on campus.
As the Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Committee chair for the International Student Organization, Curry now helps other students adapt to life on campus.
She said many of the students she talks to struggle with homesickness and language barriers, but also issues many domestic students wouldn’t think twice about, such as how and where to print off papers.
As a first generation college student, Curry said she can relate to many of these students as she said she was often left to figure things out herself.
“Nobody has been telling me these things, but I have to pick them up,” she said. “So, I think the issue a lot of the time for students is the lack of resources and the lack of understanding of those resources.”
Curry said that while resources for other students of color are available, many students struggle with them as they often need to take the initiative to access them.
“I think if I as a person miss out on some of the opportunities that are offered to minority students or students of color, I think there’s a lot more students who are missing out on those opportunities,” she said.
Mary Martinez, the executive director of the Office of Civil Rights and Institutional Equity, said CMU offers a range of resources for people of color on campus including the counseling center, the Office of Multicultural Student Success and the resource center within each college.
“We're here for anyone if you need something, even if you don't know where to go,” Martinez said. “I'm here to help facilitate getting people to the right place.”
Shawna Patterson-Stephens, the chief diversity officer for the Office of Institutional Diversity, Equity and Inclusion, said her office is also continuously looking to improve the campus climate for everyone.
“We’re always thinking about ways to provide equitable support to minoritized populations in a way that ensures that they have full enjoyment of what it means to be a student a faculty staff member here, ” she said.
