For many Americans, personal and family wealth often includes a house or property. In rural southern Alabama, that wealth for many black families includes property that has been handed down for generations going back to the Reconstruction period following the Civil War. What happens when that wealth is made less due to government action? Followed by government inaction?
You may be aware of an example or examples of environmental injustice in the region in which you live. You may be aware of it from statistics coming from areas in which garbage dumps, incinerators, and petrochemical operations are located. It may be ongoing or there may be legacy issues resulting from such operations now discontinued. Whether you are certain you know environmental injustice when you see it or perhaps you remain a bit uncertain of what it looks like, the current and ongoing situation in the Shiloh Community of Elba Alabama provides a stunning example of environmental injustice.
The attached YouTube video comes from ABC News which did this story in October 2023. In spite of a visit from DOT Secretary Buttigieg in April 2024, the situation in the Shiloh Community of Elba AL has not been completely resolved. While there is now an agreement between USDOT and ALDOT to correct the runoff problems, there is no agreement on paying to repair the damages to homes and businesses damaged by the state’s actions. Environmental injustice remains a reality for the residents of the Shiloh Community, many of whom can trace the family ownership of their property back nearly 160 years.
What can you do? Contact DOT Secretary Pete Buttigieg to let him know that before he leaves office he needs to obligate the funds needed to correct the injustices borne by the residents of the Shiloh Community in Elba Alabama. Take Action Here.
ABC News Video of Environmental Injustice in the Shiloh Community: