Environmental Justice

In this section:
Introduction to the Issue (below)
Read about the Community-Responsive Partners in Environmental Health Project

Introduction to the Issue
The struggle for Environmental justice has been highlighted in the Rural Coalition's work through its project on community responsive scientific research. The concept of environmental injustice--that poor communities and communities of color bear the brunt of human and economic costs of pollution and over-consumption, was first articulated in the 1980s by representatives of affected communities. Through their work, this concept has gained increasing acceptance and legitimacy in both scientific and policy-making circles. The need to make science more responsive to the needs of these communities and issues has been a major focus of the Coalition's recent work. Since the 1980s the Rural Coalition and its partners have been involved in the innovative task of (re)introducing these communities as equal and valued partners in all efforts aimed at addressing the latters' concerns. Recent landmark efforts instituted and organized by the Rural Coalition bear testimony to the efficacy of this approach.

Beginning with a Groundwater Survey in 1988 on nine Indian reservations in the Dakotas, RC has been involved in the task of empowering the underserved and socio-economically disadvantaged communities that we represent, as equal partners in all efforts aimed at addressing their local concerns. Since 1992, at the behest of Board member emeritus Patricia Bellanger, current Board member Charlotte Keys and others, we have developed a vision of participatory education and research which allows communities to collaborate and share their experiences, resources and emerging expertise, and build partnerships with the scientific communities.

Following the 1992 RC Assembly in El Paso, TX, a Health and Environment Committee was established as an integral part of the Rural Coalition, thus demonstrating the seriousness with which RC members viewed EJ issues. In 1993, the Rural Coalition began developing a relationship with the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences (NIEHS), marking the beginning of our collaboration with our scientific and health partners.