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Environmental Justice in Detroit: a Comparison with the Civil Rights Movement

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Environmental Justice in Detroit: a Comparison with the Civil Rights Movement Environmental Justice in Detroit: A Comparison with the Civil Rights Movement Mary Hennessey University of Michigan Program in the Environment Class of 2008 ii ii Table of Contents Table of Figures.................................................................................................... iv ABBREVIATIONS............................................................................................... v ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS ................................................................................ vi CHAPTER 1.......................................................................................................... 1 Introduction........................................................................................................... 1 Introduction............................................................................................................. 2 CHAPTER 2.......................................................................................................... 4 The Civil Rights Movement ................................................................................. 4 The Civil Rights Movement: History ..................................................................... 5 Civil Rights Timeline............................................................................................ 9 CHAPTER 3........................................................................................................ 11 Detroit Civil Rights Movement.......................................................................... 11 The History of Detroit’s Civil Rights Movement................................................. 12 Labor Unions’ role in the Detroit Civil Rights Movement................................... 14 Resource Mobilization Theory and the Civil Rights Movement.......................... 18 Initiation................................................................................................................ 18 Composition.......................................................................................................... 19 Organization.......................................................................................................... 21 Strategies............................................................................................................... 23 Evaluating the Success of the CRM...................................................................... 24 CHAPTER 4........................................................................................................ 27 The Environmental Justice Movement ............................................................. 27 Background and Definitions ................................................................................. 28 Methodologies....................................................................................................... 30 History and Key Moments.................................................................................... 31 Environmental Justice Timeline........................................................................ 37 CHAPTER 5........................................................................................................ 39 Detroit Environmental Justice Movement........................................................ 39 Detroit Environmental Justice Movement ............................................................ 40 Detroit Municipal Incinerator ............................................................................... 42 City of Highland Park Water Shut-offs ................................................................ 45 iii The Henry Ford Hospital Medical Waste Incinerator........................................... 47 Resource Mobilization and the Environmental Justice Movement ...................... 53 Initiation................................................................................................................ 53 Composition.......................................................................................................... 54 Organization.......................................................................................................... 55 Strategies............................................................................................................... 56 Evaluating the Success of the EJM....................................................................... 58 CHAPTER 6........................................................................................................ 61 Comparing the Civil Rights Movement with the Environmental Justice Movement ............................................................................................................ 61 Initiation: Comparison .......................................................................................... 62 Composition: Comparison .................................................................................... 63 The Role of Women in Composition: Comparison .............................................. 63 Organization: Comparison.................................................................................... 64 Strategies: Comparison ......................................................................................... 65 Evaluating the Success of the Movements: Comparison...................................... 65 CHAPTER 7........................................................................................................ 67 Lessons from the Civil Rights Movement for the Environmental Justice Movement ............................................................................................................ 67 Lessons from the Civil Rights Movement for the Environmental Justice Movement ............................................................................................................. 68 Future Research .................................................................................................... 72 REFERENCES.................................................................................................... 73 Appendix A.......................................................................................................... 77 The Principles of Environmental Justice .............................................................. 77 Appendix B .......................................................................................................... 79 Principles of Working Together............................................................................ 79 iv Table of Figures FIGURE 1: DETROIT SKYLINE AT DUSK ............................................................................. 1 FIGURE 2: CIVIL RIGHTS MEMORIAL IN MONTGOMERY , AL............................................ 4 FIGURE 3: CIVIL RIGHTS TIMELINE .................................................................................. 9 FIGURE 4: DETROIT MONUMENT TO THE UNDERGROUND RAILROAD ............................ 11 FIGURE 6: EXAMPLE OF AN ILLEGAL DUMPING SITE IN DETROIT .................................... 27 FIGURE 5: ENVIRONMENTAL JUSTICE TIMELINE ............................................................ 37 FIGURE 7: MUNICIPAL INCINERATOR ............................................................................. 39 FIGURE 8: HENRY FORD HOSPITAL ................................................................................ 61 FIGURE 9: SITE OF VIOLENT CRM PROTEST AT KELLY INGRAM PARK IN BIRMINGHAM , ALABAMA . ..................................................................................... 67 v ABBREVIATIONS ACCESS Arab Community Center for Economic and Social Services CORE Congress of Racial Equality CRJ Commission for Racial Justice CRM Civil Rights Movement DIFT Detroit Intermodal Freight Terminal DWEJ Detroiters Working for Environmental Justice EJM Environmental Justice Movement EPA Environmental Protection Agency FEPA Fair Employment Practices Act FEPC Fair Employment Practices Commission GAO General Accounting Office GDRRA Greater Detroit Resource Recovery Authority HFHS Henry Ford Hospital System LULU Locally Undesirable Land Use MWRO Michigan Welfare Rights Organization NAACP National Association for the Advancement of Colored Peoples NEJAC National Environmental Justice Advisory Council PCB Polychlorinated biphenyl RECA Radiation Exposure Compensation Act RM Resource Mobilization SADRI Social and Demographic Research Institute SCLC Southern Christian Leadership Conference SDEV Southwest Detroit Environmental Vision SNCC Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee UAW United Auto Workers UCC United Church of Christ vi ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS The author gratefully acknowledges all the generous assistance I have received throughout the course of this project. The following people were invaluable: Larissa Larsen, Bunyan Bryant, Dean Rosina Bierbaum, Dean Bavington, Donele Wilkins, Kathryn Savoie, Eileen Ryan, Arikia Millikan and Paul Mardirosian. Without their inspiration, sustained support and commitment to Environmental Justice, this project would not have been possible. I would like to particularly thank my advisor, Dr. Larissa Larsen, for her encouragement, engagement and support in the development of this thesis and for introducing me to Social Movement Theory and encouraging its application to this project. While the theory has limitations in regard to this subject matter, it provided a useful guide for this challenging topic. This thesis owes a tremendous debt to Dr. Bunyan Bryant whose teaching, leadership and commitment to the principles of environmental
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