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We’re leading an all-out national mobilization to defeat the climate crisis.

Join our work today to help us build a thriving and just clean energy future. 

Theresa Landrum: The GOP Plan to Perpetuate Environmental Injustice

June 2019: Theresa Landrum shows Gov. Jay Inslee the Marathon Refinery in southwest Detroit. The surrounding neighborhood is the most polluted zip code in the state.

By Theresa Landrum 

I've lived my entire life in one of America's most polluted zip codes: 48217, on the southwest side of Detroit.

My neighbors and I have been breathing in benzene, sulfur chloride, and hydrogen sulfide for years. Why? Because of racist policies that force majority-Black neighborhoods like mine to bear the brunt of pollution. I've seen neighbors in their 20s die of cancer. I lost my mother and my father to cancer. I am a survivor.

In 2020, Joe Biden won the support of Black voters in part because of his promise to cut pollution and direct 40% of environmental investments toward communities hit first and worst by the climate crisis. Now, with the American Jobs Plan, Congress has a chance to make good on those promises.

The unserious, unacceptable Republican infrastructure "plan" is another story—and Democrats shouldn't touch it with a 10-foot pole. The GOP plan would do nothing to fight the environmental racism that's harmed the health of my family and my community, and it would increase pollution for all Americans (regardless of zip code).

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We need the full American Jobs Plan to meet our environmental justice commitments, to achieve 100% clean energy, and to invest in good union jobs at a scale that meets this historic moment. Add your name right now to tell Democrats to hold strong against the GOP's infrastructure bill and pass the American Jobs Plan.

 

About Theresa 

Theresa Landrum is a member of the Evergreen Advisory Board and a leader in the Michigan Environmental Justice Coalition. She is a native Detroiter and has lived on the same block in the city’s southwest side since she was born. Her neighborhood, known by its 48217 zip code, is the most polluted area in the state of Michigan and is home to some of the most toxic facilities imaginable. Theresa is a seasoned veteran of the movement to combat environmental injustice in her community. This issue is close to her heart, as she is a survivor of cancer and her parents passed away from the disease. Theresa attended city council meetings to oppose the expansion of the Marathon Oil Refinery in 2007 while she underwent chemotherapy, wearing a scarf to cover her bald head.

Watch more of Theresa's story: