After the recent devastation of Hurricane Ian, it is clear the environment can come close to destroying a community. Certain decisions by the government and corporations can worsen the impacts of natural disasters, especially for people that are already marginalized.
Environmental racism is defined as “racial discrimination in environmental policy-making, enforcement of regulations and laws and targeting of communities of color for toxic waste disposal and siting of polluting industries,” by Reverend Benjamin E. Chavis, a former chairman of the NAACP. The discrimination and harm are often a manifestation of the racism implicit in many American institutions.
Princeville is a sad example of environmental racism right here in North Carolina, only a short drive from NC State. The town has incredible historical significance, as the first town incorporated by free Black men and women in the country in 1885. Unfortunately, the area is a flood plain where history washes away with each hurricane.
Even though the Princeville area has always had flooding problems, the founders had few other options for places to build because of the practice of redlining. Even though they were now free citizens, discriminatory mortgage practices were completely legal. Black and immigrant neighborhoods, like Princeville, were marked by the Federal Homeowners’ Loan Corporation with red and yellow lines that meant they were undesirable.
Redlining stunted economic investment in Princeville and it remains one of the poorest cities in North Carolina, which did not help its environmental situation. Hurricane Floyd in 1999 had one of the most lasting and damaging impacts on Princeville. FEMA officials thought the flood damage was the worst they had ever seen; the town is small, but over 700 homes were damaged or destroyed.
Rebuilding was difficult after Hurricane Floyd, and the population has been declining ever since the tragedy. Before Princeville was able to fully recover from Floyd, Hurricane Matthew in 2017 damaged the town further.
The catastrophic hurricanes were what it took for Princeville to finally gain national attention. Even though the town was founded over 100 years before Floyd, there was little recorded history. North Carolina Central University researchers embarked on collecting the stories of Princeville. This research is not easily accessible to the public. We will never know the stories lost during the years of neglect due to racism.
While Princeville has a unique history, the impact of racism on the environment is familiar in historically Black towns everywhere in the U.S. A study from Redfin in 2021 showed redlined areas are 25% more susceptible to flooding.
Environmental discrimination can be found elsewhere in North Carolina at the hog and poultry farms located incredibly close to marginalized communities. The proximity to livestock causes constant noises, smells and terrible air quality. The animal waste has a detrimental effect on residents’ physical and mental health, as well as on property values. During hurricanes, the waste lagoons can breach, inundating the area with fecal particulate matter.
In Chapel Hill, Black residents were excluded from many city services, forcing them to drink from polluted wells, made worse by the unclean water piped from the water treatment facility for white residents. Without a working sewer, residents dumped waste into the same streams their children swam in, causing several to die from these conditions.
Even though environmental racism has hurt Princeville and other similar, historically Black towns, residents still take great pride in their communities. Princeville has now opened its own African American history museum with help from NC State’s College of Design, and hosted its first homecoming celebration this past August.
The people of Princeville also believe the environment and their community are inextricably linked. One step everyone can take to help Princeville is planting long-leaf pine trees. The plant is native to the area and has absorbent roots that help during hurricanes.
The tree population has diminished over the past few decades, making hurricanes even more of a threat than before. The Conservation Trust for North Carolina was recently awarded a grant to help with this project and create green infrastructure in partnership with the citizens of Princeville. The U.S. Department of Agriculture is also stepping in with federal funding to preserve what remains of the longleaf pine forests in eastern North Carolina.
By providing adequate funding and support to rebuild Princeville, hopefully the next hurricane won’t be quite so devastating. The citizens of Princeville and other communities impacted by environmental racism deserve institutional help to create a more resilient, sound place for people that will last generations.
