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Dumping in dixie: Race, class, and environmental quality

Article  in  The Review of Black Political Economy · December 1991

DOI: 10.1007/BF02689929 · Source: RePEc

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Suzanne Harrington 
October 7, 2009 
PA‐776; Prof. Gen 
 
CITATION
Bullard, Robert D. 2000. Dumping in Dixie: Race, Class, and Environmental Quality. 3rd
Edition. Westview Press.
REVIEWED BY
Suzanne Harrington
ABSTRACT
Bullard’s Dumping in Dixie: Race, Class, and Environmental Quality explores the
disproportionate amount of pollution and other environmental stressors in black neighborhoods
in the South. Bullard explains that locally unwanted land uses have historically followed a “path
of least resistance,” turning to burden black and poor communities with toxic dumping sites,
chemical plants, and municipal and/or hazardous waste facilities. Because low-income and
minority communities have had few advocates and lobbyists at the national level, social equity
and distributive impacts of pollution have not been met. Through case studies and household
surveys, Bullard explores five specific cases of environmental racism that occurred in the South
in the 1980s.
This book is written from the perspective of an academic, sociologist, and activist. To a great
extent, Bullard has pioneered the study and activism towards environmental justice. His thesis is
strongly supported by his case studies and household surveys.
KEY CONCEPTS
1. Environmental Racism: The intentional or unintentional racial discrimination in the
enforcement of environmental rules and regulations, which leads to the singling-out of
minority and low-income communities for the siting of noxious facilities
2. Environmental Justice: Seeking to redress inequitable environmental burdens,
oftentimes borne by minority and low-income communities

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Suzanne Harrington 
October 7, 2009 
PA‐776; Prof. Gen 
 
Book Summary

Dumping in Dixie: Race, Class, and Environmental Quality, by Robert Bullard, examines

the environmental inequities that exist in the United States, particularly in the South. Bullard

conducted both case studies and household surveys to study how community attitudes and

socioeconomic characteristics influence activism and mobilization strategies of black residents

who are confronted with the threat of environmental injustice. He discovers some of the

underlying issues behind particular examples of environmental justice, by focusing his study on

five communities that faced environmental racism in the 1980s.

Environmental Justice - Background

Dumping in Dixie analyzes the equity of, and struggle for environmental justice by

African American communities. Environmental justice focuses on “how the burdens of

environmental harms and regulations are allocated among individuals and groups within our

society” (Salzman & Thompson p. 38). Though people of color in all regions of the country bear

a disproportionate share of the nation’s environmental problems, Bullard focuses his attention to

communities located in the South: Texas, Louisiana, West Virginia, and Alabama.

Bullard identifies several causes of this disproportionate burden. First, polluting

industries follow the “path of least resistance” by locating their landfills, power plants, chemical

plants, and hazardous waste dumps in minority areas that are economically poor and politically

powerless. Many black communities do not have the organization, financial resources, or

personnel to sustain a long-term fight against facilities that pose a threat to their health and well-

being in their communities. Second, low-income and minority communities have had few

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Suzanne Harrington 
October 7, 2009 
PA‐776; Prof. Gen 
 
advocates and lobbyists push for their cause at the national level. Third, minority communities

have historically focused on other pressing issues such as crime, drugs, poverty, and

unemployment rather than environmental issues. Fourth, racial barriers to education,

employment, and housing have reduced mobility options for minority groups; these barriers

prevent community residents faced with environmental racism from “voting with their feet,” and

moving to areas with fewer environmental problems.

Bullard claims that local governments and big businesses take advantage of people who

are politically and economically powerless, and set-up shop in places where there is lax

enforcement of environmental regulations. Because the nation’s environmental laws, regulations,

and policies are not applied uniformly, certain communities are at special risk of health issues.

Bullard illustrates that residents from the five areas of his study, who live in close proximity to

health-threatening industrial pollution, are at higher risk of emphysema, chronic bronchitis, and

other chronic pulmonary diseases. Additionally, “virtually all of the studies of exposure to

outdoor air pollution have found a significant difference according to income and race” (Bullard,

p. 99). Bullard sites other studies, which have found that though waste generation is directly

correlated with per capita income, few waste facilities are proposed and actually built in mostly-

white suburbs in the United States.

Case Studies and Surveys

Bullard’s thesis states “black communities, because of their economic and political

vulnerability, have been routinely targeted for the siting of noxious facilities, locally unwanted

land uses, and environmental hazards, and are likely to suffer greater risks from these facilities

than is the general population” (Bullard p. xiv). This thesis is supported by a lot of evidence

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Suzanne Harrington 
October 7, 2009 
PA‐776; Prof. Gen 
 
throughout the book. Not only does Bullard conduct his own case studies and household surveys,

but he also sites a number of other empirical studies and reports. For example, both a 1983 GAO

report and a 1987 study conducted by the New York-based Commission for Racial Justice found

a strong association between race and the location of hazardous-waste facilities. Additionally,

Bullard rattles off toxic-waste statistics of several large cities that are not included in his study.

For example, he illustrates racial disparities in toxic-waste site locations in Atlanta and Los

Angeles. In Atlanta, 82.8% of blacks live in waste-site areas, compared to 60.2% of whites.

Similarly, in Los Angeles, 60% of Hispanics live in waste-site areas, compared to 35.3% of

whites. While Dumping in Dixie is chock full of these types of statistical analyses and empirical

evidence, Bullard’s own research is the focus of much of the book.

Bullard emphasizes that the intent of his research and analyses, which took place in 1987-

1988, is not to assign blame, but to “provide insights into the economic and political dynamics of

environmental decision-making and impacts of minority communities” (Bullard, p. 19).

Emphasis was placed on determining leadership, opposition tactics, resolution mechanisms, and

outcomes of each of the cases. He used government documents, archival records, and in-depth

interviews with local opinion leaders, to chronicle the efforts made by local citizen groups to

reduce the environmental threats in their communities. While all five of the areas of study are

located in the South, and made up of a majority of African Americans, the study areas represent

an economic mix, ranging from an urban ghetto to a middle-class suburban neighborhood. Brief

summaries of the five cases are provided below (Bullard provides population demographics

based on the 1980 Census).

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Suzanne Harrington 
October 7, 2009 
PA‐776; Prof. Gen 
 
Houston, Texas: Northwood Manor Neighborhood - Northwood Manor is a suburban

neighborhood, whose population of 8,449 was 82.4% black. The Whispering Pines landfill that

was built there was within 1,400 feet of the area high school (which was not equipped with air

conditioning).

West Dallas, Texas - West Dallas is a rural black settlement on the fringe of the city,

whose population of 13,161 is 85% black. Most families are female-headed and living below the

poverty level. A 3,500-unit housing project covering more than 500 acres was located just 50

feet from the property line of a sprawling lead smelter that pumped more than 269 tons of lead

particles in the West Dallas air each year.

Institute, West Virginia - Institute is an unincorporated community whose population of

1,450 is over 90% black. A Union Carbide chemical plant, which emits polluted air and odors, is

located adjacent to West Virginia State College and a rehabilitation center.

Alsen, Louisiana - Alsen is an unincorporated town located on the Mississippi River,

several miles north of Baton Rouge, Louisiana’s capitol. Alsen developed from a rural

community of black landowner, to a stable, working-class suburban enclave. Its population of

1,104 is 98.9% black. A commercial hazardous waste site is located adjacent to Alsen, and is the

source of constant health and odor issues.

Emelle-Sumter County, Alabama - Sumter County’s population of 16,908 is 69%

black, and 33% below the poverty line. Sumter was chosen to be the host of the nation’s largest

hazardous waste treatment, storage, and disposal facility. Emelle is a small community in Sumter

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Suzanne Harrington 
October 7, 2009 
PA‐776; Prof. Gen 
 
County (90% black), that was particularly concerned about waste escaping from the landfill and

contaminating the drinking water aquifer below.

In addition to the five case studies, summarized above, Bullard randomly selected 120

household heads from each of the five communities to respond to surveys. Of these, 523 were

completed (an 87% response rate). His survey sought to assess the nature of the environmental

dispute-resolution strategies used by black residents in these communities. The data provides a

comparative analysis of black residents’ views on the local disputes and the actions taken to

alleviate or resolve the issues.

Environmental Justice Movement – Progress in the 1990s

While there is still much to be done, Bullard is optimistic about the progress being made

on the environmental justice front. Since the 1990s, a dialogue regarding disparate impacts of

environmental hazards has been initiated among social scientists, social justice leaders, national

environmental groups, the EPA, and the Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry

(ATSDR), and governmental officials. One specific environmental justice milestone of the 1990s

is Executive Order 12898: Federal Actions to Address Environmental Justice in Minority

Populations and Low-Income Populations, which was signed by President Clinton in February

2004. The Executive Order reinforces Title IV of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, which prohibits

discriminatory practices in programs receiving federal funds. The order also reiterates the

National Environmental Policy Act of 1969, which sets policy goals for the protection,

maintenance, and enhancement of the environment. To comply with Clinton’s Executive Order,

federal government agencies must “make achieving environmental justice part of [their] mission

by identifying and addressing, as appropriate, disproportionately high and adverse human health

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Suzanne Harrington 
October 7, 2009 
PA‐776; Prof. Gen 
 
or environmental effects of its programs, policies, and activities on minority populations and

low-income populations in the United States and its territories and possessions” (Bullard p. 149).

Bullard suggests that since the 1980s, environmental justice has “trickled up to the

federal government and the White House” (Bullard, preface, p. xvii). For example, in 1994,

seven federal agencies sponsored a national health symposium, “Health and Research Needs to

Ensure Environmental Justice.” Over 1,100 stakeholders attended the symposium, including

grassroots environmental leaders, impacted community residents, academics, and federal agency

representatives. Additionally, environmental justice leaders were successful in getting the

Clinton administration to establish the National Environmental Justice Advisory Council

(NEJAC) to advise the EPA on how to achieve fair and just environmental practices.

Assessment

Dumping in Dixie, originally published in 1990, is widely regarded as the first book to

fully articulate the concept of environmental justice (Dicum, 2006). At that time, the idea that

environmental discrimination existed, and was unfair, unethical, and immoral was not widely

accepted. Bullard explains that at the time he was first evaluating spatial locations of municipal

solid-waste facilities in 1979, few environmentalists, civil rights advocates, and policymakers

recognized or understood that a disparate impact of environmental and industrial policies existed

in the United States. Bullard is now a professor at Clark Atlanta University, and the director of

its Environmental Justice Resource Center (Dicum, 2006). As an academic, sociologist, and

activist, Bullard’s environmental perspective is one of equality. Claiming that the environmental

justice movement is an extension of the social justice movement, Bullard embraces the principle

that all people and communities are entitled to equal protection under environmental and health

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Suzanne Harrington 
October 7, 2009 
PA‐776; Prof. Gen 
 
laws. Today, Bullard remains an activist and a leading voice in environmental justice advocacy

(Dicum, 2006).

I agree with Bullard that all American citizens should be equally protected under

environmental laws and regulations. I found him to be thorough in his studies, and successful at

supporting this thesis with empirical evidence. Additionally, Bullard’s proposed solutions to the

issue are logical, and comprehensive. Bullard’s suggestions for action strategies in the twenty-

first century are three-fold. First, he stresses the importance of strengthening grass-roots

organizations in the environmental justice movement. Bullard explains that growth in the

environmental movement is likely to come from the bottom-up. Second, Bullard suggests that

the organized environmental movement in the United States diversify, and include more African

Americans. This inclusion strategy would “infuse egalitarian principles into the larger

environmental movement” (Bullard, p. 145). Unfortunately, Bullard does not go into sufficient

detail regarding steps that can be taken to ensure this diversity in the movement. Third, Bullard

calls for a creation of environmental centers and networks, where communication among victims

of environmental justice can provide incentives for communities to “keep up the struggle.”

Because ghetto residents have traditionally been instilled with the notion that they are powerless,

such environmental justice networks could provide positive feedback as a counteractive measure.

Along the lines of Bullard’s third solution, many public administrators today are learning

the value of governing by network, in an era where fuzzy boundaries between jurisdictions exist,

and collaborative efforts work to solve many public issues. He is right to suggest that creating

networks to share information could highlight particular communities’ strength and power in

organizing opposition to industrial hazards; environmental justice networks could also link black

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Suzanne Harrington 
October 7, 2009 
PA‐776; Prof. Gen 
 
neighborhoods on issues that cut across geographic boundaries and political jurisdictions. One

shortfall of this action strategy is that Bullard does not address, or offer solutions for, the

dilemmas public and nonprofit managers often face in collaborative and collective efforts, such

as free-ridership, information asymmetry, and technological resource sharing (Goldsmith &

Eggers, 2004).

Bullard’s study and message on environmental racism comes to a similar conclusion as

the Human Rights Commission’s (HRC) Bayview/Hunters Point report. The HRC report reveals

that 90% of Bayview/Hunters Point residents are members of minority groups, and 22% are

below the poverty line (HRC, 2003). The neighborhood is home to a “heavily polluting” PG&E

powerplant, sewage treatment plant, and over half of San Francisco’s land that is zoned for

industrial use. The ‘Health’ workshop concluded that the air quality is badly compromised; thus,

there are higher than average levels of asthma, cancer, diabetes, and respiratory disease in the

area. Additionally, Bayview/Hunters Point residents have been subjected to odorous discharge

from the city’s largest sewage plant, which is located in a residential area. The Bayview/Hunters

Point report supports Bullard’s claim that though he focuses on black communities in the South,

we can extrapolate his results to minority communities throughout the country.

The Commission for Racial Justice’s Toxic Wastes and Race report, which Bullard sites

in his book, further supports Bullard’s research findings. The report found that “race proved to

the most significant among variables tested in association with the location of commercial

hazardous waste facilities (Commission for Racial Justice, p. xiii). Further, just as Bullard

illustrated environmental racism exists even in middle-class suburbs, the Commission for Racial

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Suzanne Harrington 
October 7, 2009 
PA‐776; Prof. Gen 
 
Justice report found that although socio-economic status plays a role in determining the location

of hazardous waste facilities, it is not as significant as race (1987).

Bullard optimistically explains that progress has surely been made in bringing the

environmental racism issue to a broader audience, including colleges and universities.

Additionally, environmental justice leaders have continued persevere to tell their own stories,

and government policymakers and industry officials have finally begun to listen. Bullard’s work

in bringing environmental justice issues into the spotlight has undoubtedly had a positive impact

on American communities who have been subjected to a disproportionate amount of

environmental stressors. Though institutional barriers to environmental equality still exist, as

residential choices and mobility options for minority and poor community residents remain

limited, it was uplifting to learn of the great strides that have been taken over the past 25 years,

toward environmental justice for all.

I enjoyed reading this book, and believe this would be a valuable guide and source of

information for community leaders who are facing environmental discrimination. Dumping in

Dixie, while a bit cumbersome with statistics and report findings, provides some compelling case

studies, and offers a glimmer of hope that environmental justice is attainable.

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 Suzanne Harrington 
October 7, 2009 
PA‐776; Prof. Gen 
 
References

Bullard, R. (2000). Dumping in Dixie: Race, Class, and Environmental Quality. 3rd Edition.
Westview Press.
Commission for Racial Justice. 1987. Toxic Wastes and Race in the United States: A National
Report on Racial and Socio-Economic Characteristics of Communities with Hazardous
Waste Sites. United Church of Christ.
Dicum, G. (2006). Meet Robert Bullard, the Father of Environmental Justice. Retrieved
September 30, 2000 from http://www.grist.org
Goldsmith, S. & Eggers, W.D. (2004). Governing by Network. Washington D.C.: Brookings
Institute Press.

Human Rights Commission. 2003. Environmental Racism: A Status Report & Recommendations.
City and County of San Francisco.
Salzman, J. & Thompson, B.H. (2007). Environmental Law and Policy. New York: Foundation
Press.

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