Harriet A. Washington [part 1]: How environmental racism persists through de facto segregation (podcast interview)
Harriet A. Washington (@haw95) is an award-winning medical writer and editor and the author of the best-selling book Medical Apartheid: The Dark History of Medical Experimentation on Black Americans from Colonial Times to the Present. She's also the author of A Terrible Thing to Waste: Environmental Racism and its Assault on the American Mind.
In her work, Harriet focuses mainly on bioethics, the history of medicine, African-American health issues, and the intersection of medicine, ethics, and culture.
In this podcast episode, Harriet sheds light on why environmental injustice is not just a matter of socioeconomic status but also about race; how standardized tests such as the IQ test, created by the western education system, have been used as tools to perpetuate institutionalized injustice; and more.
To start, get a glimpse below into the conversation between Harriet and Green Dreamer Podcast's host, Kamea Chayne.
Musical feature: Trust The Sun by Yarrow by Kim Anderson
“African Americans who earn $50k - $60k a year are much more likely to be exposed to environmental toxins than white Americans who earn over $10k per annum—profoundly poor white Americans have less exposure to environmental toxins than do African Americans.”
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This is a conversation on Green Dreamer with Kamea Chayne, a podcast and multimedia journal illuminating our paths towards ecological regeneration, intersectional sustainability, and true abundance and wellness for all. This preview has been edited for clarity. Subscribe to Green Dreamer Podcast on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or any podcast app to stay informed and updated on our latest episodes!
On the realities of de facto segregation and environmental racism:
"African Americans who earn $50k - $60k a year—making them middle class in most parts of the country—are much more likely to be exposed to environmental toxins than white Americans who earn over $10k per annum. Profoundly poor white Americans have less exposure to environmental toxins than do African Americans.
In our country's history, forcing African Americans to live in certain areas has really been the cause of this environmental racism. In fact, segregation has not ended. It has ended legally—the law struck down segregation in the 1960s. But that was de jure segregation; de facto segregation has not only continued, but it has escalated. It has actually gotten worse."
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