As the world celebrates the life of Rosa Parks, students at The University of Memphis can look closer to home for another soldier in the battle against racism, Assistant Anthropology Professor Melissa Checker.
Checker's book "Polluted Promises" chronicles the battle a small Augusta, Ga., neighborhood waged against chemical company giants that allegedly polluted their area and caused cancer and skin diseases in the adults and asthma, allergies and learning disabilities in the children.
Located just 23 miles west of Atlanta, Hyde Park residents discovered a local factory had been leaking toxic chemicals into their environment, according to the Hyde Park and Aragon Park Improvement Committee Web site, hapic.org. The soil of the community, which did not have running water or proper sewage until 1970, was soon studied by the Environmental Protection Agency. The EPA discovered the diseases residents suffered were directly linked to the chemicals being emitted by eight area factories.
"For over 10 years, the residents of Hyde Park have struggled to save themselves from toxic chemicals that are poisoning their water, soil and air," according to the hapic.org Web site.
In her book, Checker tells the story of how the low-income, minority neighborhoods of Hyde and Aragon Park have suffered, fought and endured the environmental racism plaguing the area.
Checker said she always thought the environment was just about wildlife and saving trees. She has since learned it is also an urban, racial issue.
"I learned (from my research experience) how it's possible for one neighborhood to be surrounded by polluting industries despite the fact they have been fighting them for so long," she said.
Checker added she also discovered about the perseverance and activism that can exist in low-income, minority neighborhoods.
One of the chemical companies, which believes her accusations are unfounded, threatened Checker with a libel suit. To be certain her book was not biased, Checker revised her manuscript to make sure it was well-balanced prior to its September 2005 release. Since then, she has received a "pretty good response" from her readers.
"It's hard to gauge, but people seem interested in the issue, which is good," Checker said.
The response of her department's chair, Ruthbeth Finerman, is pretty good too.
"We are extremely proud of Melissa," Finerman said. "Her work benefits the whole department as well as the whole community."
Checker spent 18 months in the area to conduct her research and became active in the community. She has assisted the local activists with grant writing, which earned the area almost $400,000 for clean-up and additional testing from the EPA. Her work with the HAPIC continues today.
Checker also became active locally with the Memphis Defense Depot clean-up three years ago. Although she would like to see more progress with both projects, she wants readers to know that every little bit helps.
"People should be aware of environmental racism because it affects all people, and it's happening in Memphis," she said.
Involvement in the community is something The U of M anthropology department promotes and is nationally recognized as the model for what is called engaged or applied anthropology, Finerman said.
"Our mission is to work with the community to improve the quality of life," she said.
One of Checker's colleagues, Stan Hyland, said he hasn't read the book yet, but it's a very positive step in the larger collaborative work universities perform in association with community-based agencies, whether combating predatory lending or environmental racism.
"People should not be afraid to get involved and work for issues they believe in," Checker said.
"Polluted Promises: Environmental Racism And The Search For Justice In A Southern Town" is available at Burke's Book Store and online at amazon.com.
