Description
Book SynopsisOver the years, environmental racism has become the rallying cry for many communities as they discover the contaminations of toxic chemicals and industrial waste in their own backyards. This book shows that even in the post-civil rights era, race and class are key factors in determining the politics of pollution.
Trade Review"Melissa Checker's absorbing story is a portrait of America. Polluted Promises showcases the complex links between toxic waste and race, and the hope-filled journeys of environmental activists who are wise, strong, and spiritual in their fight against toxic waste-and for their lives. Checker is doing public anthropology for social justice." -Carol Stack,author of All Our Kin "A very rich, organized, and theoretically interesting ethnographic case study of environmental activism. Checker beautifully recounts how the issues of race emerged and were manipulated in social organizing against environmental poisoning." -George E. Marcus,author of Ethnography through Thick and Thin "Polluted Promises is a substantial accomplishment. It grounds the notion of environmental justice wonderfully in practical terms, in the theoretically sophisticated and empathetic examination of Hyde Park." -Adolph Reed, Jr.,author of Class Notes: Posing As Politics and Other Thoughts on the American Scene "In this highly readable account ... Checker has written a fine book. Assigned to students interested in urbanism, science and technology studies, race relations in the United States, environment, or social movements, the book is sure to spark thoughtful conversation." -American Anthropologist "I hope that (this book) doesn't get pidgeonholed as a dry, academic treatise, because it is anything but that. It is a wonderfully written account of the struggles by the residents of Hyde Park, a neighborhood in Augusta, Georgia, to undo decades of...environmental racism." -In Brief
Table of ContentsAcknowledgments OneYou Can Run, but You Can't Hyde TwoRace-ing the Environment ThreeOld HeadsIn between the Tracks FourStrange Fruit From Promised Land to Poisoned Land FiveFoot Soldiers Long Is the Struggle, Hard Is the Fight SixStaying on Board Crossing Murky Waters SevenNo Progress without Struggle Appendix A: Methods Appendix B: Getting Involved Notes Bibliography Index About the Author
