LEH Currents Presents "Iron Sharpens Iron" with Dr. Angela Allen-Bell & Dr. Alex Kolker
Channel: Archives NOLAlibrary
Date: 2023-10-27

LEH and the City Archives present a film about a Plaquemines community's fight to save itself, followed by a discussion led by the project's advisory scholars Dr. Angela Allen-Bell & Dr. Alex Kolker. The discussion begins at 30 minutes--please see the chapter selection. You may watch the film without an overlay here: https://youtu.be/CU7QkwP1JlI?si=GHOeZp2Ute_ET3js

A film by director John RIchie, "Iron Sharpens Iron" is the story of the historically Black community of Ironton in Plaquemines Parish, which has found itself at the forefront of both coastal change and recent efforts to address it. This film captures this community’s fight against the development of the Plaquemines Liquids Terminal (PLT) atop land that includes their ancestral cemetery.

The two consulting producers on this film are Angela A. Allen-Bell, a B. K. Agnihotri Endowed Professor at Southern University Law Center, and coastal scientist Dr. Alex Kolker. Following the film, they lead a discussion on the impacts that coastal and minority communities experience at the hands of fossil fuel corporations in southern Louisiana.

Additional information and resources from our presenters can be found here: 

-Tulane's Environmental Law Clinic:
Environmental Law Clinic | Tulane Law School https://law.tulane.edu/clinics/environmental
 
-The Descendants Project:
Black Residents Living in 'Cancer Alley' Say They're Being 'Poisoned' (businessinsider.com)
https://www.businessinsider.com/cancer-alley-louisiana-epa-environmental-racism-pollution-2023-7

-Response from the UN:
Environmental racism in Louisiana’s ‘Cancer Alley’, must end, say UN human rights experts | UN News https://news.un.org/en/story/2021/03/1086172

-Recent Legal Efforts:
Black Residents of Louisiana File Landmark Lawsuit | Human Rights Watch (hrw.org) https://www.hrw.org/news/2023/03/23/black-residents-louisiana-file-landmark-lawsuit

-Rise St. James:
Rise St. James (risestjames.org) https://risestjames.org/

This program is made possible through an LEH grant and the help of the Friends of the New Orleans Public Library.

The views, findings, conclusions, or recommendations expressed in this program do not necessarily represent those of either the City Archives & Special Collections, New Orleans Public Library, the City of New Orleans, Louisiana Endowment for the Humanities, of the Friends of New Orleans Public Library. This video has been edited for length and clarity without removing relevant content.