Sheila D. Brown, Rockdale County, GA 

Over the course of the last 10 years I have lived in three states and the District of Columbia. 

During that time, I had the privilege of studying, working and developing professionally in 

communities largely populated by African-Americans and Latinos. 

I'll never forget the first day of my IL year at Texas Southern University, Thurgood Marshall 

School of Law. It was a sunny day in August of 2006 as I walked from my dorm apartment to the 

main campus bright and early on that morning. Everything seemed to be going perfectly, till 

suddenly an invisible cloud of toxins descended on the area and filled my lungs with the most 

putrid, all-invasive stench from seeming out of nowhere. 

I held my breath, covered my nose and mouth, and hurried my steps, but I just couldn't seem to 

escape that smell. What really bothered me though is that no one could tell me where the smell 

was coming from. That unfortunate event happened many times. 

Now I live in Georgia. But recently, I had a similar experience while shopping at a popular 

retailer in the area. As my son and I headed to the front of the store to pay for our items, we 

were distracted by one of the most grotesque odors we've ever smelt. The smell was so 

unbearable that I stopped a store manager to ask him where it was coming from and what he was 

trying to do about it. 

The store manager tried to calmly reassure me that everything was ok and that from time to time 

the smell came into the store due to a nearby power plant. Despite the heavy stench, everyone 

continued shopping and working like nothing happened. This reminded me of the experience I 

had in Houston and made me question why this type of occurrence keeps happening in areas I 

lived or frequented. Why didn't anyone else seem equally offended? Was there an environmental 

explanation behind the smell events in Houston and Conyers, or just coincidence? 

I discovered the work of a Dr. Robert Bullard, an expert on environmental issues. Dr. Bullard 

has a body of work that examines the environmental factors affecting African-American and 

other minority communities. 

In 1979, Dr. Bullard noticed that all the city dumps in Houston were located in and around 

neighborhoods inhabited primarily by African-Americans, despite the fact they only made up 

25% of Houston's population. 

Although that was decades ago, there is still evidence today of what Dr. Bullard coined, 

"environmental racism." He explains that on average, African-Americans emit about 20% of 

greenhouse gases, yet 68% of African-Americans live within 30 miles of coal-fired power plants. 

In comparison, 56% of whites and 39% of Latinos live in such proximity to coal-fired plant. 

The state of Georgia has a very pronounced history of racial inequity and environmental injustice 

towards blacks. In 2009, African-Americans made up 30.2% of Georgia's population. However 
two of the three proposed coal-fired power plants that sought permits in GA sought locations in 

predominately African-American counties. 

In fact, all three of the proposed coal-fired power plants located in Georgia cities with AfricanAmerican populations ranging from nearly 50% to 60%. African-American and poor 

communities are also being targeted by nuclear energy companies. The Shell Bluff community 

in Burke County, GA, has an African-American population of 51% and is the proposed site for 

new nuclear power plants that expect to produce I ,000 megawatts. 

Currently there is a heated battle ensuing in Lithonia, GA over a gasification plant. Lithonia 

consists of 80% African-Americans. The Board of Commissioners for DeKalb County voted to 

allow the gasification plant despite the angry protest of DeKalb County residents and community 

activist including the DeKalb County NAACP, Operation Lead, and Citizens for a Healthy and 

Safe Environment (CHASE), as well as, local churches and other civic groups. These groups 

express grave concerns about the potential exposure of toxic emissions from the facilities, truck 

traffic and diesel emissions. 

DeKalb County's decision to issue a special land use permit is not unchallenged. These groups 

have banned together to sue the county and seek an injunction on the gasification plant's 

construction. I hope African-American and other disadvantaged communities take note of what's 

happening and draw strength from the powerful activism occurring in DeKalb County and use 

these insights to protect their own communities. I urge the EPA to continue to work to eradicate 

environmental racism and injustice and study the impact it has on African-American, Hispanic 

and disadvantaged communities.