Cancer Alley in Mississippi

A Photo of Hazel Schexnayder at her home in St. Gabriel. Sourced from ProPublica.

The Cancer Alley is a 85 mile strip located along the Mississippi River containing Petroleum chemical plants. It stretches from New Orleans to Baton Rougue and perfectly demonstrates how environmental racism impacts communities of color. Hazel Schexnayder is a resident of Saint Gabriel, Louisiana and tells her story about living near the Cancer Alley. She explains that she witnessed plantations being turned into industrial plants, she described the air as smelling like rotten eggs and nail polish remover. In 1993 her and other residents fought to build sidewalks in the area and wanted to have the choice to decide where chemical plants were located. Within a 10 mile radius of her home there are 30 large petrochemical plants.

Factories off the coast of Louisiana, United States. Photographed by Robin Sommer. Sourced from United Nations.

These petrol factories are contributing to high risk of pollution in the air and water that disproportionalty affects African Americans. The article states "cancer risks in predominantly African American Districts in St James Parish could be at 104 and 105 cases per million, while those threats in predominantly white districts range from 60 to 75 per million" (United Nations, 2021). It is evident that air pollution poses great threat to these communities leading to more cancer cases. This is an example of eminent domain where the government targets low SES areas and neighborhoods because of their lack of financial or political power to demand change. 

A Photo of Reverend Emily Carroll advocating for the environment during sermons and at national climate rallies. Sourced from Everyday Health.

Luckily there are many groups who are advocating for change in Lousiana. Reverend Dr. Ambrose Carroll (pictured to the left) is head of the Louisiana chapter of Green The Church in which Cancer Alley is located. The church strives to create health and prosperity at the community level. A quote from Rev. Emily Carroll, so Green The Church "supports member churches in identifying how they can flex their shared political and people power to transform how our government acts on climate change, supports the green economy, and invests in resilient communities."