Here’s how we can honor his environmental justice legacy

photo courtesy of the library of congress

Our team at Potomac Conservancy honors the legacy of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. by hosting an annual volunteer day of service on the shores of the Potomac River. We were thrilled to continue this tradition in 2022 after a two-year reluctance break due to the pandemic.

But service is just one way to honor what Dr. King stood for. We can also take time out of our busy schedules to learn, reflect, and discuss the racial inequities and injustices still plaguing the environmental movement.

While Dr. King is best known for his role in monumental movements like the Montgomery Bus Boycott, and his “I Have a Dream” speech during the March on Washington, he and the entire Civil Rights movement were also deeply related to the modern environmental justice movement.

Scroll down to discover 4 surprising facts about Dr. King’s connection to environmental justice.

1. One of MLK’s last acts was fighting for environmental justice

sanitation strike in memphis, tn. photo courtesy of recuerdos de pandora via flickr.

After the Civil Rights Act was passed in 1964, King traveled to Memphis, Tennessee, to join black sanitation workers in protesting polluted and hazardous work conditions. Environmental justice was a growing topic of concern as people of color suffered extensively from an overburden of toxic substances in their communities, and, according to former Attorney General Eric Holder, were often hired to do “the dirtiest, most dangerous work.”

It was during this special visit to Memphis that King was assassinated in 1968. The strike continued after his death with a march through Memphis that was attended by 42,000 people, including Coretta Scott King. The strike ultimately succeeded and became one of the first fights against environmental racism.

2. King paved the way for “our nation’s now-thriving environmental justice movement”

march on washington. photo courtesy of the us national archives

During a speech in 2011, Attorney General Eric Holder praised King for paving the way for “our nation’s now-thriving environmental justice movement.”

Today’s environmental justice movement has certainly taken inspiration from the Civil Rights movement of the 1960s. Since the 70s, environmental justice advocates have used tactics such as lawsuits and peaceful protests to secure their goals, much like their counterparts in the 60s.

Holder added that today, “we are approaching environmental justice as what it is- a civil rights issue. By examining environmental requirements in conjunction with our civil rights laws, I am confident that we can do a better job of assuring fairness and advancing justice.”

3. MLK said that segregation is harmful to everyone involved. Pollution studies prove he’s right.

Flint, MI water protestors. photo courtesy of Petra Daher of PRI.

Studies show that many racially-divided US cities experience disproportionately higher levels of pollution than less segregated communities. In these communities, the level of pollution affecting the minority population is so high that it bleeds over into the white population. Although white residents are “better off” than their neighbors of color in these segregated communities, they are still worse off compared to their white counterparts in integrated communities.

According to the New York Times, “studies have found this relationship between segregation and air pollution, water pollution and even noise pollution.” Similarly, studies show that "unequal societies invest less in environmental policies, monitoring and research,” allowing these issues to perpetuate.

This form of environmental racism – in which minority communities are statistically more likely to live nearby polluted sites and as a result be at a greater risk for asthma, heart disease, and other conditions – is a key target of the environmental justice movement. Environmental justice advocates seek to organize and advocate for minority communities who are taken advantage of by majority communities and governments.

4. MLK Day is the only federal holiday observed as a national day of service

photo courtesy of Ron cogswell via flickr

The legislation to make Dr. King’s birthday a federal holiday was officially passed in Congress in 1983. Nearly a decade later, Congress voted to further the impact of MLK Day by designating it as a “day on, not a day off.” Since then, the 3rd Monday of every January has served to remind the nation of a heroic leader who dedicated his life to fighting for the greater good of the community.