Abstract
Dusty, toxic “cement monsters”⎯cement plants⎯have plagued Black communities in the United States for decades. Spewing air pollutants while contributing to greenhouse gas (“GHG”) emissions, cement plants cause detrimental long-term health and environmental effects, making it impossible for Black communities to breathe. In the face of the global climate crisis, Black communities are demanding a radical shift. This Article explores the impacts of cement production on Black communities, barriers to change, and potential avenues for change. First, it provides an overview of the process of cement production in cement plants, highlighting how pollution is produced and the specific pollutants of concern. Next, it explores a plethora of evidence of the detrimental long- and short- term health impacts of cement plants, as well as the impacts this pollution has on socioeconomic outcomes and overall community well-being. It discusses the disproportionate impact of these effects on Black communities, as well as the disproportionate exposure to this pollution that Black communities face with a focus on how these effects impact specific subsets of the population including children, who are the future of any community. Then, it identifies barriers to justice and potential paths forward. Using Overtown, a historically Black community in Miami, as a case study, this Article explores personal narratives and advocacy strategies to highlight and address the issue of community exposure to cement plant pollution. It argues that transformative, aggressive policy action, along with a power shift, is required to create healthy and thriving communities and correct historical harms. As a path forward, this Article explores ways that communities can create liberating policy campaigns rooted in equity and community voice.
Recommended Citation
Fleming, Abigail and Kamvisseli Suarez, Photini
(2024)
"When Justice Destroys Cement
Monsters,"
University of Memphis Law Review: Vol. 54:
Iss.
4, Article 2.
Available at:
https://digitalcommons.memphis.edu/um-law-review/vol54/iss4/2