For more information on my section of the zine, visit the "Persuasive Writing" page here
Our theme for our social justice topic was that, because of environmental issues affecting so many different parts of our ecosystem, the Earth is falling, “Out of Orbit”. We liked this idea because it showed that something was off balance to lead the world to stumble and tip. This is perfect because the natural world requires balance of all species working together to maintain sustainability; humans are pushing the scale. Here is an excerpt from our introduction:
“The Earth is Falling OUT OF ORBIT
Humanity has stolen the Earth. Once a thriving world, the massive imbalance of power that our species has over nature is proving fatal. Those who hold the majority of this power use it for their own gain, forgetting that everything and everyone on this planet plays a part in maintaining a balanced ecosystem. The scale has tipped and we now watch as the environment burns all around us. when our big blue home ceases to provide for us, animals and humans alike will be forced to see the consequences.
There are five of us: Nicholas Rodriguez Izadora Lopez McGawley Carla Gutierrez Thalia Peralta Adrian Perez Herrera
Each of us has chosen a different topic that exposes our failed mission to take care of the Earth.” Our advocacy mainly stayed within the art community that was there at our zine fest and our families. I think that during our exhibition, we were able to have lots of thought provoking conversations with guests. One of my conversations lasted over an hour! The guest said that he had never heard about my topic and was looking forward to reading more about it in our zine. As I mentioned previously, I chose my topic because I had heard about it, but knew little about it. It was amazing to be able to research and develop my thesis because by the end, I felt like I understood so many aspects of the issue. I have been through the counter arguments, read the long studies, collected the data, and shared my knowledge with my community.
Research and Social Advocate Interview
My social advocate, Esperanza Gonzales
The research was very heavy, but I stayed persistent and was able to read articles that were longer than I thought I would be able to comprehend. I was amazed in how much I learned was out there to learn about! One of the things that I really enjoyed reading was an analysis done by author James Vanderslice, Ph.D, of the American Journal of Public Health. He broke down why water quality in communities of color ends up so poor. It was more than my previous explanation: Racism. He actually went through the process by which water goes through to be available in a community and how each of these were facing challenges from lack of funding and oversight from our government. Racism was a part of it, but by reading further I learned just how the systems were playing out.
Another thing that really helped shape my perspective was a study done between 1965 and 1995 where researchers discovered, “a consistent pattern over a 30-year period of placing hazardous waste facilities in neighborhoods where poor people and people of color live.” As put by the University of Michigan, the study concluded that “Racial discrimination in zoning and the housing market, along with siting decisions based on following the path of least resistance, may best explain present-day inequities.” I really liked the way that they put this. The phrase, “the path of least resistance” said a lot about how the issue continues today. Once again, this shows how environmental racism is weaved together with another issue: lack of representation of people of color in government. People of color in the United States often do not have the political or financial means of overpowering the corporations that hope to build toxic facilities near their homes. I definitely see this as perspective shaping because I now understand the root of the social injustices that I before understood only generally speaking.
My social advocate interview gave me another perspective on Environmental Racism because it allowed me to understand what some of the activist work having to do with the topic looks like on a day to day basis.
My production group. From left to right: Jamar, Beto, Nayeli, Me (Iza), Javi, and Sabrina
I am really proud of the effort we put in to fundraising. Even though I think we could have raised more money or put more time into sharing our donation site, it was a great first experience for raising money for an event. This will be very useful because I will definitely be organizing events in the future such as rallies, marches, etc. and these often take money. I will most likely be organizing them under a non-profit organization meaning that in order to get financial resources, we will need to get donations, have fundraisers, and get donors. I think that in the end, our zine fest was a big hit with everyone who came, I hope that in the future I can replicate that with my own events.