Camden, New Jersey, June 19, 2001 (EJRC) - Just two month ago, a handful of residents from Camden, New Jersey won a major environmental justice court victory. In a precedent setting decision, Federal District Judge Stephen Orlofsky blocked the opening of a $60 million Montreal-based St. Lawrence Cement Co. plant in the South Camden Waterfront neighborhood. The ruling resulted from a February 14 lawsuit filed by Camden Regional Legal Service Inc. on behalf of ten members of the South Camden Citizens in Action. The waterfront neighborhood is home to 2,100 residents of which over 91 percent are people of color. The cement plant would add about 60 tons of dust into the air each year in one of the nation's poorest neighborhoods. The median income of the residents is just $15,000. The plant would add about 77,000 truck deliveries. More trucks translate into more diesel fumes and ground level ozone. All of this is proposed for a neighborhood where a 1997 health study found that 61 percent of the residents have respiratory problems. "Asthma is a big problem. Every other house either has someone on an inhaler or some type of breathing machine," said Bonnie Sanders, one of the ten Camden citizen plaintiffs in the lawsuit against the St. Lawrence Cement Co.The South Camden Waterfront neighborhood, located north of the Walt Whitman Bridge, is saturated with polluting industries, including the Camden County trash-to-steam incinerator, a regional sewage treatment plant, two federal Superfund sites, and more than a dozen toxic waste sites. One of the Superfund sites is contaminated with radioactive thorium. The St. Lawrence Cement Co. plant is projected to employ about 15 people, including a half dozen from Camden. "What is six or seven jobs compared to our health. It just doesn't add up. If it's such a great economic prize, then why didn't they put it in the mostly white and affluent Cherry Hill," stated Pauline Woods, another plaintiff in the lawsuit. To get an on-the-ground perspective of the grassroots struggle waged by the South Camden Citizens in Action, an in-depth interview was conducted with South Camden activist Phyllis Homes. The interview was conducted on May 29, 2001.

Q. First of all, could you give me your full name?
Holmes: My name is Phyllis Holmes. I live on Viola Street in Camden, New Jersey.

Q. How long have you lived in Camden?
Holmes: I bought my house in South Camden in 1984. As a matter of fact, I was the first black family to move into the neighborhood.

Q. What was the neighborhood like when you first moved in?
Holmes: This neighborhood has always been filled with nice people. I have always had friendly neighbors. I've had wonderful neighbors.

Q. What changes have you seen in your neighborhood since you first moved in?
Holmes: I've seen the neighborhood change. As I told you, at one point I was the only black in the neighborhood. Gradually, the complexion of the neighborhood changed from mostly white to mostly blacks and Hispanics. However, the most dramatics changes were environmental changes. Over the past three decades, I have seen my neighborhood turn into a toxic wasteland. I became aware several years ago about the environment. I noticed the children. I've been concerned about how the children have gone from one or two children having respiratory problems to what seems like the entire community. We are sandwiched between all kinds of polluting industries that have to be bad for our health. These industries sure don't make us breathe any easier. That's for sure. I noticed these breathing problems long before any health studies were done. I noticed that children were coming home with inhalers and other devices to aid in their breathing. That's not right. These polluting industries are choking us.

Q. How many children do you have?
Holmes: I have two boys. They grew up in this neighborhood. There were certain things that I noticed that started happening. They started wheezing and having respiratory problems. I started having respiratory problems. It wasn't until I started really noticing that something was wrong here. Why are we having all these respiratory problems? It has to be related to what's in our neighborhood.

Q. What do you think is the problem?
Holmes: I am not a scientist. The health problem so many of our residents is having must be linked to all of the nasty industries that are so close to us. We simply have too many environmental toxins here. We are saturated with polluting industries. My neighborhood is already home to the region's largest trash incinerator, a power plant, the gigantic Camden County sewage treatment plant, two superfund sites, and host of plating firms, salvage yards, and recycling firms. The superfund site up the street is contaminated with radioactive waste. I say, is this anything anyone would want as a neighbor?

Q. How do feel about all of these industries concentrated in your neighborhood?
Holmes: I don't like it a bit. All of these industries are located in a small area, maybe 20 some odd blocks in each direction. Imagine the shock to find out that in your neighborhood where you've lived and raised your children, and you consider the things that were happening to them that you couldn't put your finger on. I noticed that my youngest would get nose bleeds. You didn't think that the nose bleeds or that the congestion that they were getting was coming from anything in the environment.

Q. You mentioned all the industries that are already in your neighborhood. What made you want to fight the St. Lawrence Cement slag plant?
Holmes: My community is already overburdened with pollution. The St. Lawrence Cement plant would emit an additional 60,000 tons of air pollution each year. We don't need any more pollution. My mother and father are 83 years old. They are seniors. They've paid their dues. Why should they have to worry about coming out breathing the air and ingesting something that could make them sick or even kill them. We also have to think about the children. I have four grandchildren who I love very much. They don't visit me as often as they used to. I feel bad about that. I'm fighting this cement plant for the children and for the senior citizens.

Q. Do you think race has anything to do with the way this neighborhood has been treated?
Holmes: It's all about race. This is environmental racism in its purest form. We have a toxic overload and race played a major part in creating this environmental nightmare.

Q. Do you consider what is happening in your community a form of discrimination?
Holmes: Yes, I do. We are a predominately black and Hispanic neighborhood. And of course I know that they have not put it in white neighborhoods. They tried and it wasn't accepted. If these facilities were so great for economic prosperity, then why did they give us more than our fair share? The truth is that these polluting industries destroy neighborhoods.

Q. What kinds of support has your organization gotten from the larger community?
Holmes: More people are starting to support us now, because they are getting a better understanding of what it is we are discussing and fighting for. They are coming to understand that we are fighting for our very lives and the health of our community.

Q. What is the name of your group and how did you form?
Holmes: We are the South Camden Citizens in Action. Our group was formed by some very courageous residents who care about the community, the people that live here, and their families.

Q. Do you consider yourself an environmentalist?
Holmes: Yes, I do. I say that especially because of this environmental crusade. I do believe that we need clean air and clean water. We need to preserve our water and our air. One day we are going to over pollute and will have no clean air, no clean water, no wildlife, no community.

Q. Some people say the St. Lawrence Cement plant will bring needed jobs to the community. What is your response to that?
Holmes: Why would you need a job if you are dead? If you're ingesting pollution from the environment that is making you sick, making you weak, what good would a job do? Your parents won't survive. The children won't grow. Nothing will grow. What's more important, a few jobs or your health? We should be able to have jobs, health, and a clean environment.

Q. Are you saying that you are not willing to trade off your health for jobs.
Holmes: That's right. I am not willing to trade my health for jobs. It's not just your health, it's your very life. You need to understand that it's your life, not just your health and the lives of your children, grandchildren, your parents and grandparents. And if you love them and you care, you will give up your life in another way, which is to fight and struggle to not have another toxic plant located here.

Q. The South Camden Citizens in Action is small and doesn't have a lot of money. What makes you think that you can challenge this big corporation.
Holmes: I believe that Jesus had twelve disciples and they were small and they did a mighty thing. You don't have to be big all the time. Just be true to what you believe and if you are going to give up your life, give up your life for the truth of living, not for dying, but for living.

Q. What makes you keep fighting?
Holmes: We are fighting to save our homes, families, and community. I believe the current struggle has made us stronger. I believe in these few people. I believe in the attorneys that we have fighting with us.

Q. Why did you choose to file a lawsuit?
Holmes: We had no other choice. Our backs were against the wall. We can't take any more polluting industries. We already have too much. Our community was totally disrespected. I went into this lawsuit for the sake of the community. Somebody had to take a stand and say "no more pollution."

Q. How did you go about finding a lawyer?
Holmes: We were introduced to Ms. Olga Pomar (Camden Regional Legal Services Inc.). She is a fine lawyer. She is a struggler and fighter. I'll give her all of her kudos. She's been up against it. She really fights for what she believes in.

Q. How would you describe your struggle and lawsuit?
Holmes: Our struggle is a just cause and morally right. We filed the lawsuit because our constitutional rights were being violated. We have rights that were not protected. We have been dumped on time and time again because we are mostly people of color. This is discrimination. Discrimination is illegal. It's that simple.

Q. What was your first reaction when you heard that Federal District Judge Stephen Orlofsky's granted a temporary injunction blocking the St. Lawrence plant from opening?
Holmes: My first reaction was, "Thank you Lord." Everybody has been praying. We went on a lot of faith here. I know that we are small and that we are going up against a big corporation. Nobody is confused about this at all. But you can't give up the struggle just because the job is big. You have to keep fighting. That's what they did in the old days. They fought. They had no guarantee that they were going to win the vote and all the civil rights that were won throughout the years. No one gave us anything. You've got to fight. You got to be willing to struggle. If you just give up you're never going to win. If you think you can't win, then you won't win.

Q. Is the struggle in Camden a civil rights struggle?
Holmes: Yes, I believe so. We are people and we have the right to breathe clean air and drink clean water. No one should be allowed to just come into our community where we live and raise our children and dump poison on us. Why do we have to accept this? We've paid our dues. We pay our taxes. St. Lawrence knows that some of us have been in this community for over 30 years and they have been here, maybe a year. So, what dues did the company pay? What did they offer the community when they came in here? We don't have a community center down here. Did they offer us a community center? Not to say that this would buy us off, but they came in here demanding water and air to pollute and then they'll go to their homes. They don't live down here. They don't care.

Q. I noticed that there is a park that is in close proximity to a number of the polluting facilities. Do you have concerns about children playing at this park?
Holmes: The children that live down here don't go to that park. They don't play there. There is sewage treatment plant nearby. You can stand on the playground and see the St. Lawrence Cement plant and smell the sewage treatment plant. I took my granddaughter to the park years ago. She is seven now. You know what she told me? She told me, "No Nanna, it don't smell right." The children won't go down to the park to play there. Yet, there is an elementary school nearby. The children are taken there on a daily basis. Everything is combined here. We are getting the smell, air pollution, and dust. Our children deserve more.

Q. What about the truck traffic that would be created by the plant?
Holmes: We are definitely concerned about the 77,000 trucks that would be visiting the St. Lawrence Cement plant each year. The trucks would add deadly diesel fumes to our already polluted air. These diesel fumes would pose a threat to our kids who play outside. They are also going to ingest the tons of particles coming from the St. Lawrence Cement factory and all of this is going to make them sick, very sick. And of course, there is also the danger of the children and adults being hit by these trucks.

Q. I noticed that even without the St. Lawrence Cement plant that there are quite a few trucks coming thru your neighborhood?
Holmes: We have problems with trucks not taking the truck routes and cutting through our community. Sometimes when the truck routes back up, many truckers plow through our residential streets. All you need to do is stand on 4th Street and you can see the trucks. We have to put up with the noise, traffic, congestion, and pollution created by these trucks and industries. It's just not safe. It's not right.

Q. What was your reaction when you heard the U.S. Supreme Court decided the Alexander v. Sandoval case in Alabama (a ruling that limits Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 to willful and purposeful discrimination) four days after your court victory?
Holmes: I was very concerned. I was a little despondent at first, but you don't stay in that type of feeling. You persevere. You pray. Once again, onward, upward, forward. You can't stay in self-pity. You have to pursue what you're going for. We are right in our cause and no court can take that away from us. No court can convince us that a company has a right to poison our children. You have to be vigilant, and it's not always easy. I hope that a lot of people will wake up and see just how important this is.

Q. You didn't give up and your attorney stayed the course. What was your reaction when you got your most recent decision from Judge Orlofsky that allowed your group to move forward with your case under federal civil rights statue 42 USC Section 1983?
Holmes: I was very happy about this court victory. Some people said our issue was dead and buried after the U.S. Supreme Court decision. But we are still very alive and kicking. We never gave up. With all of the barriers that we've had, I have to keep giving our lawyers their kudos here and there, because I don't want them to think that they are being left out. They are doing a magnificent job. We kept the faith.

Q. What lessons can others learn from the work of the South Camden Citizens in Action?
Holmes: If you believe in something, keep struggling no matter what. I believe that there are people, myself included, that believe in this so strong that they are willing to give their life. It's a matter of life or death. You must be willing to give up your life for the life of your children and grandchildren. Don't give up. Keep up the struggle. That's how you win, not giving in, perseverance. You wear them down and eventually you wear them out. That's the way it's always been.

Q. What would you like to see African Americans and African American organizations do to assist you in your struggle and similar struggles around the country?
Holmes: Our African American organizations and leaders have to speak out and speak up. We need them to join and participate in our struggle for environmental justice. Environmental racism is killing us. We need more Martins, Malcolms, and Mandelas. We can do a lot, but we can't do it alone. But the multitudes can do it. Together as a collective, we can move mountains.

Q. Is there anything else that you'd like to add, any words of inspiration?
Holmes: If you believe in something, you should believe in it so strongly that you would be willing to lay down your life, not give up your life. And I would be willing to lay down mine, not give it up. You have to persevere as hard as you can. Let people know that you are not going to give up, that you are going to be there at every turn. That's the best advice I can give anybody. That's the advice that I go by everyday.

 

SOUTH CAMDEN WATERFRONT NEIGHBORHOOD UP CLOSE AND PERSONAL (Photo Essay)