July 2009 Issue:

Newspaper of the San Francisco Bay Chapter

Something is working in Richmond

Richmond, with an incredibly diverse community, 32 miles of Bay shoreline (more than any other city, even San Francisco), and the second-largest oil refinery in California, is a city of persistent problems, grand opportunities, and a history of struggle.

Richmond is sometimes known for its crime, especially violent crime (although we have significantly reduced our overall crime last year, including a 40% reduction in homicides), but we must not forget the "silent violence" that attacks our population through pollutants in our air, water, and land. This environmental degradation and its impacts are among the root causes of our violent crime. The "invisible assault" of pollution has spurred epidemic levels of asthma and cancer. In terms of public health, of self-esteem, and of neighborhood pride, living in the shadow of polluting industries presents major challenges to carving out better lives, and Richmond knows these challenges all too well.

Decades of industrial pollution have wrought massive environmental injustice on Richmond. Heavy industries have come and gone, leaving an enormous toxic legacy. Those that remain continue spouting toxic pollutants. Chevron's 100-year-old refinery has given Richmond a reputation as a "refinery town". This multi-billion-dollar multinational corporation spews its toxins beside neighborhoods where a large proportion of our population, mostly people of color, struggles to make ends meet.

Pollution from all these industries, along with diesel fumes from train, port, and truck traffic throughout our city, has indeed taken a toll on our community.

Something, however, is working in Richmond. This was emphatically demonstrated in 2008, an historic year for the people of Richmond.

While Chevron bamboozled a majority of the City Council into approving an expansion of its refinery, the resistance was phenomenal and unprecedented. Our local environmental-justice community made it clear that we would not sit on the sidelines while decisions got made for us about our air quality and public health. As we called for a limit on the type of crude oil Chevron refines, protesting the use of heavier and more-polluting crudes, "cap the crude" became a catch-phrase for Richmond residents. While Chevron pushed its interests, community groups including the Richmond Alliance for Environmental Justice, Communities for a Better Environment, West County Toxics Coalition, and the Asian Pacific Environmental Network pushed back, insisting on strict and verifiable regulations for the refinery. The City Council majority made the wrong decision this time, but the community mobilization is far from over.

The community knows it has raised the issue of justice for Richmond to a new level of consciousness. We have turned a corner, a great corner, for Richmond and there is no reversing this course. A healthier Richmond most definitely remains the expectation of our communities.

In conjunction with this expectation, the people of Richmond are clear that correcting environmental injustice requires correcting economic injustice as well. In November's elections, through a hard-working citizen-initiated grassroots campaign, we passed the momentous Measure T, a tax on large manufacturers, predominantly affecting Chevron. Measure T will bring the city millions of dollars of new revenue annually for services, programs, and better opportunities for our youth - to build a pathway to recovery from decades of damage.

Though the funds are needed now, Chevron has sued to block Measure T and deprive the people of Richmond of our fair share of taxes. The city's legal team, however, is certain that T will be upheld. We expected this legal challenge because Richmond's giants of industry have repeatedly tried to shirk their tax responsibilities, but we expect large taxpayers to pay their taxes just as working families pay theirs.

While we continue to fight such injustices, Richmonders also take pride in our strengths and accomplishments.

We are working hard to preserve our beautiful north shoreline with some of the last intact marshlands along the Bay. We are renovating our parks and creating smart growth development inland with affordable housing.

We are updating our General Plan to emphasize health, sustainability, climate change, smart growth, and equitable development. The progressive community is watching every project proposal that comes forward to make sure that it advances a sustainable vision of our community.

We have attracted many outstanding green businesses that have shown that being green is not only the right thing to do to save the environment, but that it can be profitable as well. Our local green businesses are transforming Richmond from heavy-industry domination towards being a city of new, clean industries.

Most importantly, the vision for a sustainable Richmond goes hand in hand with sustainable lives for our residents. Our nationally known green-job training program, is advancing our residents into new job opportunities. Our youth, especially those from challenged backgrounds, are being trained in green job skills such as solar installation. Not only our planet, but all its inhabitants, need care and attention.

Due to the efforts of grassroots volunteers and advocates for the Bay Trail, our unique Richmond Greenway (a pedestrian-and-bike path traversing the city), community gardens, and local food-coalition efforts make Richmonders healthier by the day.

Something is working in Richmond.

Through collective efforts we are bringing health, prosperity, and well-being to Richmond. We are confronting oil refineries! We are empowering each other and lighting the way to a better Richmond.

In a changing world, Richmond is demonstrating how to transform the urban experience with unified efforts. There is a burning desire in Richmond for a better city - and a clear understanding that this will come only from ongoing struggle. Our local environmental-justice movement has shown great leadership. The more we organize, the more we push the envelope, the more we demand respect for ourselves and our environment - the more possibilities for a better Richmond unfold. We are presenting a fresh understanding of what we, the people of Richmond, are all about. We are saying loud and clear: we are about struggle and we are about endurance.

Something is working in Richmond.

Gayle McLaughlin, mayor of Richmond; and Jovanka Beckles, Richmond planning commissioner and candidate for Richmond City Council in 2010. The Sierra Club has worked closely with Mayor McLaughlin and Commissioner Beckles on a range of issues. [emphasis added]

© 2009 San Francisco Sierra Club Yodeler