Section 3 – Affected Communities, Activism, and Agency

This section’s activities explore the impact of environmental harm on communities and the ways in which people, as biological citizens, community activists, and environmental justice frontline workers, have responded. It invites examination of the disproportional impacts of toxic materials on people who are otherwise marginalized, vulnerable, or disadvantaged. The focus on toxic heritage in community contexts invites inquiry in how people may resist or become habituated to risks that are unavoidable, as well as peoples’ efforts for their communities in the face of systemic and structural forces by using  a tool for self-determination and advocacy.