Environmental Racism and BPL’s new exhibition

Happy Spring! As we start to emerge from our winter hibernation we look forward to spending more time outside and participating in community events. We recently discovered “More or Less in Common” an exciting new exhibition at the Boston Public Library that explores environmental disparities across communities.
“The Father of Environmental Justice” Robert Bullard gave context and understanding around environmental racism, and he defines it in his book “The Threat of Environmental Racism” as “any policy, practice, or directive that differentially affects or disadvantages (whether intended or unintended) individuals, groups, or communities based on race or color.” Take a walk in your city or town, and notice what neighborhoods have better parks, playgrounds, and amenities. Then question why? PBS has an excellent interview with Bullard from March 2020 discussing environmental racism and civil rights in the United States, and is a great place to learn more about him and this topic. Boston Public Library’s latest exhibit “More or Less in Common: Environment and Justice in the Human Landscape” opened March 18th at the Central Library in Copley Square and will be up through December. This exhibit confronts stories of how environmental conditions (deliberate or not) have aided and abetted “inequalities along the lines of social division.” The exhibit offers data visualization, photographs, and maps to illustrate the stark contrast of well-functioning and beautiful environments versus poisonous and dangerous ones, and who are the people living in each. The exhibit can be enjoyed at the Public Library or from the comfort of home, and is designed to be used both ways. We are looking forward to seeing it in person, but for now we have linked below the digital exhibition.