Elodia M. Blanco, an environmental justice advocate on the Gulf Coast, tells us about moving to a black neighbourhood in New Orleans around 30 years ago, built on top of a landfill, and its many deadly consequences – and how that turned her into a fighter for environmental justice. Elodia fought for more than 20 years for rights and reparations for her community, who did not know their houses were built on the toxic dumping ground for Hurricane Betsy. She became the President of Concerned Citizens of Agriculture Street Landfill, and after years of struggle, offline lobbying and advocating for justice, some results from their class action lawsuit have been coming out recently. She strongly recommends people to never forget to ask questions when moving into a new place, because if people do not ask them, they are not going to be told willingly. Photo credit: Thom Scott/The Times-Picayune
