I remember as a child hearing Chevron’s siren every first Wednesday of the month, all I knew back then was that if I heard it on any other given day besides Wednesday it meant that I had to shut all the windows and doors. If you live in Richmond or anywhere near the refinery you know what I am talking about. This siren till haunts me to this day, and every time I hear it I feel the same way, fearful. Growing up I never really knew the meaning of environmental racism, matter a fact I was just introduced to it not too long ago. Why the secret? The term environmental racism can explain the presence of the famous Richmond refinery, Chevron. So what is environmental racism? It’s basically when a corporation targets low-income communities to establish its waste dumps because of the lack of economy and law regulations it can get away with corruption way easier.

            However, there are communities standing up to big oil corporations and other corporations a like, such as the famous Zapatistas. Some Richmond residents, and even the Mayor of Richmond have taken a stand, showing people that our hope for change is still alive. I actually became so fired up and decided to take measures in my own hands. I went door knocking to spread the knowledge of the pollution being released, and was flabbergasted when community members living in Richmond for years asked me what the siren meant! It’s ironic how youth, adults, and seniors are not exposed to their own reality, ironic? Or just another way of hiding the truth, so people like myself won’t stand up.  I think twice before jumping into the ocean near Chevron, but as a child I have memories of jumping into the ocean and looking straight across into the refinery. Having no idea of what it meant to live next to a refinery, and the pollution my 9-year-old body was being exposed to.

Not to mention the explosions who sent mothers, children and man to the hospital due to chemical exposure. For every negative there is a positive and I cannot deny the jobs, donations and opportunities Chevron as contribute to my community. But then again the same questions arise, is oil worth being in war? Do innocent lives have to suffer for the wealth of a hand full? Do we have any alternatives? And yes, I believe we do and electric cars are one. Children in Richmond are reported to have asthma at twice the rate than anywhere else in the county, surprised? In this point of my life I have no health care, I am labeled to the government as a low-income person of color. My social environment is the perfect location for environmental racism to occur. Listening to the siren every first Wednesday of the month reminds me of the inequality low-income communities have to go through and the everyday fear implemented in us. Next time you listen to the siren, remember that its not just sound waves colliding with your ear drums but the sound of your health being at risk of an explosion or an oil spill.