Racial Identity, Environmental Identity, and Environmental and Ecological Justice Evaluations among Black College Students

• In Event: 254 - Section on Environment and Technology Roundtables (one-hour)
  In Refereed Roundtable: Table 14. Environmental Justice

Abstract

In the United States, there is a great deal of environmental injustice, the inequity in how environmental burdens are distributed across various populations. Previous research indicates that communities of color and poor communities are more likely to be exposed to environmental burdens, while white and middle- and upper-class neighborhoods are more likely to experience environmental benefits. Although there is substantial research on general justice evaluations, there is a lack of information regarding how specific individual-level racial and environmental factors, including racial identity, experiences with discrimination, and environmental identity, influence evaluations of environmental injustices. This study explores these evaluations within the context of the Black community. One hundred and forty-one college students were surveyed, and the data were analyzed using seemingly unrelated regression. Emerging patterns suggest that Black racial identity, environmental identity, and political liberalism all effect environmental justice evaluations. 

Authors

• Christie L. Parris, Oberlin College

• Karen A. Hegtvedt, Emory University

• Cathryn Johnson, Emory University

• Lesley Watson, Emory University

• Lindsey M. Coyle, Emory University