EAST CHICAGO, October 1—The blatant environmental racism of capitalism is on full display in the industrial city of East Chicago, home to a majority Black and Latin working class population. As many as 1,100 residents are on the verge of being evicted from their homes in the West Calumet Housing Complex, after the city’s racist neglect of a lead and arsenic crisis that spans decades. But the working class of East Chicago and the Progressive Labor Party (PLP) are fighting back. We want decent housing now and a communist world in the future, where the workers run society.
Under Communism Workers Health Comes First
The West Calumet complex was built in 1972 as public housing for low-income Black and Latin families, just north of a lead smelting plant and surrounded by other industrial facilities. As early as 1985, testing by the state’s environmental agencies found soil lead levels in some yards almost 70 times above the Environmental Protection Agency’s maximum recommended amount! By 1992, the EPA was proposing the complex to be designated as a Superfund, a federal program designed to fund emergency clean-up sites, but it wasn’t until 2009 that West Calumet was recognized officially as needing emergency attention (Think Progress, 9/15).
Meanwhile, as the racist city bosses and government agencies tried to hide the problem, the constant exposure to lead poisoned the working families in the area. Children are especially vulnerable to the toxic effects of lead, and serious health problems such as brain damage, seizures, and behavioral disorders are potential consequences. Parents in the area in recent years started observing these and other symptoms for the businesses and politicians. For the bosses, pursuit of profit was more important than their children’s lives.
By the end of July, West Calumet residents received letters from the mayor’s office telling them that the area was uninhabitable and that they had 90 days to get out before the city demolished the complex. In the meantime, the residents are still being forced to continue paying their rent, so that they can continue to be poisoned under threat of not receiving public housing benefits. Had the situation not been exposed the bosses would have continued indefinitely profiting from renting a toxic dumpsite to poor workers.
Contrast the destructive consequences of capitalism in places like Flint, Baton Rouge, or East Chicago, to a communist future. Under communism, the health of workers would always be prioritized. Workers would never be allowed to inhabit unsafe housing with known toxins nearby. If any one were to be exposed, they would receive the most comprehensive medical care necessary to get them back to optimal health as soon as possible.
Bosses’ Agents Undercut Workers’ Fightback
Naturally, workers in the West Calumet Complex area were fired up over the racist health disaster caused by the city bosses. Emergency community meetings were quickly set. A health and outreach committee was established, and tenants and organizers started to discuss the possibility of a rent strike in the complex. Residents, community organizers, and communists from PLP organized through a committee named Calumet Lives Matter.
By now, the bosses’ agents have jumped in to try to put out the fire. An influential group of politicians, lawyers, and clergy began to commandeer the meetings and set out to block any attempts at meaningful direct action such as a rent strike or an occupation of City Hall and Housing Authority buildings. They engaged in the disgustingly racist and sexist practice of blaming the victim, telling residents that it was their own fault if they continued to be exposed to the lead in the soil or if they failed to get their blood lead levels tested. When PLP and East Chicago residents tried to organize meetings in spite of the misleaders, we were suddenly not allowed to reserve public spaces to have meetings. The racist thugs of the East Chicago Housing Authority directly intimidated some residents.
The consequences of this unnatural disaster have been devastating to the working class residents, many of whom are Black women with children. Many are scared and uncertain about their family’s future, and stressed about having to move suddenly. Those families who would otherwise move to another apartment in the area have been met with death threats towards their children from gangs. Many parents are horrified about how the lead exposure will affect their children now and in the future.
Join the Revolutionary Struggle For Communism
The next step is a march to the Housing & Urban Development Office, the housing bosses’ headquarters.
The capitalist bosses’ racist profit system leaves us no choice. We must organize our class internationally to destroy capitalism and replace it with a communist society that puts workers’ needs and development first at all times. PLP has been present in this fight since the beginning. Connections have been made with some of the mothers, strong bonds forged over the course of the struggle that won’t be easily broken. As we consistently raise communist politics and culture, we will bring this struggle to a higher level. It’s this day-to-day organizing that will win more and more workers to understand that only a communist world will ensure that no member of the working class is ever poisoned by capitalism again. Join us in this fight against racism and for a communist future!