White Supremacy and the Slow Violence of Environmental Racism: An Indianapolis Case Study

Abstract

This dissertation is a case study of three communities in Indianapolis that have been impacted by environmental inequalities. In Riverside, we have a groundwater contamination site. In Martindale-Brightwood, the community is confronting the legacy of a lead smelting plant. And on the city's Old Southside, there are air quality concerns related to the presence of the interstate and industrial facilities nearby. All of these communities have a history of having been redlined in the 1930s and they continue to live with that legacy today. The connection between redlined communities and environmental inequalities is well established and Indianapolis is no different. In addition, and related to having been redlined, all three communities have been impacted by the interstate. Communities of color were redlined and the redlined communities were targeted by interstate planners when establishing routes. In the larger context, we see that these communities are impacted by bureaucratic malaise and indifference. I argue that this malaise comes from something called administrative racism, which means that through banal bureaucratic practices, these communities suffer from environmental injustice brought about by lax regulations, poor enforcement, zoning issues, and tedious and drawn-out processes. The slow violence of environmental racism comes from administrative racism, bureaucratic malaise, and indifference.