Environmental Racism, Redlining, and the Legacy of Overtown: A Black History Month Reflection
In honor of Black History Month, it’s vital we confront an often-overlooked dimension of racial injustice—environmental racism. This term describes how environmental hazards, from toxic pollution to extreme heat, disproportionately affect communities of color. From zoning laws and infrastructure projects to industrial siting decisions, the story of environmental justice is inextricably tied to the broader fight for racial equity.
What Is Environmental Racism?
As Dr. Robert Bullard—widely considered the father of environmental justice—once said, it’s no coincidence that the same communities marginalized in housing, education, and labor are also those most burdened by pollution. Factories, oil refineries, highways, and waste facilities have routinely been placed in or near Black and brown neighborhoods. Why? As Chandra Taylor from the Southern Environmental Law Center explains, these decisions hinge on land prices, political power, and strategic neglect.
Polluting industries count on communities of color, lacking the resources to fight back—and on affluent communities not paying attention.
The Legacy of Redlining
To understand how this happened, we need to go back to the 1930s, when the federal government created “redlined” maps that labeled neighborhoods as high-risk or low-risk for mortgage lending. The least desirable areas—outlined in red—were overwhelmingly Black, immigrant, or low-income.
These maps had lifelong consequences. Homeownership became virtually impossible in redlined areas, cutting generations off from wealth-building opportunities. As of today, the median net worth of a white family in the U.S. is $284,000. For Black families, it’s $44,000. That staggering gap can be traced back, in part, to policies that prevented Black families from buying homes and accessing loans.
Environmental Fallout from Racist Planning
Redlined neighborhoods didn’t just suffer economically. These areas:
Lack trees and parks that cool urban heat
They are often up to 20°F hotter in summer than white neighborhoods
Were routinely chosen as sites for highways, industrial zones, landfills, and incinerators
In Baltimore, Denver, Miami, and other major cities, redlined neighborhoods are still the hottest, most polluted, and most neglected.
In 1990, Dr. Bullard’s seminal book Dumping in Dixie highlighted that:
5 of 5 city-owned landfills in one city were in Black neighborhoods
6 of 8 incinerators were in Black communities
3 of 4 private landfills were also located near Black residents
This wasn’t accidental. It was structural. And the damage is still being felt.
Overtown: Miami’s “Little Broadway” Destroyed
Let’s zoom in on a case that’s personal to me: Overtown, a once-thriving Black community in downtown Miami. In the mid-20th century, Overtown was known as the “Little Broadway of the South,” alive with music, commerce, and culture.
Count Basie, Ella Fitzgerald, Nat King Cole, and Josephine Baker may have played the big hotels on Miami Beach, but they stayed and performed in Overtown—because Miami Beach was segregated. Overtown was a hub of Black excellence: doctors, lawyers, churches, community centers, and vibrant nightclubs like the famous Night Beat at the Sir John Hotel, which was owned by my father, David Probinski.
But all of that changed when the federal and local governments decided to run Interstate 95 straight through the heart of Overtown. Overnight, homes, businesses, and community spaces were bulldozed. The population plummeted from 50,000 to 10,000, leaving behind economic devastation.
A Legacy of Resistance and Renewal
Though much of Overtown was lost, Black historians, educators, and community leaders have worked tirelessly to preserve its legacy. Dorothy Fields, a Miami educator, founded the Black Archives History & Research Foundation and helped revive the Lyric Theater as a cultural landmark. My family contributed to that archive—including photos and documents from the Sir John Hotel, now housed in the David Probinski Memorial Collection.
Overtown’s story isn’t just about destruction. It’s also about memory, pride, and renewal.
Environmental Justice Is Racial Justice
As climate change accelerates, the stakes are only growing. Extreme heat is now the deadliest weather event in the U.S.—killing up to 12,000 people annually—and the hottest communities are still the most neglected.
As Alicia Zatkoff, sustainability manager for Baltimore, said: “Racial equity and climate equity are inherently entwined.”
Thankfully, the fight for justice continues:
Dr. Bullard is now an advisor in the Biden administration and leads the Bullard Center for Environmental and Climate Justice
Cities like Richmond, VA, are redesigning buildings and planting trees in former redlined zones
Activists across the country are demanding that zoning laws and urban development work for communities of color—not against them
As we reflect during Black History Month, let’s not just remember the past. Let’s act to ensure environmental justice is part of the future. From the legacy of redlining to the destruction of Overtown, and from the scholarship of W.E.B. Du Bois to the activism of Dr. Bullard, the fight for environmental equity is deeply woven into the broader fabric of Black history.
It’s time we listen, learn, and legislate accordingly.