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Thesis
"We want to see one St. Joe": Segregation, Industrial Pollution, and Environmental Injustice in Port St. Joe, Florida from 1935-2023
University of West Florida Libraries
Master of Science (MS), University of West Florida
2024
Abstract
As a community marked by its history of segregation, North Port St. Joe (NPSJ), the predominantly Black community of Port St. Joe-FL, suffered from the adverse effects of a polluting paper mill—from 1935 when construction started, to 1999 when the mill shut operations. The community has suffered worse outcomes such as frequent flooding, degrading lands, and the contamination of water, which have been further intensified by the impacts of Hurricane Michael in 2018 and the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020. All the processes have created a situation of environmental injustice in Port St. Joe. This research employs “racial capitalism” as a framework to understand the socio-economic and racial dimensions that underpin environmental injustices and how these injustices have evolved over the period from 1935 to 2023 in Port St. Joe and resulted in the vulnerability of the NPSJ community to environmental risks. Using a narrative inquiry methodology, the research draws from an extensive analysis of oral histories, archival records, and document analysis. My research demonstrates that NPSJ’s early history of segregation on the basis of race and class, followed by industrial pollution, imprinted an environmental justice disparity between NPSJ and the rest of Port St. Joe. Further, the research highlights the complex interplay between socio-economic factors, environmental injustice, and other forms of systemic oppression to inform efforts to address contemporary environmental injustice in Port St. Joe and contribute to a broader understanding of the interconnected factors that give rise to such injustice.
Details
- Title
- "We want to see one St. Joe"
- Resource Type
- Thesis
- Contributors
- Kwame Owusu-Daaku (Committee Chair)Jason Ortegren (Committee Member)Jamin Wells (Committee Member)
- Publisher
- University of West Florida Libraries
- Format
- pdf
- Number of pages
- 195
- Copyright
- Permission granted to the University of West Florida Libraries by the author to digitize and/or display this information for non-profit research and educational purposes. Any reuse of this item in excess of fair use or other copyright exemptions requires the permission of the copyright holder.
- Identifiers
- 99380569597006600
- Academic Unit
- Earth and Environmental Sciences
- Language
- English
- Awarding Institution
- University of West Florida; Master of Science (MS)
- Theses and Dissertations
- Master of Science (MS), University of West Florida