MEMPHIS, Tenn. — Tennessee State Representative-elect Justin Pearson made an appearance Wednesday evening as a moderator on climate issues impacting a town just outside of Beaumont, Texas – Port Arthur. 

The air pollution issues in Port Arthur are similar to issues people living in South Memphis are facing, as ethylene oxide (EtO) is continuously released in the air by a local factory, increasing the risk of cancer for residents in the community.

Benzene is a dangerous chemical polluting the Port Arthur, Texas air and ethylene oxide, a cancer-causing, odorless, colorless chemical infecting south Memphians.

Organizers from both sides came together to take action against these harmful chemicals and their proximity to minority communities.

“I’m really hopeful that in this conversation we might learn things in Memphis that could be helpful for our struggle for justice but also that might be helpful for your struggle for justice in Port Arthur as well,” Rep. Pearson said.

John Bear, a former employee in the petrochemical industry, has been fighting for change when it comes to dangerous chemical plants’ closeness to Black and Brown neighborhoods.

“If you know it’s bad and it can hurt people, why are you releasing it?,” Bear asked. “Why is there even one leak?”

Rep. Pearson feels similarly about the impact dangerous plants have for those in South Memphis, like the Sterilization Services of Tennessee emissions of EtO on 2396 Florida Street.

“This sterilization plant is devastating to the community’s health, and we have a responsibility to use every power politically at the state level and at the federal level to protect the people in Southwest Memphis,” Pearson said. “Folks are literally dying from cancer because of Sterilization Services of Tennessee.”

He said, it’s important to work with other cities dealing with similar issues as it’s the only way to learn what effective change looks like for climate issues impacting minority communities.

“These intersections and these challenges are not just local, they are national and the more that we can connect to each other, the more change we’re gonna be able to create together and that’s gonna be the power of what we do,” Pearson said.

As conversations between south Memphians and the EPA continue, Pearson believes the initiatives to get more community members involved like Port Arthur has done, will be a start to seeing long-term change in Memphis.

“It’s hand-to-hand, heart-to-heart, door-to-door, block-by-block,” Bear said. “We all affect and influence someone and each other and that’s what we have to do. We have to make this something that concerns someone else, not just the people that are effected, but those who think they aren’t involved. We’re fighting for people who don’t even know there’s a fight going on.”