Industrial toxic emissions on the South Baltimore Peninsula are among
the highest in the nation. Because of the concentration of factories
and other chemical industries in their neighborhoods, residents face
elevated rates of lung cancer and other respiratory illnesses in
addition to heart attacks, strokes, and cardiovascular disease, all
of which can lead to premature death. Fighting to Breathe
follows a dynamic and creative group of high school students who
decided to fight back against the race- and class-based health
disparities and inequality in their city. For more than a decade,
student organizers stood up to unequal land use practices and the
proposed construction of an incinerator and instead initiated new
waste management strategies. Baltimore resident and activist-scholar,
Nicole Fabricant, documents how young organizers came to envision,
design, and create a more just and sustainable Baltimore.
