2. Buried at the Love Canal
This song was written to commemorate the 30th anniversary of the people’s victory at Love Canal, New York. The community’s organization and action resulted in the largest federal relocation in U.S. History, with 900 families being moved. This was the first song I wrote for the project, and the only song on this recording that is not about a current EJ struggle. Since I had never composed songs of this nature before; that is to say factual, historical narratives, it was helpful to begin this project focusing on an event that had been thoroughly documented in the news and widely known amongst EJ activists.
A highlight from working on this song was to hear Lois describe some of the direct actions that
the citizens took to get the proper attention of federal officials after being dodged by both local and federal government. Some residents poured water with food coloring into the sewage system which drained out to the Niagara River, then alerted the authorities that there was a strange color to the water. According to the Clean Water Act, the Coast Guard is responsible for ensuring the safety of all navi- gable water. So, the Coast Guard then came and tested the water. Of course they found out the food coloring was harmless, but moreover they discovered a slew of hazardous compounds.
My Thanks to Lois Gibbs, Dianna Wentz, Sharon Franklin and Moira Bulloch for all their help.
For a detailed history of Love Canal visit The University of Buffalo Library’s special collection. Online at: library.buffalo.edu/specialcollections/lovecanal
lyrics
22,000 tons of chemicals buried at the Love Canal
And that’s not accounting for the city or the army and all that they hid down
Then the company sold the land for only a dollar down
And a few lines of warning to the folks at the school board, warning them to not break ground
And when the ground was broke the chemicals seeped right out
And when it rained and poured in their back yards, the barrels floated out
Still the children were sent to school in the middle of that very mound
And it flooded the basements, then the milk of the mothers, and the people gave a shout
That something must be done, we gave over our trust, look what it’s gotten us
So now it’s up to us to bring forth justice, we cannot be silenced, we will not back down
The families and the folks of the homeowner’s association firmly stood their ground And informed the press, still the city neglected to move the families out
So they took their own direct action and poured colored food dye down
In the sewers that led to navigable waters got the federal coast guard out
In ’78 the state agreed to move some people out
But they stayed in solidarity with the remaining majority for justice to be handed down And right before the election the President declared Love Canal
Was a state of emergency, to move all 900 families, it’s how Superfund came about
And though the feds stepped in the people didn’t win back their health, their homes Their chromosomes were damaged
One out of two babies were born with birth defects
There were 421 chemicals found in the air, the water and the ground
And in the last 30 years we’ve seen how Superfund has played out
The idea of the government watching over industry is just not working out
So it’s up to you and me to call the culprits out
Still after 30 years some of those residents are still fighting to stop another Love Canal
credits
from this land,
released January 1, 2009
Additional Musicians: Jack Ohly – Bass; Harmony Thompson – Vocals
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