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Invisible City

from this land by jm (fka Joshua Marcus)

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about

have lived in Philadelphia for over eight years and until this project, had never set foot in Chester. From my research, I’ve learned that Delaware County and the Pennsylvania state government have saddled the city with an inordinate number of polluting industries. There are over one dozen major polluting facilities on the Delaware River in or near Chester, including the country’s seventh largest waste incineration plant. In Chester, the mortality and lung cancer rates are 60% higher than the rest of Delaware County (ejnet.org).
There were several great community alliances in the 1990’s that have helped put Chester on the path toward a cleaner future, demanding industry accountability and government oversight. Two groups in particular, Chester Residents Concerned for Quality Living (CRCQL) led by Zulene Mayfield and the Campus Coalition Concerned with Chester (C-4) brought federal attention to some of the terrible EJ and public health issues resulting from industrial pollution. As a direct result of their efforts, even the city mayor is now fighting against any new polluting industry entering the city.
Initially, I thought I’d write this song about the successes of Chester’s community organizing over the past fifteen years. However, I decided to write lyrics that also addressed my own ignorance of this community, both its struggles and its strengths.
Thank you Frances Whittington, Mike Ewall, Carole Burnett, Desire Grover and the folks at DelCo alliance for helping me with this song.

lyrics

I look in the sky see the smoke When I drive past it on the road It’s not a place I’d ever gone
But I send my trash to your home
Oh invisible city you’re just twelve miles down the river
And yet your problems don’t seem ours
The air we share looks clear and safe when it reaches my home Yet so polluted you’re trapped in yours
Besides the garbage from our homes It’s trucked from Jersey and New York 3,000 tons in flames each day
As well as industrial waste
Oh burning city you’re just twelve miles down the river Suffering on our behalf
Your rates of poverty mortality and blood lead levels Are not what you should be known for
And oh how you’ve had to organize
And fight just for basic human rights, just to keep your windows open
Your city’s fluoridated water
A waste product of fertilizer
No outside interests really aiding you Compared with interest in your stadium
Oh poisoned city you’re just twelve miles down the river
Your county and state sold you out
But oh how many struggles you’ve organized yourself to overcome And keep the new polluters out
And oh how you’ve had to fight
I hadn’t known the things I took for granted could be taken away knowing lives are at stake

credits

from this land, released January 1, 2009
Additional Musicians: Jack Ohly – Bass; Jacob Mitas - Viola

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jm (fka Joshua Marcus) image

jm (fka Joshua Marcus) Providence, Rhode Island

jm loves cooking with and for friends, all things musical, making art with shapes, and getting out of one's brain. and the ocean. and genuineness.

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