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This Is A Definite Pattern

from this land by jm (fka Joshua Marcus)

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As mentioned earlier, EJ issues disproportionally affect people of color and poor people. This particular song highlights the racial discrimination experienced by Ms. Williams and her community, though a good number of these songs could have been written about the marginalization of people based on their race. Rather than demanding equal distribution of polluting industries, many politicians and citizens practice a “not in my back yard” philosophy, allowing racially prejudiced business practices to exploit people in poor neighborhoods. CATE works to unite the communities around the Escambia Treating Company Superfund site in Pensacola, Florida where Mt. Dioxin is located. They are advocating for proper relocation of all affected families and adequate health screening for those in the area.
Thank you to Francine Ishmael, Frances Dunham, and Margaret Williams for their help in writing this song.

lyrics

If in the center of your town are homes and schools and churches
Yet in the middle sits a mound of contaminated earth
It’s a pile as massive as a mountain that’s been poisoning for years
With all the knowledge that we hold now, I’m thinking why’s this happening, how’s this the best effort
That state or country can do
It took 20 years just to move some dirt around Then it just sat there cause the money ran out
Here’s a despicable familiar story of institutional racism
A treatment company dumped drums of toxins and feared no repercussions
Folks of color live closest to this mess how race plays out in this country
How the government is not equipped or interested to help its people and I’m frightened where the real answer lies
This is a definite pattern
No isolated coincidence here
This is happening in some city close to you no matter where you live
And there are citizens against this toxic exposure
Who hoped they would be safer when the government took control Who want back their community, not an industrial park in Pensacola And after years of fighting, some are still no better off
Some folks weren’t chosen for relocation
Or weren’t compensated enough to afford new homes
This all had something to do with the color of their skin, in this modern day and age
When men in moon suits came and dredged up the soil only arms-lengths from children at play They sent the poison up into the air, let the wind carry away
This special potion that results from wood treatment leached the poison into the water
You know the company don’t pay a dime to check its neighbors health or to help the one’s that are dying
You shouldn’t touch the soil
You cannot grow your food, you can’t drink or fish No you shouldn’t even breathe it in
Seventeen years since a retired school teacher led her neighbors to demand just aid
While the government tried to pull a fast one cover up and fix it cheap
They classified the site to circumvent the people’s rights, no ear for public input
And when the limited funds ran out they put a five-year tarp on the pile where it sits now
And that was fifteen years ago
The new plan is to dig a big pit
Fill it with concrete and just bury the pile
But now the community stands divided because there are not enough resources to go around
And even though they may all want justice for all it’s hard to give up yours without feeling you’ll be left out Its cruel the way short sited promises are dangled as the only support being doled out
Just imagine you had built your life, someone you didn’t know destroyed it
They got rich and you got sick or you got homeless and/or worse

credits

from this land, released January 1, 2009
Additional Musicians: Jack Ohly – Bass; Eliza Jones – Vocals

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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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