Cancer Alley: Social Studies Lesson
Lesson Plan
1 hour 20 minutesGrades6, 7, 8History, Geography
This resource has been reviewed by SubjectToClimate's climate scientists and verified for scientific accuracy and up-to-date information. Learn about our review process →
Written by Dan Castrigano, Lindsey Pockl
About this lesson
In this lesson, students learn about environmental justice by exploring an interactive map, learning about Cancer Alley, and taking concrete action to address environmental injustice.
Inquire: Students are introduced to the term environmental justice and learn about the Environmental Justice Index (EJI).
Investigate: Students learn about communities facing environmental injustice using an interactive map and watching a video about Cancer Alley.
Inspire: Students write a letter to a government official or business leader sharing what they learned and urging them to take action.
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Everything you need to teach it
How to edit these materials (video)Teaching tips
Suggestions
- This lesson clearly connects redlining and environmental racism and can also be taught in a civics or government lesson with map reading skills.
- This lesson shows a concrete example of the effects of systemic racism in the United States.
- This Inquire section of this lesson could be extended into one full class period, giving students more time to explore the various components of the Environmental Justice Index (EJI) including social vulnerability, environmental burden, health vulnerability, and climate burden prior to the Investigate and Inspire activities.
- The letter writing activity in the Inspire section can be completed as homework. Additionally, teachers can use their own writing templates or established classroom writing procedures.
- Math classes can look up their county and practice reading tables and charts, discussing what the data shows for specific age ranges, vulnerabilities, and other EJI indicators.
Prerequisites
- Some students may never have discussed racism and climate change before while others have personal experience with systemic racism. Meet your students where they are and encourage them to ask good questions.
- Teachers should review the website Environmental Justice Index (EJI) along with basic information on what it is and how it is determined.
- When teaching this sequence, it’s important to acknowledge the historical facts that have led to this injustice. Here are some resources to help you:
- Dr. Ibram X. Kendi defines racist policy as “any measure that produces or sustains racial inequity between racial groups.” (Source: Article from Penguin Publishing Company)
- Government entities suppressed the Black vote through different means until the Voting Rights Act in 1965. (Source: history.com)
- Redlining was outlawed by the Fair Housing Act in 1968. (Source: ThoughtCo)
Differentiation
- Teacher can provide a letter-writing template for students.
- Students can further explore the Environmental Justice Index (EJI) Explorer, using the left side tabs to learn about the other components in the EJI: social vulnerability, environmental burden, health vulnerability, and climate burden.
- Students can use the “county map” tab on the interactive map to explore their own state and county, examining their county map and various charts and graphs. Students can compare and contrast nearby counties.
From the scientist review
This lesson introduces students to environmental justice and asks them to use a mapping tool that shows how polluted an area is. The lesson also includes a video resource from Vox that highlights the area of Louisiana known as “Cancer Alley." To be as perfectly clear as possible, vast amounts of data and evidence show that people of color are disproportionately affected by pollution in the United States, and that higher exposure to pollutants directly correlates to higher incidence of disease. This video was produced in May of 2020, which is quite early on in the pandemic, and as such, some of the numbers presented in it are outdated. This outdated data is only for the numbers given when speaking on COVID-19 mortality rates. For example, the video says that Louisiana’s population is 32% Black (still correct) but Black people account for 56% of COVID-19 deaths. This is no longer the case as of July 2022, and according to data obtained from Louisiana’s government website, Black citizens account for 34% of deaths. While this is still disproportional, it is not as large of a disparity as when the video was produced. The same is true for Michigan, where Black residents now account for 17.5% of deaths but make up 14% of the population (data from michigan.gov). So, while this lesson highlights the importance of environmental justice and is overall scientifically sound, please just take note of the changes in the COVID-19 data.
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About the teacher writers
Dan Castrigano
Academic Teacher at Burlington YouthBuild
Dan Castrigano taught STEM and humanities at elementary, middle, and high schools for 11 years. From 2021-2023, he served as the Chief Content Officer at SubjectToClimate. Dan advocates for climate education and organizes for climate, social, and racial justice.
Lindsey Pockl
Lindsey worked with SubjectToClimate to develop accompanying materials for lesson plans for grades 3-12.
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Emmanual Collins
I've heard about this place! I'm glad to see that there's a lesson on it! 👍👍
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