Environmental racism is when a certain geographical area is degraded due to the racial group that occupies that area. African Americans are one of the specific racial groups that have health disparities in their communities. This can open up this racial group, to being more easily prone to contracting different types of diseases. Racial discrimination in education, housing, unemployment, etc- has played a major role in health disparities. According to Shavers and Shavers (march 2006), "discrimination remains a significant problem for racial/ethnic minorities." Environmental racism can be addressed through environmental justice. Environmental justice is when people, no matter their race or wealth have equal and good environmental protection. From 1980 and 1990s, the environmental justice used to focus on the claims of race and poverty has focused and degraded to the environment. .
A specific example of environmental racism in America is in Chicago. Garbage waste is being illegally dumped in areas of Chicago. This situation can be referred to as environmental racism due to its negative short and long term health impacts on citizens. Chemicals from this illegal garbage waste can cause breathing conditions and lung diseases such as asthma. Due to garbage waste just being dumped in illegal areas and just left there, there are fewer jobs provided for people to control the trash incinerator. There was also air pollution in the area. Waste management companies and government agencies targeted their lack of political and economic status. Reliable water was also supplied to the area of Chicago.
Another example of environmental racism in America is in Flint, Michigan. Flint, Michigan's water supply was changed to Flint River and residents began to notice the color and odor that was coming from the water. The water turned out to contain lead. Lead in water can cause learning disabilities. Citizens in this area began to depend more on bottled water, a demand of bottled water increased significantly.