This weeks Minneapolis Spokesman Recorder newpaper had in it an article writen by Mr. Ron Edwards. The lead subject in his article was polution at the "new" Heritage Park housing project. I was contacted by Mr. Edwards and Mr. Al Flowers regarding this issue before the release of the article. We all meet and toured the location. I was stunded to find black slug bubbleing up between the sidewalks, standing black liquide in two of the playgrounds, sink-holes, erotion of landscape, sidewalks pushed up and broken from underneth, poor dranage (elavations) and a rain drainage pond that housed a black liquid with flouting pollutants. All of these locations were openlly acceptible to the residents and their children that live within feet of them. The stench that we smelled was almost unbarible. Upon leaveing the new Heritage Park I developed a migrane headace and the runs.
I informed the two men that Rep Ellison was working on the formation of an environmental group that would be addressing polution and its affects on the inproverished in their geographicle areas. Mr. Al Flowers contacted Rep Ellison and was invited to attend the next meeting of the group. As Mr. Flowers told the group of activists and organizations about the issue, many of them stated "it was only a matter of time". After we told them what we had witnessed at Heritage and they had opertunity to read Mr. Edwards collum we organized a tour after the meeting becouse many of the members present felt that this was an emergency situation.
Upon ariving many of the members imediatlly smelled the stench, in fact one member could not continue the tour and left in disbelif of her incounter. As we toured the location the members found exactlly what we had told them we had witnessed weeks before. The melting pond of polutants that had been drained two days before this tour was once again filled to the brime with toxicity. The side walks had been cleaned but the evidence that was left supported the fact that some type of oil based sluge had been on the sidewalks and left stains and a trail that went down the driveway.
One man that attended the tour, raked back a small amount of the wood chips in the playground and found the black liquid that we had discribed to them in the meeting. As he uncovered the polutants a look of astonishment came over him. Then I seen what I interpeted as a look of anger as he said " this is a playground". Fact is, the residents living in this area of the development are minorities. I have not seen one white person that lives there. Thus the statement made by Mr. Edwards in his collum "Can you imagine the swift action if it were white children playing in that toxic waste" is directlly on point.
I will not name those that attended this impromtue tour. I leave it up to them to state what they witnessed. I comend Mr. Edwards and Mr. Flowers for their leadership and fully support their activist actions in this inhumane disservice to people of color.
