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Focus Magazine

Focus Magazine

January/Febuary 2008 (Vol. 36/1)

The African American Climate Change Crisis

by M. K. dorsey

We live in a moment in the United States where civil rights are enshrined in the law and racial epithets are considered especially offensive. Ironically, when the attacks on people of color and low-income citizens are of an environmental nature, they are seldom met with condemnation, or modest redress, like remediation or clean-up, let alone prosecution. This reality comes after a decade of data revealing that race, not income, is the best predictor of exposure to hazardous waste, toxic chemicals and environmental harms in general. Researchers from across the country name the phenomena environmental racism.

The African American Climate Change Crisis Download this article

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Did You Know?

Did you know that the earliest age at which you can retire and receive partial Social Security benefits is 62 years? Did you know that the earliest age at which you can retire with full benefits is 65 years? Many African Americans do not know these facts—a October-November 2005 Joint Center survey found that a majority of African American respondents (61 percent) know that you can get benefits if you retire early. However, only 39 percent of African American respondents know that the early retirement age is 62 years, and only a third (32 percent) know that 65 years is the earliest age at which one can retire with full benefits.