Tuesday, March 2, 2010

The cat is out of the bag -- and raising awareness!

The news is out. Obama just gave $8 billion in funding to a nuclear plant that's tucked near a poor black neighborhood in Waynesboro, Georgia. Burke County, located east of Atlanta, is made up of 63% African-American, with 42% of the population living below the poverty line.

So what's the deal here? President Obama is considered by many to be a highly conscious public servant, so why would he make such an anthraxic decision to pay for nuke plants situated amongst poor black moms and little babies?

As the creator of Neighbors Against Nukes, I fear that decisions to place harmful radioactive sites near black folks' homes will become a trend in the push for nuclear plants as renewable energy sources. Sources report that poor black neighborhoods in South Carolina are lined up to be next. And I must admit, I'm more than a little concerned about this: I'm mad.

That's why I started this blog -- which I hope will become a national grassroots movement -- to bring awareness to all Americans who care about the equitable treatment of poor, asset-less families, many of whom are being prostituted by bad policies and big corporations.

The dangers of nuclear plants are well documented: potential operational errors, accidents, explosions, terrorist threats, irreversible health consequences, and the head-splitting problem of how to dispose of nuclear wastes are real elephants in the room. And low-income black folks, with children playing in the open fields, will be staring down these elephants 24/7.

To learn more about the families of Waynesboro, GA -- and Southern Company, which owns and operates the nuclear plant in their neighborhood -- please visit the link below on Wikipedia:


Just scroll down to the "Demographic" and "Nuclear Power Plant" sections. You can read all about the racial make-up and poverty stats of the folks in that county.

Stand with me and join our cause at Neighbors Against Nukes today. Write me a comment. Share your ideas about how to launch this tiny blog into a national movement to stop nukes in poor, defenseless neighborhoods. Thank you!

Yours for the voiceless,
Linette Allen

Email: stopnukes@gmail.com