South Baltimore Residents Have Had Enough of Rail Giant Pollution

This transcript has been edited for length and clarity.

Crowd Chants: Show me what democracy looks like. This is what democracy looks like! Show me what democracy looks like. This is what democracy looks like!

Maximillian Alvarez: Those are the massive coal piles right there that you can see piled up around the CSX terminal here in Curtis Bay, Baltimore.

Alright, welcome everyone to another special on-the-ground episode of Working People, a podcast about the lives, jobs, dreams, and struggles of the working class today, brought to you in partnership with In TheseTimes magazine and the Real News Network produced by Jules Taylor and made possible by the support of listeners like you. I’m recording this on Monday, June 10^th. It’s about two 30 in the afternoon. Here we are at the Curtis Bay Rec Center in Curtis Bay, which is a community here in South Baltimore where residents of Curtis Bay and other South Baltimore communities are gathered here to deliver evidence and testimonials to CSX transportation, the Rail Giant in response to CS X’s statements denying that their coal export terminal causes harmful pollution.

Crowd Chants: What do we want? Air to breathe! When do we want it? Now! What do we want? Air to breathe! When do we want it? Now!

Shashawnda Campbell: And so we are here today to say ​“You are going to be held accountable.” This is happening. People testifying about what it’s like living next to this cold peer dust is getting in their homes, dust is getting in their lungs, and they’re afraid of what it means for their health. And that is a problem in itself. And not only that, we had amazing students in amazing universities that came together to help us do a cold report that was launched that talked about coal in the community. So not only do we have those testimonies, but we also have that research which people always say you need this research. To some people like myself, the stories are enough, the testimonies are enough, but we did do that too. And still that was not enough. That isn’t enough. And so we are here to say no more.

This is enough. We’re giving you the testimonies, we’re giving you the research and they’re still saying that’s flawed. That’s not true. That’s not true, and it is true. And that is all we need to know to be here today. So today, what we want to do, first of all, we’re going to let them know we’re not going anywhere. This is going to, you’re going to have to change. The minimum things you can do is in the transition of stepping away from coal because we know it’s going to happen is cover up the coal here, cover it up. That’s the least you can do to say you’re working with communities if you want to take a step in that direction, which they haven’t done yet but that’s a way to show that they’re trying to minimum be good, but they’re not. And so if they minimum can’t do that, and then also stand with people that we want to face, coal out coal is not even an industry that’s going to last long anyway. It should have been faced a long time ago. 

We are also going to evict them. We’re going to evict them today …. But another thing that we want to say is that there was a settlement that did happen to that tune of 1.7 million for residents, which is a win. Yes, but it’s not really a win when you look at how much money this corporation has, it has billions of dollars. This is a slap on the wrist and if this is the only slap that they’re going to get, they’re going to keep doing what they’re doing. And so that’s not enough. That’s not enough at all. It’s not enough to cover the health damages that’s happening to people, it’s not enough to cover the experiences that people aren’t getting, to simply open their window and feel a breeze.

Those experiences are missing in this community and there are communities that probably can’t even imagine what that feels like, but it is time to not imagine it anymore because it’s time to say no more. We want to open windows. Windows should be open. People should feel a breeze. People should feel comfortable walking in their community and not worrying about what they’re breathing in. And so we are here today to say, enough is enough. We’re not here again to do the same thing we done last time. We’re not going to go, {“oh, lemme tell you all these stories again”. We’re not going to be like, ​“lemme tell you about this research again.” We’re actually going to play those testimonies that have already been stated by people. We’re not going to keep having ​‘em repeating themselves, repeating themselves, repeating themselves. So we’re going to play those testimonies and we’re actually going to do that in silence for them to say, ​“your story is enough.” That’s all that matters, right? If they want to worry about the research, they can look at the research, it’s available. That moment we also, again, we want to tell those stories and then since those stories have been told, the research has been done, like I said, we’re going to evict them. So we’re going to put those signs up. We got lungs out here today to remind them this is what people are afraid of. Those lungs are black. People are afraid of that.

David Jones: I want to say thank you for everybody coming out today for sticking through with this fight, even though sometimes it feels like we’re not getting any traction and we’re not going to win, we are going to win this. Unfortunately, this has been generational and this has been going on too long. For me, the next place we need to take this is to Annapolis. We need to fight in Annapolis because we need to let these people know that we’re tired of fighting in our own community and not getting anywhere. We’re tired of saying the same thing time and time again and no one doing nothing about it. I want to be able to breathe clean air, I want my grandson to be able to breathe clean air, I want everybody in this community to be able to breathe clean air and it’s time to say enough’s enough. And it’s time to evict CSX out of this community just like the other industries in this community. Thank you.

Angie Shaneyfelt: Hey guys, I’m Angie and I’ve lived here in this community for 17 years. I’ve not opened my windows for 17 years. Time is over. I’d like to open my windows and breathe fresh air, but I can’t. We don’t have it here. We need it here. Yeah, I’m just done. How dare them even discount our citizen science with Johns Hopkins. Hello? Where did their people come from? No, we worked hard and it’s proof that we deal with it every single day. Just two days ago, I was watching out my back window and saw the coal wafting off of the coal pile, but their coal is not in Curtis Bay. It’s from spares point. No, no, just no. And we’re done. We’re really done. Let’s get this out of here. Let’s breathe clean air now guys.

Crowd Chants: No more coal in Curtis Bay!

Angela Smothers: Thank you guys for the invite. My name is Angela Smothers and I’m from Mount Winans experiencing the same issues that are ongoing here. I’m a lifelong resident of Mount Winans. Before the last interview guys, they said you didn’t even look up. Well, I want to look up to each camera now to let you know that this isn’t a fight that is going away. I even went as far as to bring my medication. I will give each, including CSX, the opportunity to go into my medical records so they can see where this is not a seasonal allergy medication, this is something that I’m required to take every day if you can hear my voice. I didn’t take my medication today on purpose because I want you guys to hear what I sound like not being able to take. It’s as if I’m having to get an extra wind to be able to speak, to breathe. I shouldn’t have to live like this. 

Crowd: That’s right 

Angela Smothers: I want you guys to know that I am an open book. You will see that I was a healthy person living in Mount Winans, enduring all of these issues that’s taking effect now. I can’t say a name, but I have a friend of mine that I grew up with that’s dying now, in hospice. Now. You know what I mean? From cancer, from living in the community that I share Mount Winans, that’s also experiencing the transporting of the coal untarped. We know you are not going anywhere, but you can definitely help us live a more productive, healthier lifestyle. You have the resources to do so, and all we ask is that you stop taking profit more seriously than the people that are living amongst, you know what I mean? The way that you transport the coals that you are making billions, trillions. That’s all we want. We’re not trying to put anyone down because we know people do make a living off of your railways, however, just help us live a little longer. Help us be able to see our grandbabies fight another fight. But this fight right here, it’s been ongoing. I’ll be 57 if I’m lucky, June the 17^th, and to be subjected to what I’m subjected to for 57 years of my life, it is time for it to end CSX. You got to go. If you can’t work with us, you got to go.

Shashawnda Campbell: Now, we’ve heard from residents that live here in those testimonies. Again, sorry for you guys to keep repeating yourselves. You shouldn’t have to, should have been heard the first time. But now we’re going to talk about some of these amazing students, which I want everybody to put their hands together for all of the students that see, they’re not just here today just showing up as a body. They have been doing the work, okay? They have been getting to it. And that’s why we’re going to have Imma come up here and tell you guys some of the work they’ve been doing and how they’re moving science in this community.

Roma Gutierrez: Hello, my name is Roma Gutierrez and I am really happy to be here. I am from Brooklyn, Baltimore, which is right adjacent to Curtis Bay. I’ve grown up here my whole life. So I’m an environmental organizer and the youth leader working with South Baltimore Community Land Trust. They partnered up with Charmed last year with Johns Hopkins University. Last summer, a group in youth. We went to different places in South Baltimore and we researched lifelong community questions for CSX because they had been harming the community for so many decades. We needed evidence for this. So we had, the questions were how far, how fast and if it was detectable, if the code dust was detectable offsite, CSX code terminal and the train tracks. So we had different methods. We had tape strip methods and we had tape samples. We had them up for at least a month to see if the coal dust was accumulating in South Baltimore, and it was accumulating in South Baltimore. We found that they were accumulating, you could actually see the coal dust on the tape strips. And we tested it on an electron microscope, and we do have scientific evidence that it was detectable. And we want to stop this. We want to stop it now. We had it last year, but now we can actually stop it, go green. 

Crowd Chants: Show me what democracy looks like. This is what democracy looks like! Show me what democracy looks like. This is what democracy looks like!

Maximillian Alvarez: Those are the massive coal piles right there that you can see piled up around the CSX terminal here in Curtis Bay, Baltimore.

Alright, welcome everyone to another special on-the-ground episode of Working People, a podcast about the lives, jobs, dreams, and struggles of the working class today, brought to you in partnership with In TheseTimes magazine and the Real News Network produced by Jules Taylor and made possible by the support of listeners like you. I’m recording this on Monday, June 10^th. It’s about two 30 in the afternoon. Here we are at the Curtis Bay Rec Center in Curtis Bay, which is a community here in South Baltimore where residents of Curtis Bay and other South Baltimore communities are gathered here to deliver evidence and testimonials to CSX transportation, the Rail Giant in response to CS X’s statements denying that their coal export terminal causes harmful pollution.

Crowd Chants: What do we want? Air to breathe! When do we want it? Now! What do we want? Air to breathe! When do we want it? Now!

Shashawnda Campbell: And so we are here today to say ​“You are going to be held accountable.” This is happening. People testifying about what it’s like living next to this cold peer dust is getting in their homes, dust is getting in their lungs, and they’re afraid of what it means for their health. And that is a problem in itself. And not only that, we had amazing students in amazing universities that came together to help us do a cold report that was launched that talked about coal in the community. So not only do we have those testimonies, but we also have that research which people always say you need this research. To some people like myself, the stories are enough, the testimonies are enough, but we did do that too. And still that was not enough. That isn’t enough. And so we are here to say no more.

This is enough. We’re giving you the testimonies, we’re giving you the research and they’re still saying that’s flawed. That’s not true. That’s not true, and it is true. And that is all we need to know to be here today. So today, what we want to do, first of all, we’re going to let them know we’re not going anywhere. This is going to, you’re going to have to change. The minimum things you can do is in the transition of stepping away from coal because we know it’s going to happen is cover up the coal here, cover it up. That’s the least you can do to say you’re working with communities if you want to take a step in that direction, which they haven’t done yet but that’s a way to show that they’re trying to minimum be good, but they’re not. And so if they minimum can’t do that, and then also stand with people that we want to face, coal out coal is not even an industry that’s going to last long anyway. It should have been faced a long time ago. 

We are also going to evict them. We’re going to evict them today …. But another thing that we want to say is that there was a settlement that did happen to that tune of 1.7 million for residents, which is a win. Yes, but it’s not really a win when you look at how much money this corporation has, it has billions of dollars. This is a slap on the wrist and if this is the only slap that they’re going to get, they’re going to keep doing what they’re doing. And so that’s not enough. That’s not enough at all. It’s not enough to cover the health damages that’s happening to people, it’s not enough to cover the experiences that people aren’t getting, to simply open their window and feel a breeze.

Those experiences are missing in this community and there is communities that probably can’t even imagine what that feels like, but it is time to not imagine it anymore because it’s time to say no more. We want to open windows. Windows should be open. People should feel a breeze. People should feel comfortable walking in their community and not worrying about what they’re breathing in. And so we are here today to say, enough is enough. We’re not here again to do the same thing we done last time. We’re not going to go, {“oh, lemme tell you all these stories again”. We’re not going to be like, ​“lemme tell you about this research again.” We’re actually going to play those testimonies that already been stated by people. We’re not going to keep having ​‘em repeating themselves, repeating themselves, repeating themselves. So we’re going to play those testimonies and we’re actually going to do that in silence for them to say, ​“your story is enough.” That’s all that matters, right? If they want to worry about the research, they can look at the research, it’s available. That moment we also, again, we want to tell those stories and then since those stories have been told, the research has been done, like I said, we’re going to evict them. So we’re going to put those signs up. We got lungs out here today to remind them this is what people are afraid of. Those lungs are black. People are afraid of that.

David Jones: I want to say thank you for everybody coming out today for sticking through with this fight, even though sometimes it feels like we’re not getting any traction and we’re not going to win, we are going to win this. Unfortunately, this has been generational and this has going on too long. For me, the next place we need to take this is to Annapolis. We need to fight in Annapolis because we need to let these people know that we’re tired of fighting in our own community and not getting anywhere. We’re tired of saying the same thing time and time again and no one doing nothing about it. I want to be able to breathe clean air, I want my grandson to be able to breathe clean air, I want everybody in this community to be able to breathe clean air and it’s time to say enough’s enough. And it’s a time to evict CSX out of this community just along as the other industries in this community. Thank you.

Angie Shaneyfelt: Hey guys, I’m Angie and I’ve lived in here in this community for 17 years. I’ve not opened my windows for 17 years. Time is over. I’d like to open my windows and breathe fresh air, but I can’t. We don’t have it here. We need it here. Yeah, I’m just done. How dare them even discount our citizen science with Johns Hopkins. Hello? Where did their people come from? No, we worked hard and it’s proof that we deal with it every single day. Just two days ago, I was watching out my back window and saw the coal wafting off of the coal pile, but their coal is not in Curtis Bay. It’s from spares point. No, no, just no. And we’re done. We’re really done. Let’s get this out of here. Let’s breathe clean air now guys.

Crowd Chants: No more coal in Curtis Bay!

Angela Smothers: Thank you guys for the invite. My name is Angela Smothers and I’m from Mount Winans experiencing the same issues that are ongoing here. I’m a lifelong resident of Mount Winans. Before the last interview guys, they said you didn’t even look up. Well, I want to look up to each camera now to let you know that this isn’t a fight that is going away. I even went as far as to bring my medication. I will give each, including CSX, the opportunity to go into my medical records so they can see where this is not a seasonal allergy medication, this is something that I’m required to take every day if you can hear my voice. I didn’t take my medication today on purpose because I want you guys to hear what I sound like not being able to take. It’s as if I’m having to get an extra wind to be able to speak, to breathe. I shouldn’t have to live like this. 

Crowd: That’s right 

Angela Smothers: I want you guys to know that I am an open book. You will see that I was a healthy person living in Mount Winans, enduring all of these issues that’s taking effect now. I can’t say a name, but I have a friend of mine that I grew up with that’s dying now, in hospice. Now. You know what I mean? From cancer, from living in the community that I share Mount Winans, that’s also experiencing the transporting of the coal untarped. We know you are not going anywhere, but you can definitely help us live a more productive, healthier lifestyle. You have the resources to do so, and all we ask that you stop taking profit more serious than the people that is living amongst, you know what I mean? The way that you transport the coals that you are making billions, trillions. That’s all we want. We’re not trying to put anyone because we know people do make a living off of your railways, however, just help us live a little longer. Help us be able to see our grand babies fight another fight. But this fight right here, it’s been ongoing. I’ll be 57 if I’m lucky, June the 17^th, and to be subjected to what I’m subjected to for 57 years of my life, it is time for it to end CSX. You got to go. If you can’t work with us, you got to go.

Shashawnda Campbell: Now, we’ve heard from residents that live here in those testimonies. Again, sorry for you guys to keep repeating yourselves. You shouldn’t have to, should have been heard the first time. But now we’re going to talk about some of these amazing students, which I want everybody to put your hands together for all of the students that see, they’re not just here today just showing up as a body. They have been doing the work, okay? They have been getting to it. And that’s why we’re going to have Imma come up here and tell you guys some of the work they’ve been doing and how they’re moving science in this community.

Roma Gutierrez: Hello, my name is Roma Gutierrez and I am really happy to be here. I am from Brooklyn, Baltimore, which is right adjacent from Curtis Bay. I’ve grown up here my whole life. So I’m an environmental organizer and the youth leader working with South Baltimore Community Land Trust. They partnered up with Charmed last year with Johns Hopkins University. Last summer, a group in youth. We went to different places in South Baltimore and we researched lifelong community questions for CSX because they had been harming the community for so many decades. We needed evidence for this. So we had, the questions were how far, how fast and if it was detectable, if the code dust was detectable offsite, CSX code terminal and the train tracks. So we had different methods. We had tape strip methods and we had tape samples. We had them up for at least a month to see if the coal dust was accumulating in South Baltimore, and it was accumulating in South Baltimore. We found that they were accumulating, you could actually see the coal dust on the tape strips. And we tested it on an electron microscope, and we do have scientific evidence that it was detectable. And we want to stop this. We want to stop it now. We had it last year, but now we can actually stop it, go green. 

Shashawnda Campbell: Y’all give it up for again for them and all that work they did. They did the science behind the testimonies. We thank y’all for that. We thank y’all for stepping up and sure out everything y’all do, and they are here today. That just shows you how important this issue is, right? Look around, look at all the people you see. This issue is important because it’s affecting all of us. Even if you don’t directly live in Curtis Bay. This is being transported throughout the city. So no matter where you live, you, the air is going flow, you are breathing in the same air we are breathing in. So this is your fight just as much as it’s ours.

Carlos Sanchez: How’s everybody doing today? That’s good. I’m really excited and really happy to see how many people showed up with a small amount of time we had. But just a few words, this is like Shonda said, today’s the day that we’re evicting CSX. So we got to say it loud, say it proud. This is our community. This is our home. And we have to continue putting pressure on facilities like this for our sake, for our health, for the health of our communities, for our kids, for our families. This is a fight long from over and together we’ll be able to accomplish so much. And we’ll start with this march, we got to stand strong. We got to stand together for the Curtis Bay, for the South Baltimore. We have to remove CSX for the health of our communities.

Crowd Chants: People united shall never be defeated. The people united shall never be defeated. The people united shall never be defeated. Curtis Bay united shall never be defeated. Curtis Bay united shall never be defeated.

Angie Shaneyfelt: My name’s Angela Shaneyfelt, I live in Curtis Bay. I’ve lived here for 17 ish years. I’m married with a husband that’s older than me and twin girls that are 11 that we’re adopting hopefully at the end of it, we’ll see. Yeah, and I’ve just been fighting this since the explosion in 2021.

Maximillian Alvarez: Well, Angie, yeah, thank you. But you’ve been like, as everyone here can attest, yourself included, you’ve been dealing with it long before that.

Angie Shaneyfelt: Right. Very long before it. I have not opened my windows in 17 years or 16 years.

Maximillian Alvarez: Tell me a little bit more about that. I guess just for folks who are listening to this, who heard the first episode that we did with your neighbors from South Baltimore, which you were supposed to be on with us, but then your phone died. So folks are getting to meet you finally now. But I wanted to ask if we could just do a kind of shortened version of your history in Curtis Bay and how you’ve been dealing with this up until the explosion in 2021 and then how that got you into the fight. Yeah.

Angie Shaneyfelt: Well, I opened, we moved here because this is where our money took us. I grew up in Pasadena, not too far from here, and then lived on the other side of the bridge on the tunnel in Middle River, Essex. And then landed here just because that’s what we could afford a whole house for $2 more than the apartment we were living in. And we opened our windows the first year. We’re here. That’s what you do on a nice day, no matter where you live in America or wherever. Then we realized that we are having this black dust in our house on everything, carpet, on upholstery, all of it. You get tired of being tired of cleaning everything on a daily basis and wiping down everything. So it came down to just that we don’t open the windows anymore. And then now the bridge collapsed and we actually did open our windows, which is weird. And we’re like, oh yeah, we didn’t even realize it. But the air felt different. It wasn’t as heavy as it had been for so long.

Maximillian Alvarez: Well, can you say a little more for that for folks who are not in Baltimore? So yeah. So since the Francis Scott Key Bridge collapsed two months ago, what has that meant for you all here in South Baltimore?

Angie Shaneyfelt: It’s meant a little bit quieter. We still hear the trains, but not as much. While the channel was shut down, now open, but less train noise, less coal in the air, just blowing around it. Just crazy. I didn’t realize it at first until, I think it was last month, we were at a community meeting and another person, another community member said, ​“I actually got to open my windows.” And I was just like, oh yeah, we did that too. You’re living here every day and, the heaviness was lifted for just that little bit. And then of course the next week the channels open and we’re hearing the trains again. And I watched a coal pile. I live right up the street, directly line sight, direct line sight from the coal pile. And it sat for the two months and it didn’t go down and go back up, but then it did get a little bit — I guess they were still collecting it — to be shipped out and it did get as high as they could possibly get. And then in a day it was gone.Just to be filled back up two days after that.

Maximillian Alvarez: Yeah, so the channels shut down and so that’s where a lot of this coal’s going. Yeah.

Angie Shaneyfelt: It’s crazy because not too far from here is where they lined the train cars up, the open air train cars. And it was weird even to see that was even less that the Francis got key bridge collapse, didn’t completely shut ​‘em down. They still heard it and the lines go through, but it was just a pause. And then I saw on the news that they were boasting about how while they were shot down, they were able to regroup and make it to where they can ship out even more than what they already were doing. Really? How much more do we have to take really? I’m thinking of moving in two years to buy a house. Is it going to be in Kurdis Bay? Absolutely, a hundred percent. 110% not. But I’ll still be here. I’m still rooted here. I’m still connected here. So I’ll still fight the fight even though I’m not in the community. 

Maximillian Alvarez: Yeah, because I mean, how much of this can any one person or any one family or any one community take? How sick and twisted is that where we live in a country where you got to hope that a bridge collapses in your city so that the coal traffic coming through the pier and into your community is decreased for just two months so that you can open your window.

Angie Shaneyfelt: We can have a little bit of clean air, not completely, but a little bit of clean air. Go out and breathe what fresh air? Really, what fresh air because we have none.

Maximillian Alvarez: And that’s like, again, it’s literally present around you. Me, right now we are standing here at the Curtis Bay Community Center. It is a lovely day. 

Angie Shaneyfelt: It Is and it’s windy. And I’m sure if these white buildings were not here, I just saw it Saturday looking out my back door. My husband noticed it. The wind was blowing and it was the pile. You could see, physically see the dust just swooping up and just blowing. He was like, Ange, come look at this. The coal is just, the dust is flying and he doesn’t pay attention to anything outside of four walls of our house. So, for him to notice it? No offense to him, but he is older and he doesn’t care unless there’s fire engine lights outside of our door and I’m the one that goes out and looks.

Maximillian Alvarez: But again, all to the point that you can’t even enjoy a beautiful day like this with your community without worrying about what you’re inhaling.

Angie Shaneyfelt: Am I going to have an asthma attack? My kids have seasonal asthma, coal and pollen. And that’s not anything anybody wants. Just the stickiness of that into your lungs. , I’ve had to use inhalers when I never had to before.

Maximillian Alvarez: One of the most tragic lines from that podcast I did with some of your neighbors a couple of weeks ago was from a woman who said, ​“I know so many people who walk around with oxygen tanks.”

Angie Shaneyfelt:

My kids don’t go on field trips without carrying an inhaler with them just in case because they’re going somewhere else outside of here. It’s almost like a dome effect. They’re going to be breathing in fresh air. So when you get fresh air in, it’s got to make room and you’re going to be coughing up stuff possibly.

Maximillian Alvarez:

Well, and I know I got to let you go in a second, but I wanted to just ask if you could say a little more about the peer explosion in 2021, I guess for listeners who will link to some articles about it in the show notes, but can you just take us back to that moment and why, what it meant for you and getting into the fight and what you were doing here today, what the purpose of this gathering is?

Angie Shaneyfelt:

Well, to start, I had covid on that day. It was when they had the 10 day quarantine. I lost my sense of smell and and you’ll see why that’s so important in a second. My one daughter and myself both had Covid 10^th day of quarantine and I was just in my house. So I’m doing what I can just not go insane in one bedroom. 

Maximillian Alvarez: I’ve been there, sis.

Angie Shaneyfelt: I came downstairs, I’m standing in my living room, I think I came down to get a trash bag, . and I’m standing in my living room and you could feel it. Windows are closed. Mind you, we don’t open windows. You could feel it like a sonic boom. So you felt the pressure and it was just increasing. And I’m standing in my house in the middle and I’m looking around and I’m just like, what is going on then? Then I heard it — the boom — and I’m like three blocks up and one block over from where it exploded. Then I’m doing the mental checks that I know that I’ve done before in this community for other things. And I’m just looking around. I’m like, okay, the electric’s on. That’s fine. There’s no busted windows. That’s fine. There’s nobody shooting outside of my house.

Okay, I think I’m fine. Then I look and my daughter, my husband, I’m in quarantine. So he went to Dunking for a Dunking run and he had just wrecked the car a little bit prior to that. So it was even a thing for him to be even driving. And so I look at my kids and my one daughter’s looking at me, she doesn’t know. She’s like looking for direction without saying anything. My other daughter mentally checked out. She doesn’t do fireworks very well, even before this, she doesn’t do balloons very well. I had to tap her on her chin three times to say, it’s okay, it’s okay. And when I looked in her eyes, she was not there. And that’s the scariest thing that I’ve ever even experienced in my life. I’ll take anything over that because what do I have to deal with past that?

My husband later had said that when he was driving up the hill, it felt like the back tires of the car lifted up off the ground. And with him just wrecking a car, he got out. When he turned, he got out and he checked all the way around the car to make sure everything was fine. I don’t know if it actually lifted up but yeah, it was just insane. So just that, and that’s what drove me to her being mentally checked out was what drove me to the city council hearing. And they even wrote notes, they’re 11 now and this was three, four years ago so they were about seven-eight years old. They wrote notes that I read in the city council hearing of their impact and she made a sign for today. CSX or MDE, let us breathe.

Crowd Chants: Get off it. This planet’s not for profit! That’s bullshit! Get off it. This planet’s not for profit! That’s bullshit!. Get off it. This planet’s not for profit

Shashawnda Campbell: I am Shashawnda Campbell and I work with the South Baltimore Community Land Trust.

Maximillian Alvarez:

Shashawnda, thank you so much for chatting with me today. We are standing here at the Curtis Bay Rec Center talking about what this community can do to keep this coal dust out of their lungs, out of their homes. I was wondering if you could just say a little more to the folks who are listening to this about you, where we are, what y’all are fighting for, and what folks in Baltimore and outside of Baltimore need to know about why we’re here today. 

Shashawnda Campbell: All right, we are here today because just like any community, your community, your family’s community and just communities that we are fighting to keep this community safe, we are fighting because this community has been dealing with the brunt of coal dust getting everywhere in the community in their homes. They can’t open their windows and just have a nice breeze on their face in the springtime. They can’t do that. And that’s a problem when people can’t simply open their windows in communities. And we brought that forward for many, many years, we’ve been saying that ​‚and nothing happened. And so since the explosion that happened at CSX closed pier in 2021, people have been taking so many steps to be proactive to say that they don’t want another explosion. We learned from the first time we don’t need an explosion to say that this coal dust is getting out to communities.

We don’t need an explosion to say that coal, coal, it is explosive. It can explode. And so we are really trying to hold CSX accountable to not only just that explosion, which they are saying, yes, that happened, but to the constant coal dust that’s getting out and into people’s houses, into people’s lungs that they’re worried about. They’re scared to say, ​“what’s happening to me when I’m breathing in all this coal dust?” And so we are here to say that enough is enough. We had done a report working with students from the local high school, Ben Franklin, where I went and where a lot of the amazing students that’s here today goes, we have worked with them and then universities like Hopkins was one of them, the Bloomberg School and then also just many scientists around coal to make sure that we can actually determine that coal dust in the community. And we’ve done that and we put that report out. And CSX is saying that it’s flawed, that it is non complete and that it’s not true and that’s not okay. So we are here to say it is true first of all, and you hear these stories and testimonies from people that’s telling you it’s true. That’s enough. We also done a title six complaint to say, first of all, outside this complaint, not about necessarily the coal, but just around the incinerator that’s here.

Maximillian Alvarez: Yeah, there’s a whole lot of other pollution…

Shashawnda Campbell: But all of these things are actually a problem together, because what it is doing is creating these massive impacts where it’s not, we don’t know who’s doing what, right? But with the code, it’s not a mystery to know what this black substance is. We know it’s coal dust, right? And so it’s a direct linkage between that. And we want them to stand firm in that. And we also want them to pay for it. You have to pay for the damages that you’re costing and to pay for something, you have to admit you’re doing it. They did have a settlement that just came out to the tune of 1.7 million to residents and the residents to be able to get some of that money for that explosion that happened, but that’s not enough to a billion dollar company. That’s nothing. That’s a slap on the wrist.

It’s also not accounting for the constant coal dust that’s getting off their premises into communities, which is hazardous because coal is a hazardous material, which anyone will say.We are really here to say, first of all, you need to be held accountable and we need our city to also hold them accountable. We need our city to stand with us to say, ​“this is not okay.” That explosion had brought to our eyes that this is not safe for communities. Save it right all this time. And so what we are doing today is telling them, if you are not going to change a minimum, cover up the code. That’s the minimum you can do. That’s a direct thing you can do to show residents that you are listening to them and that you want to actually be helpful in the community. But they’re not going to do that because they don’t want to be. They want to do whatever they want to do. They want to allow the coal dust to happen and not be held accountable. We’re saying today, that’s not going to happen. You’re going to be held accountable or you’re going to get out of the community. That’s the goal today. And we’re super excited to have everyone out here to read that same message

Crowd Chants: When the land we love is under attack, what do we do? Stand up, fight back! When the air we breathe is under attack, what do we do? Stand up, fight back! When the water we drink is under attack, what do we do? Stand up, fight back! When the planet we need is under attack, what do we do? Stand up, fight back! What do we do? Stand up, fight back!

Malaya Movement Rep.: I wanted to speak in the international. This is the same playbook they do in the Philippines, they do in Congo, they do in South America. It is the same tactics over and over to put profit over the people in the Philippines where we see foreign companies putting in their mining operations and the runoff poisoning the soil of farmers who don’t even own their land. They can’t even eat the food they grow, much less even keep it because most of it is exported. We see when profit is put over the people in our everyday lives, people are saying here, you can’t even open the window to enjoy the weather, to even breathe in the place you live in. I wanted to speak today and thank you for hosting this event, but also show support of solidarity across the ocean, across national Borders. At the end of today’s climate change, these horrible things that companies will put our communities through will not benefit us and it is only benefiting a few small percent of the population that are going to have so much more wealth than we’ll ever know what to do with. They’re not the ones that keep our world together to keep us running together, that keep us healthy. We are the ones that do that together here today and thank you all for coming out.

Shashawnda Campbell: First of all, I just want to concur to that message. I want to say I agree wholeheartedly. This is not only a Baltimore issue, this issue is across many cities and states and even international, we see the same problem. But I want to thank you all first. I want to say I’m sorry. I’m sorry you have to be here today. I’m sorry this is happening. I want to say that first and foremost because I don’t want to romanticize this in any way, it’s a terrible thing. It’s very terrible. I do thank you guys for also being the people that’s feeling the burden of these systems and then also being out here marching on the front line. Y’all are doing the thing! I want to congratulate you guys for taking back your community. No matter where your community is, even if your community ain’t fired up, Baltimore, you take back your communities because like you said, we take care of each other. We care about our house. We are here for people. When they are putting profit on us, we are putting ourselves over that profit. So I thank you all for standing here today. I don’t want to make y’all stand too much longer, but we do got March back. So we going to start back. If y’all feel any spirit to jump on this mic, I’ll pass the mic. So just let me know whenever y’all feel that spirit. Alright. Is y’all ready? I need Y’all to be louder than that. We trying to stop coal today.

Crowd Chants: What do we want? No coal! When do we want it? Now! And if We don’t get it? Shut it down!

if we don’t get it? Shut it down! if we don’t get it? Shut it down!

Hey, hey, ho ho, fossil fuels have got to go! Hey, hey, ho ho, fossil fuels have got to go!

Carlos Sanchez: My name is Carlos Sanchez. I am a youth leader with the South Baltimore Community Land Trust.

Maria Urbina: My name is Maria Urbana. I’m just a resident around here supporting the cause. Hell

Maximillian Alvarez: Yeah. Well, it’s great to meet you in person, listeners of the show. We’ll recognize you from the last episode. Got to chat with Angie, another one of your neighbors here in South Baltimore before the march, and we just concluded the march, and we are back here at the Curtis Bay Rec Center. After marching with dozens of folks to the CSX rail terminal where residents and supporters issued an eviction notice to CSX saying, get out. No more coal, no more poisoning our communities. Talk to us a bit about what we just saw here happen and why it’s important.

Carlos Sanchez: Yeah, of course. Well, you get saw here today was the amount of support that is here in the community, not just in the community, but outside of the community. This is something that is affecting the community, it’s affecting everybody and you’re kind of seeing how everybody came together in such a short amount of time. I think it was like a week ago that we started, but it’s powerful to see how many people came out in a short amount of time for the cause to get CSX out of the community. We have community signs done, we have support and stuff to show that what people are breathing in and what have been breathing in for decades, it’s true. It’s true what people are saying, they’re breathing in coal dust and we know that there is no amount of particulate matter or coal dust that it’s safe to be breathing in.

And having people out here all wanting the same thing, which is CSX, to go and have the state to do something about this really shows a lot. This is something that all residents, not just in Curtis Bay, but in all South Baltimore, Lakeland, Cherry Hill, Mount Winans, Westport, all the South Baltimore communities are facing not just with the terminal, but with the rail cars. With the rail cars. And so this is one march out of many. It is still a start and it’s still a long way to go but at the end of the day, this is all about getting what the community needs and that’s clean air and cleaner communities.

Maria Urbina: It’s really important that CSX gets evicted because they’re trying to kick out actual residents of the community when we were here first and it’s not fair that we’re having to breathe and the consequences of what they’re doing to our air, our community.

Carlos Sanchez: I would like just to add on to that because what happened was that when somebody talked to Sheila Dixon and asked her a question, ​“Hey, what do you think about the Curtis ban, the overburdened with polluting industries like CSX?” And the first response was maybe move everybody out and make it all industrial. That’s what happened to Wagners point, that’s what happened. To Hawkins point, that’s what happened to Fairfield. There were three communities already there that were completely just moved away, wiped out of existence to make more room for industry. It’s just a repetitive thing, why is it? And clearly it’s not working. Why is it the communities that have to leave? Why is it the people? And at the end of the day, if they keep on this repetitive thing where it’s just kicking out the communities, you’re going to end up kicking out all of South Baltimore. That was a quote that somebody in the community said, you’re just going to end up kicking all of South Baltimore.

Crowd Chants: We are unstoppable. A better world is possible. We are unstoppable. A better world is possible. We are unstoppable. A better world is possible. We are unstoppable. A better world is possible. We are unstoppable. A better world is possible.We are unstoppable. A better world is possible. We are unstoppable. A better world is possible.