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| style="border: none; padding: 0;" | <div style="color: white; font-size: 5em; font-weight: normal; font-family: 'Montserrat'; letter-spacing: 1px; font-size: clamp(24px, 2vw + 40px, 300px) !important; | | style="border: none; padding: 0;" | <div style="color: white; font-size: 5em; font-weight: normal; font-family: 'Montserrat'; letter-spacing: 1px; font-size: clamp(24px, 2vw + 40px, 300px) !important; | ||
"><mark style="color: #000000; background-color: # | "><mark style="color: #000000; background-color: #ffffff; "> Voices in the Dust </mark></div> | ||
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| style="border: none; padding: ;" | <div style="color: white; font-size: 2em; margin-top: 0px; font-family: 'Montserrat'; letter-spacing: 2px; font-size: clamp(10px, 2vw + 12px, 50px) !important"><mark style="color: #ffffff; background-color: # | | style="border: none; padding: ;" | <div style="color: white; font-size: 2em; margin-top: 0px; font-family: 'Montserrat'; letter-spacing: 2px; font-size: clamp(10px, 2vw + 12px, 50px) !important"><mark style="color: #ffffff; background-color: #00000090; ">a living community archive for action</mark></div> | ||
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'' | ''Massive coal dunes loom and coal-filled train cars screech along the tracks night and day, while winds carry toxic coal particles through the air and into homes. Coal dust pollution in Virginia is an open secret—its black residue is visible, but strategically ignored by politicians, regulators, and polluters. Virginia exports more coal than any other U.S. state, and Black neighborhoods in Newport News and Norfolk face the most harm. While coal dust pollution can be seen with the unaided eye—if seeing is believing, why has the response been so uneven and insufficient?'' | ||
---- | ---- | ||
'''The answer is not simply a lack of evidence. It is that certain forms of | '''The answer is not simply a lack of evidence. It is that certain forms of knowledge—testimony, grassroots monitoring, experiential data—are not recognized as authoritative in the systems and institutions that hold power.''' | ||
Communities with environmental justice concerns are | Communities with environmental justice concerns are among the least represented in policymaking and regulatory processes, while also facing barriers to accessing the information needed to identify the policy pathways to change. As a result, activists must continually re-invest labor into the reproduction of research and strategies, potentially duplicating the efforts of others without advancing community priorities. Memory can fade over time, as leaders age and neighborhoods gentrify, diminishing momentum and continuity of efforts. When we cannot build on past knowledge and experiences, our likelihood of achieving meaningful outcomes declines''.'' | ||
'''A community archive opens a pathway from lived experience to political recognition—from private harm to public accountability.''' | '''A community archive opens a pathway from lived experience to political recognition—from private harm to public accountability.''' | ||
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==History and Place== | ==History and Place== | ||
{| class="wikitable" style = "background: white"; | {| class="wikitable" style = "background: white"; | ||
|'''Explore by Theme:''' Start by learning and contributing to records of local history. Understand the fundamentals of coal, airborne particles, coal dust, and environmental justice. Trace the institutionalization of environmental justice in Virginia and meet residents and early activists who won ground in the fight against coal dust pollution | |'''Explore by Theme:''' Start by learning and contributing to records of local history. Understand the fundamentals of coal, airborne particles, coal dust, and environmental justice. Trace the institutionalization of environmental justice in Virginia and meet residents and early activists who won ground in the fight against coal dust pollution. Visit the [[Timeline]] to see an overview of the events that have shaped the coal dust issue in Newport News and Norfolk, Virginia. | ||
----- | ----- | ||
=== Background === | === Background === | ||
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== Evidence == | == Evidence == | ||
{| class="wikitable" style = "background: white; | {| class="wikitable" style = "background: white; | ||
|'''Dive into the Evidence:''' The evidence that coal dust pollution harms residents of Southeast Newport News and Lambert's Point is overwhelming. | |'''Dive into the Evidence:''' The evidence that coal dust pollution harms residents of Southeast Newport News and Lambert's Point is overwhelming. It exists in many forms, but these forms of evidence are valued differently by different audiences. Listen to residents and amplify their voices. Understand the evidence that validates but also contradicts residents' testimonies, often produced by regulators and scientists, to challenge the systems and institutions that hold power and maintain the status quo. | ||
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=== Inspection Reports === | === Inspection Reports === | ||
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== Actors == | == Actors == | ||
{| class="wikitable" style = "background: white; | {| class="wikitable" style = "background: white; | ||
|'''Who Are the Actors?:''' | |'''Who Are the Actors?:''' Grassroots organizations have lead the fight against coal dust pollution and for environmental justice. Build from their work to advance activism today and in the future. Understand the role of various government bodies and agencies with responsibilities and authority to respond to residents' calls to address coal dust impacts, with an eye toward interacting effectively with these institutions and their staff. Get to know the polluters too. | ||
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=== Community Organizations === | === Community Organizations === | ||
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== Infrastructure == | == Infrastructure == | ||
{| class="wikitable" style = "background: white; | {| class="wikitable" style = "background: white; | ||
|'''There Are Solutions:''' Coal dust pollution is a solvable problem | |'''There Are Solutions:''' Coal dust pollution is a solvable problem. What has worked and what has failed? Why does coal dust continue to plague residents when regulators and coal terminal executives claim dust mitigation technologies are in place? Familiarize yourself with various dust mitigation approaches to develop your own priorities and goals. | ||
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| Line 127: | Line 127: | ||
== Policy == | == Policy == | ||
{| class="wikitable" style = "background: white; | {| class="wikitable" style = "background: white; | ||
|'''Navigate Policymaking to Change:''' | |'''Navigate Policymaking to Change:''' Learn about the specific policies that apply to the fight against coal dust pollution, for example, air and water permits, air quality standards, and your rights to access public records in Virginia. Can these policy levers help advance your work? | ||
=== Relevant Policies === | === Relevant Policies === | ||
:[[Air Permits]] | :[[Air Permits]] | ||
| Line 140: | Line 139: | ||
== Organizing == | == Organizing == | ||
{| class="wikitable" style = "background: white; | {| class="wikitable" style = "background: white; | ||
|'''Engage and Organize:''' Community organizing is one of the most powerful tools available for change. Learn about and from current and past grassroots efforts to end coal dust pollution in Virginia | |'''Engage and Organize:''' Community organizing is one of the most powerful tools available for change. Learn about and from current and past grassroots efforts to end coal dust pollution in Virginia and other locations that struggle against dust pollution. Find opportunities to get involved and build collaborative networks. | ||
----- | ----- | ||
=== Local Activism and Advocacy === | === Local Activism and Advocacy === | ||
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== About Voices in the Dust and Getting Started == | == About Voices in the Dust and Getting Started == | ||
*[[About Voices in the Dust]] | *[[About Voices in the Dust]] | ||
*[[Style Guide]] | |||
*[[ | *[[Citing Voices in the Dust]] | ||
*Citing Voices in the Dust | *[[Financial Transparency]] | ||
*Creating Your Own | *Creating Your Own Mediawik__NOTOC__i Archive for Action (Coming Soon) | ||
Latest revision as of 19:14, 18 February 2026
Voices in the Dust
|
a living community archive for action
|
Massive coal dunes loom and coal-filled train cars screech along the tracks night and day, while winds carry toxic coal particles through the air and into homes. Coal dust pollution in Virginia is an open secret—its black residue is visible, but strategically ignored by politicians, regulators, and polluters. Virginia exports more coal than any other U.S. state, and Black neighborhoods in Newport News and Norfolk face the most harm. While coal dust pollution can be seen with the unaided eye—if seeing is believing, why has the response been so uneven and insufficient?
The answer is not simply a lack of evidence. It is that certain forms of knowledge—testimony, grassroots monitoring, experiential data—are not recognized as authoritative in the systems and institutions that hold power.
Communities with environmental justice concerns are among the least represented in policymaking and regulatory processes, while also facing barriers to accessing the information needed to identify the policy pathways to change. As a result, activists must continually re-invest labor into the reproduction of research and strategies, potentially duplicating the efforts of others without advancing community priorities. Memory can fade over time, as leaders age and neighborhoods gentrify, diminishing momentum and continuity of efforts. When we cannot build on past knowledge and experiences, our likelihood of achieving meaningful outcomes declines.
A community archive opens a pathway from lived experience to political recognition—from private harm to public accountability.
Welcome to Voices in the Dust
Voices in the Dust is a living, digital archive for action—supporting activists in the fight against coal dust pollution and for environmental justice in Virginia. Combining public records, lived experience, and scientific data, Voices in the Dust is more than a record, it is a technology of political possibility. This is a place where fragments cohere into and under pressure, and where individual participation becomes collective power.
The goal is simple: give communities, researchers, journalists, and decision-makers access to the historical records, research, and community knowledge needed for understanding, accountability, and change.
We welcome you to explore, learn, and join the community working of people working to end coal dust pollution and repair its decades of damage in Newport News and Norfolk and beyond. Voices in the Dust is a work in progress.
History and Place
Explore by Theme: Start by learning and contributing to records of local history. Understand the fundamentals of coal, airborne particles, coal dust, and environmental justice. Trace the institutionalization of environmental justice in Virginia and meet residents and early activists who won ground in the fight against coal dust pollution. Visit the Timeline to see an overview of the events that have shaped the coal dust issue in Newport News and Norfolk, Virginia.
BackgroundHistory
Place |
Evidence
Dive into the Evidence: The evidence that coal dust pollution harms residents of Southeast Newport News and Lambert's Point is overwhelming. It exists in many forms, but these forms of evidence are valued differently by different audiences. Listen to residents and amplify their voices. Understand the evidence that validates but also contradicts residents' testimonies, often produced by regulators and scientists, to challenge the systems and institutions that hold power and maintain the status quo.
Inspection ReportsResearch
Testimonials |
Actors
Who Are the Actors?: Grassroots organizations have lead the fight against coal dust pollution and for environmental justice. Build from their work to advance activism today and in the future. Understand the role of various government bodies and agencies with responsibilities and authority to respond to residents' calls to address coal dust impacts, with an eye toward interacting effectively with these institutions and their staff. Get to know the polluters too.
Community Organizations
Government Bodies
IndustriesRegulatory Agencies |
Infrastructure
There Are Solutions: Coal dust pollution is a solvable problem. What has worked and what has failed? Why does coal dust continue to plague residents when regulators and coal terminal executives claim dust mitigation technologies are in place? Familiarize yourself with various dust mitigation approaches to develop your own priorities and goals.
Infrastructure Solutions |
Policy
Navigate Policymaking to Change: Learn about the specific policies that apply to the fight against coal dust pollution, for example, air and water permits, air quality standards, and your rights to access public records in Virginia. Can these policy levers help advance your work?
Relevant Policies |
Organizing
Engage and Organize: Community organizing is one of the most powerful tools available for change. Learn about and from current and past grassroots efforts to end coal dust pollution in Virginia and other locations that struggle against dust pollution. Find opportunities to get involved and build collaborative networks.
Local Activism and AdvocacyOutside of Newport News and Norfolk |
About Voices in the Dust and Getting Started
- About Voices in the Dust
- Style Guide
- Citing Voices in the Dust
- Financial Transparency
- Creating Your Own Mediawiki Archive for Action (Coming Soon)