Emelle, Alabama
Encyclopedia
Emelle is a town in Sumter County
, Alabama
, United States
. It was named after the daughters of the man who donated the land for the town. The town was started in the 19th century but not incorporated until the 1980s. The daughters of the man who donated were named Emma Dial and Ella Dial, so he combined the two names to create Emelle. Emelle was famous for their great cotton. The first mayor of Emelle was James Dailey. He served two terms. The current mayor is Roy Willingham Sr. The population was only 31 at the 2000 census. The town is known for being the site of the largest hazardous waste landfill
in the United States, operated by Waste Management, Inc. That hazardous waste disposal facility was the subject of a case decided by the United States Supreme Court, Chemical Waste Management, Inc. v. Hunt
, 504 U.S. 334 (1992).
According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the town has a total area of 0.2 square mile (0.517997622 km²), all of it land.
of 2000, there were 31 people, 15 households, and 10 families residing in the town. The population density
was 142.9 people per square mile (54.4/km2). There were 16 housing units at an average density of 73.8 per square mile (28.1/km2). The racial makeup of the town was 6.45% White
and 93.55% Black
or African American
.
There were 15 households out of which 33.3% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 46.7% were married couples
living together, 20.0% had a female householder with no husband present, and 33.3% were non-families. 33.3% of all households were made up of individuals and 6.7% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.07 and the average family size was 2.60.
In the town, the population was spread out with 29.0% under the age of 18, 3.2% from 18 to 24, 22.6% from 25 to 44, 41.9% from 45 to 64, and 3.2% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 42 years. For every 100 females there were 63.2 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 57.1 males.
The median income for a household in the town was $5,833, and the median income for a family was $5,000. Males had a median income of $36,250 versus $23,333 for females. The per capita income
for the town was $10,738. There were 66.7% of families and 61.9% of the population living below the poverty line, including 100.0% of under eighteens and none of those over 64.
in the United States, called the “Cadillac of Landfills”, owned by Chemical Waste Management, Inc. This town of just a few dozen residents, became a center for controversy on environmental racism
. Environmental racism
is the idea that the majority of the nation’s toxic chemical wastes are dumped in African American, Hispanic and Native American communities. In 1978, Chemical Waste Management purchased a landfill permit of 300 acres (1.2 km²) near Emelle in Sumter County. In Sumter County, one-third of the residents live below poverty level, which makes it one of the countries most impoverished regions. Over 90 percent of the residents near the landfill are Black, which to some qualifies this as environmental racism. This landfill has become the largest hazardous waste landfill in the United States and among the top in the world, as Waste Management, Inc. has dumped 5 or 6 million tons of hazardous waste. Most of the waste disposed of in the United States, due to the Superfund removal program, ended up at the landfill between 1984 and 1987. It is on top of the Eutaw Aquifer, which supplies water to a large part of Alabama.
Key actors in this struggle were Chemical Waste Management, regulatory agencies, and Alabamians for a Clean Environment. Chemical Waste Management is the largest company in the hazardous waste industry, as it serves to more than 10 million residential customers and 1 million businesses. Currently, the company is working on defining an environmental image by participating in many recycling projects. Regulatory agencies are groups responsible for environmental protection that want to establish facilities that can handle the nation's waste safely. Examples include the Alabama Department of Environmental Management and the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). The Alabamians for a Clean Environment (ACE) is a grassroots environmental group who wants to close down Chemical Waste Management. White women (such as Kaye Kiker) and their husbands formed the group.
Residents and other concerned citizens held a demonstration in Emelle against the Chemical Waste landfill. This demonstration was based on the struggle in Warren County, North Carolina
, where the idea of environmental racism and the need for environmental justice
emerged. The Emelle demonstration marked the first time that blacks and whites in Sumter County joined together in a public protest over any political issue. Alabamians for a Clean Environment used techniques such as sign waving and name calling to draw attention to their cause. They also had access to the media and Attorney General Jimmy Evans, who became a powerful actor in their cause. Soon they attracted national attention and gained support from larger partisan organizations such as the National Toxics Fund Clearinghouse for Hazardous Wastes, the National Toxics Fund Campaign, the Sierra Club and Greenpeace
. They did not achieve their goal of shutting down Chemical Waste Management.
brought changes to Emelle, and Blacks were elected to public office in 1978. Soon the economy began to change as government and business elites were the main people affecting land-use decisions. A general theme arose of polluting industries coming into poor minority communities where local community leaders had no input. The environmental risks were traded for jobs. Key local leaders supported Chemical Waste Management, as the counties budgets were increased $5.00 for every ton of waste buried in the county. Once up and running, the dump has had many problems such as on-site fires, water contamination, environmental violations, dumping without permits, and unauthorized acceptance of dioxins.
Sumter County, Alabama
Sumter County is a county of the U.S. state of Alabama.Its name is in honor of General Thomas Sumter of South Carolina. As of 2010, the population was 13,763. Its county seat is Livingston.-History:...
, Alabama
Alabama
Alabama is a state located in the southeastern region of the United States. It is bordered by Tennessee to the north, Georgia to the east, Florida and the Gulf of Mexico to the south, and Mississippi to the west. Alabama ranks 30th in total land area and ranks second in the size of its inland...
, United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
. It was named after the daughters of the man who donated the land for the town. The town was started in the 19th century but not incorporated until the 1980s. The daughters of the man who donated were named Emma Dial and Ella Dial, so he combined the two names to create Emelle. Emelle was famous for their great cotton. The first mayor of Emelle was James Dailey. He served two terms. The current mayor is Roy Willingham Sr. The population was only 31 at the 2000 census. The town is known for being the site of the largest hazardous waste landfill
Landfill
A landfill site , is a site for the disposal of waste materials by burial and is the oldest form of waste treatment...
in the United States, operated by Waste Management, Inc. That hazardous waste disposal facility was the subject of a case decided by the United States Supreme Court, Chemical Waste Management, Inc. v. Hunt
Chemical Waste Management, Inc. v. Hunt
Chemical Waste Management, Inc. v. Hunt, 504 U.S. 334 , was a United States Supreme Court case that held that an Alabama law imposing a fee on out-of-state hazardous waste being disposed of in-state violated the Dormant Commerce Clause...
, 504 U.S. 334 (1992).
Geography
Emelle is located at 32.729882°N 88.314333°W.According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the town has a total area of 0.2 square mile (0.517997622 km²), all of it land.
Demographics
As of the censusCensus
A census is the procedure of systematically acquiring and recording information about the members of a given population. It is a regularly occurring and official count of a particular population. The term is used mostly in connection with national population and housing censuses; other common...
of 2000, there were 31 people, 15 households, and 10 families residing in the town. The population density
Population density
Population density is a measurement of population per unit area or unit volume. It is frequently applied to living organisms, and particularly to humans...
was 142.9 people per square mile (54.4/km2). There were 16 housing units at an average density of 73.8 per square mile (28.1/km2). The racial makeup of the town was 6.45% White
Race (United States Census)
Race and ethnicity in the United States Census, as defined by the Federal Office of Management and Budget and the United States Census Bureau, are self-identification data items in which residents choose the race or races with which they most closely identify, and indicate whether or not they are...
and 93.55% Black
Race (United States Census)
Race and ethnicity in the United States Census, as defined by the Federal Office of Management and Budget and the United States Census Bureau, are self-identification data items in which residents choose the race or races with which they most closely identify, and indicate whether or not they are...
or African American
Race (United States Census)
Race and ethnicity in the United States Census, as defined by the Federal Office of Management and Budget and the United States Census Bureau, are self-identification data items in which residents choose the race or races with which they most closely identify, and indicate whether or not they are...
.
There were 15 households out of which 33.3% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 46.7% were married couples
Marriage
Marriage is a social union or legal contract between people that creates kinship. It is an institution in which interpersonal relationships, usually intimate and sexual, are acknowledged in a variety of ways, depending on the culture or subculture in which it is found...
living together, 20.0% had a female householder with no husband present, and 33.3% were non-families. 33.3% of all households were made up of individuals and 6.7% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.07 and the average family size was 2.60.
In the town, the population was spread out with 29.0% under the age of 18, 3.2% from 18 to 24, 22.6% from 25 to 44, 41.9% from 45 to 64, and 3.2% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 42 years. For every 100 females there were 63.2 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 57.1 males.
The median income for a household in the town was $5,833, and the median income for a family was $5,000. Males had a median income of $36,250 versus $23,333 for females. The per capita income
Per capita income
Per capita income or income per person is a measure of mean income within an economic aggregate, such as a country or city. It is calculated by taking a measure of all sources of income in the aggregate and dividing it by the total population...
for the town was $10,738. There were 66.7% of families and 61.9% of the population living below the poverty line, including 100.0% of under eighteens and none of those over 64.
Chemical Waste Management Landfill
Emelle, Alabama is home to the largest toxic waste landfillLandfill
A landfill site , is a site for the disposal of waste materials by burial and is the oldest form of waste treatment...
in the United States, called the “Cadillac of Landfills”, owned by Chemical Waste Management, Inc. This town of just a few dozen residents, became a center for controversy on environmental racism
Environmental racism
Environmental racism is a sociological term referring to policies and regulations that disproportionately burden minority communities with negative environmental impacts....
. Environmental racism
Environmental racism
Environmental racism is a sociological term referring to policies and regulations that disproportionately burden minority communities with negative environmental impacts....
is the idea that the majority of the nation’s toxic chemical wastes are dumped in African American, Hispanic and Native American communities. In 1978, Chemical Waste Management purchased a landfill permit of 300 acres (1.2 km²) near Emelle in Sumter County. In Sumter County, one-third of the residents live below poverty level, which makes it one of the countries most impoverished regions. Over 90 percent of the residents near the landfill are Black, which to some qualifies this as environmental racism. This landfill has become the largest hazardous waste landfill in the United States and among the top in the world, as Waste Management, Inc. has dumped 5 or 6 million tons of hazardous waste. Most of the waste disposed of in the United States, due to the Superfund removal program, ended up at the landfill between 1984 and 1987. It is on top of the Eutaw Aquifer, which supplies water to a large part of Alabama.
Key actors in this struggle were Chemical Waste Management, regulatory agencies, and Alabamians for a Clean Environment. Chemical Waste Management is the largest company in the hazardous waste industry, as it serves to more than 10 million residential customers and 1 million businesses. Currently, the company is working on defining an environmental image by participating in many recycling projects. Regulatory agencies are groups responsible for environmental protection that want to establish facilities that can handle the nation's waste safely. Examples include the Alabama Department of Environmental Management and the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). The Alabamians for a Clean Environment (ACE) is a grassroots environmental group who wants to close down Chemical Waste Management. White women (such as Kaye Kiker) and their husbands formed the group.
Residents and other concerned citizens held a demonstration in Emelle against the Chemical Waste landfill. This demonstration was based on the struggle in Warren County, North Carolina
Warren County, North Carolina
-Demographics:As of the census of 2000, there were 19,972 people, 7,708 households, and 5,449 families residing in the county. The population density was 47 people per square mile . There were 10,548 housing units at an average density of 25 per square mile...
, where the idea of environmental racism and the need for environmental justice
Environmental justice
Environmental justice is "the fair treatment and meaningful involvement of all people regardless of race, color, sex, national origin, or income with respect to the development, implementation and enforcement of environmental laws, regulations, and policies." In the words of Bunyan Bryant,...
emerged. The Emelle demonstration marked the first time that blacks and whites in Sumter County joined together in a public protest over any political issue. Alabamians for a Clean Environment used techniques such as sign waving and name calling to draw attention to their cause. They also had access to the media and Attorney General Jimmy Evans, who became a powerful actor in their cause. Soon they attracted national attention and gained support from larger partisan organizations such as the National Toxics Fund Clearinghouse for Hazardous Wastes, the National Toxics Fund Campaign, the Sierra Club and Greenpeace
Greenpeace
Greenpeace is a non-governmental environmental organization with offices in over forty countries and with an international coordinating body in Amsterdam, The Netherlands...
. They did not achieve their goal of shutting down Chemical Waste Management.
Economic Background
Emelle is located in the Black Belt soil region in Alabama. During the Civil War, this city played a large role in Alabama’s cotton plantation economy and about half of the residents were slaves. Cotton production kept the Black population in poverty and continued their dependence on the white man. The Civil Rights Act of 1964Civil Rights Act of 1964
The Civil Rights Act of 1964 was a landmark piece of legislation in the United States that outlawed major forms of discrimination against African Americans and women, including racial segregation...
brought changes to Emelle, and Blacks were elected to public office in 1978. Soon the economy began to change as government and business elites were the main people affecting land-use decisions. A general theme arose of polluting industries coming into poor minority communities where local community leaders had no input. The environmental risks were traded for jobs. Key local leaders supported Chemical Waste Management, as the counties budgets were increased $5.00 for every ton of waste buried in the county. Once up and running, the dump has had many problems such as on-site fires, water contamination, environmental violations, dumping without permits, and unauthorized acceptance of dioxins.