Health, Wealth and Race in Today's Louisiana

This season, we’re looking at environmental racism across the
country, and today that takes us to the sugarcane covered,
oil-rich region at the intersection of southern Louisiana and
the Gulf of Mexico: Iberia Parish.


In this episode of Living Downstream, we will hear from people
who say they are fighting over something that their families
have already fought for generations to maintain: wealth. In
this case, we’re talking about land: what grows on it and what
lies under it.


We’ll hear from Black sugarcane farmers who say it’s become
impossible to stay within the industry. These farmers describe
the challenges of keeping their businesses afloat in an
atmosphere of overwhelming racism, and they share with us how
the stress is affecting their minds and bodies.


And we'll hear the poignant story of a woman who documents how
oil was taken from her family's land, while the only
compensation was a $10 contract she says is a fraud.


Gulf States Newsroom regional healthcare reporter Shalina
Chatlani takes the story from here.


Click the icon below to listen.