The PCB protest in Warren County, North Carolina in 1982 formed the basis for the environmental justice movement in the United States. Over 500 protestors, including members of the NAACP and other civil rights groups, were arrested during a six-week protest against the establishment of a hazardous waste landfill in their community, which protestors believed was due to racial motivation. The NAACP provided valuable resources like legal representation and an established membership network to the protest, allowing it to develop into a larger social movement advocating for environmental justice issues nationwide.

1. From Protest To a Social
Movement
How the PCB Protest in North Carolina formed the
Environmental Justice Movement in America
Janelle Ntim

2. Puzzle
What are salient factors in
determining if a protest
develops into a social
movement?

3. Background The PCB (polychlorinated biphenyl) protest
that took place in Warren County, North
Carolina in 1982.
Members of the Warren County community
worked together to oppose the establishment
of a hazardous waste landfill within their
community. The community of Warren county
had believed the reason for the placement of
the landfill was due to racial motivation
because of the demographics of the
community.

4. Background
During the protest, 500 protestors were arrested.
Protestors included members of the NAACP, faith
leaders, community organizers, and legislators. A
number of civil rights leaders were present and
involved in the protest of the landfill.
The protest lasted for six weeks with a sizable
amount of protestors,average attendance of 75
people at each day of the protest.

5. ENVIRONMENTAL
JUSTICE
MOVEMENT
The environmental justice movement addresses a
statistical fact: people who live, work and play in
America's most polluted environments are
commonly people of color and the poor.(NRDC)
Environmental justice (EJ) is the fair treatment and
meaningful involvement of all people regardless of
race, color, national origin, or income with respect
to the development, implementation and
enforcement of environmental laws, regulations
and policies. (EPA)

6. Hypothesis
Resources are the most salient factor in
determining if a protest develops into a
social movement. I believe that resource
mobilization theory best explains social
movements.

7. My Argument
The NAACP, National Association for the Advancement of Colored
People, had an established network of members, legal resources
and protest strategies that were valuable to PCB protest. Due to
the involvement of the local NAACP, the protest developed into a
larger social movement that centers on environmental justice
issues in the United States.

8. Resource
Mobilization Theory
When some individuals in a society have certain
grievances, they may be able to mobilize necessary
resources to do something to alleviate those
grievances.
The term "resources" in this context refer to things
like money, labor, social status, knowledge, support
of the media and political elites, etc

9. Competing
Theories
Deprivation Theory
social movements are born when certain
people or certain groups of people in a society
feel that they are deprived of a specific good,
service, or resource (McAdams)
Political process theory
social movements as a type of political
movement in that the origins of a social
movement are traced to the availability of
political opportunities. (Tilly)

10. Competing
Theories
New Social Movement Theories
Four requirements for the development of a
movement: cultural frames, social networks,
repertoires of action, and political
opportunities (Tarrow)

11. Civil Rights
Organizations
involved in
the PCB
Protest
● The National Association for the
Advancement of Colored People
(NAACP)
● United Church of Christ (UCC)
● Southern Christian Leadership
Conference (SCLC)
● Congress for Racial Equality (CORE)
● Warren County Citizens Concerned
about PCB (Concerned Citizens)

12. The Importance of
Legacy in the Civil
Rights Movement in
Connection to the
Environmental
Justice Movement
The resources that were available to the
protestors during the PCB protest are
directly connected to civil rights
organizations.
The civil rights organizations had
decades of experience in organizing
nonviolent protest and legal battles that
involved the rights of black Americans

13. The NAACP
The National Association for the
Advancement of Colored People is a
civil rights organization in the United
States. Whose mission is to advance the
quality of life for people of color.
Resources
● Legal representation
● Membership

14. Evidence:
Legal
Representation
The local chapter of the National Association for the
Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) filed a
suit in July 1982 in district court making the following
observations:
● Waivers were sought for three out of five EPA
requirements for landfills, indicating that the site
was not suitable.
● Warren County was located on the outskirts of
the area where the PCB was dumped, thus
transportation to the site would result in
substantial costs.
● There are an estimated 800,000 acres of soil
less permeable than Warren County soil in
other parts of North Carolina that would be
more appropriate for a landfill.
● The state should utilize eminent domain powers
in Chatham County where soil was more
suitable
(General Accounting Office, 1983)

15. Evidence:
Membership
The role of the local NAACP chapter
focused on recruiting members, raising
money, and organizing local campaigns.
In 1977 the NAACP had 1,372 branches
and 311,292 members in the United
States (Source)

16. My Argument
The NAACP, National Association for the Advancement of Colored
People, had an established network of members, legal resources
and protest strategies that were valuable to PCB protest. Due to
the involvement of the local NAACP, the protest developed into a
larger social movement that centers on environmental justice
issues in the United States.

17. Conclusion
Resources must be available and used strategically
in protest.
Protest that use their resources in these ways have
the opportunity of becoming a social movement.
There must be other factors present for the protest
to emerge successfully such as a clear common
grievance and goal.

18. Conclusion
The NAACP had decades worth of knowledge on
methods to fight social injustices including legal
pathways to combating racist practices. The
NAACP had the resources to organize peaceful
protest that did not threaten the integrity of the
protest. What could had been a one off protest
became the standard from environmental justice
issue in the nation.
The organizers used the NAACP to their advantage
to furthering their cause and addressing their issue

19. Questions

20. Sources:
Renee Skelton Vernice Miller. “The Environmental Justice Movement” March 17, 2016 https://www.nrdc.org/stories/environmental-justice-movement
http://www.beykon.org/dergi/2016/SPRING/2016XI.I.10.A.Sen.pdf
Marger, Martin N. "Social Movement Organizations and Response to Environmental Change: The NAACP, 1960-1973." Social Problems 32, no. 1
(1984): 16-30. Accessed April 13, 2021. doi:10.2307/800259.
“NAACP History and Geography 1909-1980” Civil Rights and Labor History Consortium / University of Washington,
https://depts.washington.edu/moves/NAACP_intro.shtml
Staff. “Environmental Justice History''. The US Department of Energy Office of Legacy Management
(https://www.energy.gov/lm/services/environmental-justice/environmental-justice-history)
Staff. “Real People – Real Stories: Afton, NC (Warren County)”. Exchange Project at The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. September 2006.
https://exchangeproject.unc.edu/wp-content/uploads/sites/18406/2018/08/Real-People-Afton-long-story-07-0426.pdf
Mcgurty, Eileen. (2000). Warren County, NC, and the Emergence of the Environmental Justice Movement: Unlikely Coalitions and Shared Meanings in
Local Collective Action. Society & Natural Resources. 13. 373-387. 10.1080/089419200279027.