In the northern county of Saint Louis area, there is a fire burning and it has been burning for quite sometime. Not many people are aware of this severe issue and we must build awareness to help the world to see what is happening to families across the Saint Louis area. The Saint Louis establishment has known for decades that Uranium has been poured in several places in North County. Many companies, like Mallinckrodt, poured Uranium into creeks and the landfill with no thought or care regarding how this might affect people and the environment we live in. Specifically, counties where people of color are living and are affected daily by it.

To take you back to August 9, 2014 when Michael Brown Jr. laid in the middle of the street for 4 ½ hours and the city blew up from this cover up. Well, I feel this environmental injustice is in correlation with what has been happening for years in North County with the radioactive waste and how it is intensely affecting families and youth on a daily basis. With the illegal dumping of the Radioactive waste, the conditions in our communities and neighboring areas are volatile. This toxic waste is being found in ground water, tree trunks, leaves and people's front yards. Places like the Bridgeton landfill and Coldwater Creek are becoming even more of a national security issue because the time is limited before more and more families become affected by this.

Is racism in the Saint Louis area the reason why this radioactive waste has not been cleaned up or acknowledged in North County? This has been a consistent issue for years, but it is only becoming more dreadful to the communities and the surrounding areas. For the people that say all lives matter, this is the time to speak up because it is affecting everyone at this point. There are so many older widowed white women that have lost their husbands due to cancer. So many black and brown babies that are growing up with two sets of teeth, and one eyeball and autism because of this contaminated waste that has been discovered. It only takes one particle to get cancer. Cancer is growing rapidly in our communities and partially due to the toxic waste.

Senator Maria Chapelle-Nadal has been one of the leading voices in exposing and informing people on everything that has been happening surrounding this issue. There have been a few other voices that have come forward regarding the findings of radioactive waste in their homes, even that is not enough.

It is beyond ludicrous that state officials will issue a State of Emergency for Black voices using their first amendment rights against state sanctioned violence, but when it comes to this issue there has been no thought to call for a State of Emergency for the communities that live near the landfill to evacuate their homes now to safer places. This is one of the many problems Saint Louis faces with their government electives. This is why we ask the question Which Emergency? When there are families and life changing events happening daily and the government is remaining silent and watching it all boil out. The fire is burning. The people have to organize and attack this issue like we do others.