Toxic Avengers: America's poisoned and abandoned communities must stand together or die

From the explosion of AI data centers to the increasing number of toxic spills, explosions, and industrial disasters happening across the country, corporations and the government are turning the USA into one giant "sacrifice zone." In "red" states and "blue" states, in rural areas and urban areas, poor and working people are suffering the toxic effects of a crisis that has resulted from decades of deregulation, corporate-capture of government, and the protection of private profits over the lives and health of the public.

No one is coming to save us, and nothing is going to change unless residents of different sacrifice zones and poisoned communities, workers and unions on the frontlines of the industries poisoning us, environmental justice groups, community and faith organizations, scientists, journalists, and all others who have a stake in this fight start coming together, working together, and fighting back together. In this special panel discussion, recorded at the 2026 Railroad Workers United convention in Chicago, Illinois, we speak with a panel of guests who are part of a new coalition that is doing just that.

Panelists include: Jeff Kurtz, a retired locomotive engineer, union officer, and Railroad Workers United member who also served as a state representative in the Iowa House of Representatives; Jami Wallace, a displaced resident of East Palestine, Ohio, and founder of the Chemically Impacted Communities Coalition (CICC); Dr. Nicole Fabricant, a professor of anthropology at Towson University and scholar-activist who has been working with chemically impacted communities in South Baltimore, Maryland, for 15 years; Scott Smith, independent testing expert and founder of the Blue Shirt Justice League; and Lesley Pacey, Senior Environmental Officer at the Government Accountability Project.

Additional links/info:

• Railroad Workers United website, Facebook page, and X page
• Chemically Impacted Communities Coalition (CICC) Facebook page
• Blue Shirt Justice League website and Facebook page
• Government Accountability Project website, Facebook page, X page, Bluesky page, and Instagram
• Coal-Free Curtis Bay Facebook page and Instagram
• South Baltimore Community Land Trust website, X page, Facebook page, and Instagram
• Nicole Fabricant, University of California Press, Fighting to Breathe: Race, Toxicity, and the Rise of Youth Activism in Baltimore
• Maximillian Alvarez, TRNN, "America's toxic future looks like East Palestine, Ohio, today"
• Maximillian Alvarez, Working People / TRNN, "'Let's unite!': Poisoned residents of America's sacrifice zones are banding together"
• Maximilian Alvarez, Working People / TRNN, "Corporations and the government are turning the USA into one giant 'sacrifice zone'"

Featured Music:

• Jules Taylor, Working People Theme Song

Credits:

• Audio Post-Production: Jules Taylor