In Chicago, over 100 activists are on hunger strike to protest the relocation of the General Iron metal shredding plant to the Southeast Side of Chicago — in an area with mostly Black and Brown residents and which already suffers from poor air quality due to industrial pollution. The scrapyard is being moved from its current location to make way for the controversial, multibillion-dollar Lincoln Yards development. This is Oscar Sanchez, one of the hunger strikers, speaking to Democracy Now!

Oscar Sanchez: “Our community is considered a sacrifice zone by the city, which continues policies of environmental racism. This is only the latest case of industry being pushed to Black and Brown communities in Chicago. We’re calling on Mayor Lori Lightfoot to break the racist legacy of exploiting Black and Brown communities as dumping grounds for industry, and allowing neighborhoods to breathe, to flourish.”

A rally is planned in front of Mayor Lori Lightfoot’s home later today to mark one month since the start of the hunger strike.