Can writing a letter or showing up for a meeting really change the outcome of a local government decision? Or maybe change the church member?
The operators of the landfill on the north side of Nashville were asking permission to expand it by 12 years and 17 acres. The landfill sits in Bordeaux, an historically Black neighborhood. Representing that area, the Council member, State Senator, and State Representative spoke against it: The community has been subjected to depressed land values, noxious smells, and increased adverse health effects from the current and previous landfills for more than 50 years.
The request violated both the environment and justice. The West End United Methodist Church’s Creation Care Committee held a training for church members in writing letters of advocacy, opposing the landfill and supporting their North Nashville neighbors. Then, the trainees wrote letters to Metro Council members. Subsequently, several of the letter-writers also attended via Zoom a public meeting and heard from Bordeaux community representatives. And finally, they wrote public comments to Metro’s Solid Waste Board, showed up for the meeting and, along with residents from Bordeaux, spoke up there. Clearly, the voice of the church, as well as that of the community, was heard. The Board denied the expansion.
Ellen Wolfe, Susan Brown, Debra Smith, Trey Harrell, and Bonnie Seay were some of the West Enders who participated in the campaign.
Ellen Wolfe had been busy working with her therapy dog, bringing him to adults with memory issues. Those interactions stopped because of COVID, but the letter-writing training was something she could still do. “I care deeply about social justice and am interested in environmental issues, but I didn’t know about the Bordeaux landfill, which is an example of the ongoing systemic racism in Nashville.” Ellen was pleased with the decision against the expansion. “Sometimes it’s overwhelming, and you don’t know how to act on an issue. I appreciated how specific this training was.”
“Sometimes it’s overwhelming, and you don’t know how to act on an issue. I appreciated how specific this training was.”
Ellen Wolfe
Bonnie Seay’s past work as a Spanish teacher for students in the Whites Creek and Hunter’s Lane schools made her keenly aware of the challenges of students living in an economically disadvantaged district. “I think our faith calls us to stand up for people in need. The people who live near the Bordeaux landfill have suffered enough. It’s important that we go with those who are not heard—for us to raise our voice with theirs.”
Debra Smith was drawn to the work because of its foundation in her faith. “Every time someone is baptized, we renew the vow to ‘accept the freedom and power God gives you to resist evil, injustice, and oppression in whatever forms they present themselves.’ The Creation Care team’s advocacy efforts provided me an opportunity to live out that vow. Over the past few years, I have learned of Nashville’s long history of making infrastructure decisions that disproportionately negatively affect predominately Black neighborhoods. The request to expand the Bordeaux landfill is a clear example that this form of systemic racism continues today. The letter-writing efforts pushed me to examine more deeply how I can stand in solidarity with those who are harmed by our collective action.”
Trey Harrell, as a father concerned for the future and as a physician who has seen the effects of landfill air pollution, took the letter-writing training. With his busy schedule he missed attending the meeting, but he wrote follow-up letters to the Board thanking them for their decision after he learned the issue may yet be challenged in court. “Sometimes you feel like you haven’t been involved and it’s too late. It helps to know there’s always something more to be done—you don’t have to do everything to help.”
Susan Brown was motivated to join the letter-writing training because of her reading on the topic of racism (White Fragility and How to Be an Anti-Racist). “Those had a profound impact—it wasn’t enough to just say ‘Well, I’m not a racist’—that doesn’t really change much about systemic racism. So, when I heard about the training in letter writing, I thought, That’s something I can do.
“I am not comfortable being a public speaker unless you are six years old. (I taught first grade for 37 years—they aren’t as judgmental or scary.) So, this letter writing is actually the first thing I’ve done to oppose racial injustice.” Susan wrote six letters to council members and attended the meeting.
“Doing this advocacy on the landfill did force me to study the issue because I was totally unaware. I know that a landfill is a problem, but I didn’t realize how that was connected to racial injustice. After I read some things and became aware of all the problems it was causing for that community, I felt informed.”
Susan’s willingness to be a part of the environmental-justice mission of creation care is motivated by her two favorite Scriptures: “Love one another” (John 13:34) and “Whatever you did for one of the least of these…” (Matthew 25:40).
The mission and outreach of WEUMC is why she is a member of the church, and the training on the issue of the Bordeaux landfill has helped her feel empowered and gave her something she felt she could do. Still, she says she’s not ready yet to speak in front of an entire council until she can picture them as six-year-olds. That may be a good topic for the next training for creation care volunteers.
Clare Bratten, Ph.D., retired professor, journalist, EarthKeeper, and active participant in West End United Methodist Church’s Creation Care Committee.