The West Anniston Foundation was established in 2002 as a result of environmental justice movements that began with a grassroots from the Sweet Valley/CobbTown Task Force who blew the whistle on the PCB contaminant issues in the predominately African-American community. The West Anniston Foundation aims to address the environmental injustices that have long plagued the community by collecting up to date, independent data on air, soil, and water quality. Recognizing the impact of decades old pollution, the community is taking proactive steps to confront this legacy by enlisting a scientist to conduct a thorough environmental risk assessment. By making this critical information accessible to the public, the community hopes to empower residents with the knowledge needed to make informed decisions regarding policies, personal and public health, land use, and potential redevelopment.
Understanding the extent of the local pollution will be critical in aiding the community’s fight for public health for current and future generations. The community is particularly interested in understanding the spatial range of the legacy pollution created since the 1940’s and whether it’s possible to clear the pollution within a given amount of time for the community to continue to live in or near the area safely.
The West Anniston community is disproportionately impacted by a multitude of environmental challenges including legacy pollution and other socioeconomic conditions as a result of the impact of the environmental injustices. The aim of this project is to utilize a Land Reuse Action Model in conjunction with collecting independent environmental data-air, soil and water to ensure that the community’s public health issues are considered in the community’s revitalization processes.
https://www.atsdr.cdc.gov/sites/brownfields/actionmodeltoolkit/what-is-the-action-model/#section-1-3
Background documents and resources:
https://www.atsdr.cdc.gov/sites/anniston_community_health_survey/site_docs/ACHS-Summary-Booklet-508.pdf
https://www.atsdr.cdc.gov/sites/anniston_community_health_survey/site_docs/ACHS-FAQ-Brochure-508.pdf
https://trace.tennessee.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=5184&context=utk_graddiss
https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/CHRG-107shrg81528/html/CHRG-107shrg81528.htm
https://www.theguardian.com/artanddesign/2018/apr/20/mathieu-asselin-monsanto-deutsche-borse-anniston-alabama
The community is located in West Anniston, AL and the project is being led by the West Anniston Foundation. Anniston, AL is an urban community whose population is 49.9% Black. 42.7% White, and 2.41% Hispanic
This community is working with Thriving Earth Exchange in order to answer challenging questions and concerns regarding environmental and public health. It would be ideal to find answers on the scope (units, range, past impact, future impact) of legacy pollutants. Once finding the scope of such concerns, a risk assessment would be ideal to allow the people within the community to make judgment on what to do moving forward. It would be helpful for there to be governmental involvement to help resolve this issue, however, all facts, data, and suggestions must be figured out prior to reaching out to the government for potential fixes.
The team project will utilize the ATSDR’s Action Model answering the four questions: (1) What are the issues of community? (2). How can development address those issues? (3.) What will be the community benefits? (4.) What data is needed to measure change?
The community’s areas of interest include: Health – physical and mental health; Community – education, economy, safety, security; Land and Environment – contaminated soil/water/air, parks, waterways; and Buildings and Infrastructure dilapidated building, grocery stores, sidewalks.
Information collected throughout the 12-month process will be compiled into a white a paper and distributed to the community. This document will aid stakeholders in considering health equity in community economic development projects. It will also empower the community members with information to make informed and engaged decisions and to take on leadership positions in advocating for community change.
The project team will work with scientists at all stages of implementation including collecting currently available data, collecting community members concerns, integrating models with an existing community development project- (i.e. expansion of the Chief Ladiga Trail into West Anniston). Throughout the project, the scientist will engage with community health workers- Youth & Adults, community residents, policy stakeholders, the faith based community and other allied community organizations. The outputs of this project will include:
The West Anniston Foundation was established in 2002 as a result of an environmental justice movement that began with a grassroots from the Sweet Valley/CobbTown Task Force, who blew the whistle on the PCB contaminant issues in the predominantly African-American community. Sweet Valley/CobbTown was ground zero for the PCB contamination. However, there are additional environmental issues outside of PCBs in Anniston-lead, mercury, pesticides, etc.. (Please see Anniston Community Health Survey linked below)
The target audience for this project is the West Anniston Community (median age of 41 years old), but the project is open to various social media outlets to engage younger audiences. These include: Facebook, Youtube (informational workshops could be posted on Youtube, if recorded), Instagram, Tiktok, Reddit, and Informational Workshops (in-person/recorded) (Schedule, Time, and topic).
When completed, the community will benefit by having this information readily available to the public to make informed decisions about policies, individual health decisions, public health decisions, land use, and potential redevelopment-specifically housing.
Ideally, this project will help increase community awareness of pollutant dumping from big companies. Hopefully this will inspire other citizen scientists to wonder what’s going on in their own backyards. Moving forward, people can see the steps we took in order to go from ideas to concept which leads to action.
The timeline will be refined as the community scientist co-develops plans with the project team. The white paper will likely be available for release in Fall 2025. Key milestones include:
Tycoma Miller, community lead is community advocate with over 14 years of experience working alongside a grassroots environmental justice focused nonprofit organization. Tycoma work intersects between social work and public health. Tycoma has been primarily responsible for the development and implementation of community-led projects centered around addressing the social, economic and health conditions of her environmental justice impacted community. She brings both her lived and professional experiences to her work. Tycoma has a deep passion for community work and uses her desire to see revitalization in her West Anniston community as a driving factor in her work. Tycoma holds a bachelor’s degree in Social Work from an historical black college and university (HBCU) The Alabama Agricultural and Mechanical University and a master’s degree in Public Health from Purdue University Global.
Dezirae Cunningham, a Clinical Research Coordinator at the O’Neal Comprehensive Cancer Center, specializing in Non-Hodgkin’s and Hodgkin’s lymphoma research. I hold a Master’s in Biomedical Sciences from the University of Georgia, where I graduated in 2023, and I earned a Bachelor’s degree in Public Health from the University of Alabama in 2022. I’m passionate about community health and environmental justice, which drives my work both professionally and as an emerging community activist. Through the Thriving Earth Exchange, I’m eager to assist and help lead a project that addresses the environmental and health impacts of the Monsanto chemical plant in Anniston, Alabama, aiming to create lasting positive change.
Callie Heard is a dedicated community leader and marketing specialist, renowned for her unwavering commitment to empowering individuals and fostering growth within her community. With a background as a trained Community Health Worker, Callie seamlessly integrates her expertise in healthy homes principles with her passion for community education and career development. She envisions a future where every individual, regardless of their background, has the opportunity to achieve their full potential. Her efforts are driven by a belief that education and career development are key to unlocking brighter futures. By fostering a culture of continuous learning and community support, Callie aims to inspire the next generation to explore a wide range of career paths and embrace the possibilities that lie ahead. Callie’s work not only highlights the importance of healthy living and career readiness but also underscores the transformative power of community leadership. Callie’s legacy is one of empowerment, education, and unwavering support for the youth and families she serves, making a profound and lasting difference in the lives of many.
Deanna Johnson is a professionally dedicated individual who enjoys fostering educational collaborations between academics, community organizations, and researchers with a strong focus on engaging diverse audiences in science through innovative methods of interactions and engagement. As a former 2 year NASA intern and Thriving Earth Exchange Community Science Fellow with a robust background in project management and human resources, she is always actively involved in projects that aim to collect and disseminate independent environmental data to inform the public to make individual health decisions. As a prior paramedic with a strong academic foundation and a passion for science communication, Deanna excels in creating meaningful connections between scientific research and community needs. She is currently completing her bachelors in Computer Engineering with a minor in Environmental Science.
Project scientists will work with Community Leads and Community Science Fellow in collaboration with Thriving Earth exchange to collect environmental data for the West Anniston community which includes soil, water, and air to help facilitate future discussion on public health well-being.
Desired Skills and Qualifications:
Thriving Earth Exchange asks all scientific partners to work with the community to help define a project with concrete local impact to which they can contribute as pro-bono volunteers and collaborators. This work can also position the scientists and communities to seek additional funding, together, for the next stage.
Northeast Alabama Community Health Worker Coalition– training of community members as public health advocates.
