Positives

• This video gives a straightforward connection between systemic racism, air pollution, public health, and COVID-19 health outcomes.
• Engaging graphics, maps, and photographs will keep students interested in the video.
• The video features Dr. Robert Bullard, known as the "Father of Environmental Justice."

Additional Prerequisites

• Particulate matter (PM_2.5) refers to tiny particles or droplets in the air that are two and one-half microns or less in width.
• Teachers may want to remind students that one micron equals one micrometer and one micrometer equals one-millionth of a meter.

Differentiation

• Social studies or history classes could use this video to show how events from history continue to impact people who are living today. Students could make a chronological list of all of the events in the video that led Black people in St. John the Baptist Parish to suffer disproportionately high mortality rates from COVID-19.
• Biology classes could discuss why air pollutants are so dangerous for human health.
• Other resources on this topic include this SubjectToClimate lesson on Cancer Alley, this video on the link between environmental pollution and human health, and this Grist video on environmental justice.