Skip to main content
Home Whitman College Penrose Library | Arminda Collections

Main menu

  • Home
  • Browse Collections
  • About
  • Login
  1. Home
  2. Honors Theses
  3. Unequal alliances : nuancing notions of success in cross-racial and cross-issue coalitions
Title

Unequal alliances : nuancing notions of success in cross-racial and cross-issue coalitions

    Item Description
    Limited Access
    The author(s) chose to restrict access to this thesis to current Whitman students, faculty, and staff. Please log in to view it.
    Linked Agent
    Creator (cre): Brott, Alexander Maxwell
    Advisor (adv): Bobrow-Strain, Aaron
    Department (dpt): Whitman College. Politics - Environmental Studies
    Date
    May 7, 2013
    Graduation Year
    2013
    Abstract

    Methyl Iodide, considered one of the most toxic chemicals on earth, was approved for agricultural use in California in 2010. Like most post-DDT pesticides, Methyl Iodide is acutely toxic at application, leaving the bodies of farmworkers disproportionally impacted by its use. This listing was successfully challenged by the diverse California-based anti-pesticide coalition Californians for Pesticide Reform (CPR), but in this study I explore the limitations of merely banning a pesticide. Because it is important to conceptualize pesticides in the context of a broader suite of issues facing a racial group, I explore to what degree CPR foregrounded race in its activism. I argue that CPR’s activism demonstrated an improvement over prior pesticide campaigns in that they intentionally prioritized farmworker voices, but could further benefit by using race-specific language. As food and environmental movements increasingly look to respond to criticisms that they ignore racial issues, these cross-racial, cross-issue coalitions can offer important lessons for future coalition work.

    Subject
    California Rural Legal Assistance Foundation (CRLA)
    Californian for Pesticide Reform (Organization) (CPR)
    California Environmental Protection Agency -- Department of Pesticide Regulation (CDPR)
    Coalitions -- Political
    Methyl iodine (MeI)
    Latin Americans -- Latinos
    Agricultural laborers -- Health aspects -- California
    Pesticides -- Application -- Safety measures
    Pesticides -- Toxicity -- Law and legislation
    Pesticides -- Risk mitigation
    Race relations -- Farmworkers
    Environmental justice -- California
    Pesticides -- Environmental aspects -- California
    Social sciences
    Environmental sciences
    Academic theses
    Whitman College 2013 -- Dissertation collection -- Politics-Environmental Studies
    Geographic Subject
    United States
    California
    Genre
    Theses
    Extent
    40 pages
    Permanent URL
    http://works.whitman.edu/1207
    Rights
    http://rightsstatements.org/vocab/InC/1.0/
    Contact Us

    If you have questions about permitted uses of this content, please contact the Arminda administrator: http://works.whitman.edu/contact-arminda

    8062431
    Home Whitman College Penrose Library | Arminda Collections

    Footer menu

    • About
    • Author FAQ
    • Contact Us
    • List of Collections
    • Policies
    • Terms of Use