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The Plastic Problem Black Men Can’t Ignore

SEATTLE MEDIUM — Black men may face a new environmental threat to their health: chemicals and microscopic plastics. These substances, found in everyday products and foods, could be harming fertility. Researchers have linked elevated levels of endocrine-disrupting chemicals and microplastics in Black men to lower fertility rates, prostate cancer, and cardiovascular disease.

Published

2 months ago

July 2, 2026

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The Plastic Problem Black Men Can’t Ignore

For generations, environmental justice in Black America has been measured in asthma rates, cancer diagnoses and poisoned drinking water. Scientists now say another consequence may be emerging: chemicals and microscopic plastics omnipresent in everyday life could be harming Black men’s fertility.

Researchers have found that Black men tend to have elevated levels of endocrine-disrupting chemicals, which mimic or block hormones, due to their presence in consumer products and certain foods. Besides contributing to lower fertility rates, researchers have linked those chemicals, along with microplastics, to other health issues disproportionately found in Black men, like prostate cancer and cardiovascular disease.

But in the U.S., studies on environmental exposure and male reproductive health focuses almost exclusively on white men. That’s despite the fact that Black men are more likely to live in areas with heavier concentration of facilities that emit microplastics, harmful chemicals and other forms of pollution that researchers have found affect testicular health and sperm production rates.

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Rev. Lennox Yearwood, president and CEO of the Hip Hop Caucus, says the issue of microplastics and similar health threats are the Black community’s modern-day civil rights issue. Evidence that pollution is now affecting men’s reproductive health, he says, should be a call to arms.

“The plastic epidemic is not a “right” or “left” issue; it’s a ‘you’ issue, a ‘me’ issue, and quite plainly a global issue,” says Yearwood. “Plastics are, in fact, taking over the planet, and they don’t discriminate.”

“As Black men, we’re fighting enough battles when it comes to our health. We shouldn’t also have to worry about plastics and toxic chemicals making their way into our bodies,” Yearwood told Word In Black.

A Worldwide Problem

An astounding 450 mill i on tons of plastic is produced worldwide each year. And nearly one-quarter of it ends up in the environment, where they very slowly degrade into microscopic pieces. Science has confirmed that these particles may be buried in landfills or released into the atmosphere, but they don’t stay outside the body.

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The issue is especially relevant because so many Black neighborhoods are “fenceline communities” — places where industrial facilities, like manufacturing plants, airports or military bases, have been built.

Black Americans are 75% more likely than white Americans to live next to industrial facilities that generate noise, odor, increase traffic or spew emissions that directly affect the population. Besides microplastic particles, those facilities also emit chemical additives that leach from plastics and have been directly linked to hormonal disruption and reduced male fertility.

A 2023 peer-reviewed Harvard study published in Environmental Science & Technology found that communities with higher proportions of Black and Latino residents are significantly more likely to be exposed to dangerous PFAS levels — so-called forever chemicals — in their water.

The researchers link this finding to the high number of major industrial facilities, from factories to military bases, located near watersheds serving these communities. Each facility was associated with an increase in certain PFAS compounds higher than 100% in some cases.

These chemicals find their way into drinking water and hit Black communities hardest.

Studies have found microplastics in human testicular tissue, a condition associated with lower sperm counts. Black men face higher rates of prostate cancer and cardiovascular issues. Microplastics and endocrine disruptors have been shown to worsen these conditions.

Black men have also been found to have elevated levels of endocrine-disrupting chemicals, which mimic or block hormones, due to their presence in consumer products and certain foods. But in U.S. studies on environmental exposure and male reproductive health more than 80% of study participants are white while just 2% to 10% are Black Americans.

Chemical Disruptors

Another landmark 2023 study published in the journal Toxicological Sciences found microplastics in human testicular tissue and were associated with lower sperm counts. These chemicals act as endocrine disruptors that interfere or reduce sperm quality and lower testosterone.

And in 2014, a study found microplastics in heart arteries. Black men die from cardiovascular disease at a rate 38% higher than men in the overall population.

Dr. Robert Bullard, widely regarded as one of the fathers of the environmental justice movement, has documented this disparity for decades. In his 1990 book, “Dumping in Dixie,” and other works, Bullard established that industrial facilities and toxic waste disposal in Black communities is a deliberate policy decision — not an accident. While white communities experience “pollution advantage,” compared to communities of color no community … should be allowed to become a ‘sacrifice zone’ or dumping ground.”

Yearwood’s organization has been fighting for climate justice and environmental justice for two decades. But there’s more work to be done.

“We’ve seen what pollution has done in places like Cancer Alley. Families have suffered, communities have been devastated, and the effects last for generations,” Yearwood adds. “Protecting our health means standing up to the industries polluting our air and water and understanding that environmental justice is a matter of survival. We can’t pour into our families and communities while being poisoned from the inside out.”

Reducing Your Exposure

The good news is that there are steps individuals can take to reduce their microplastic load.

1. Choose tap water over bottled water. A study cited by the NRDC found that people who drink bottled water ingest substantially more microplastics annually than those who drink tap water. Those who consume beverages in plastic packaging also show higher microplastic levels in stool. Use filtered tap water when possible; a reverse osmosis or activated carbon filter reduces particles further.

2. Don’t microwave food in plastic. Scientists have confirmed that heating food in plastic packaging or containers releases plastic particles and chemicals into food. Transfer food to glass or ceramic before microwaving.

3. Replace plastic kitchenware. Plastic cutting boards, bowls, blenders, electric kettles, and sponges all introduce microplastics into food. Alternatives include stainless steel, glass, ceramic, bamboo, and stoneware. Bamboo cutting boards in particular have been shown not to transfer microplastics to food.

4. Choose natural fiber clothing and furnishings. Synthetic textiles shed plastic microfibers continuously — during wear and especially during laundering. Indoor dust in spaces dominated by synthetic carpets and upholstery carries higher microplastic concentrations. Cotton, linen, silk, wool, and bamboo are the recommended alternatives. Check labels carefully, as synthetics are often blended into natural-fiber products.

5. Replace nonstick cookware. Nonstick pans coated with PTFE (Teflon) release millions of microplastics and nanoplastics during cooking. Notably, those particles are also PFAS — toxic “forever chemicals.” The NRDC recommends switching to stainless steel, cast iron, or ceramic cookware.
Source: National Resources Defense Council

Based on reporting by Seattle Medium.

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Longtime BWOPA Member Brendalyn Goodall Appointed to California Workforce Development Board

Gov. Gavin Newsom has appointed longtime Black Women Organized for Political Action (BWOPA) member Brendalynn Goodall to the California Workforce Development Board. Goodall, an Oakland resident with decades of experience in public service, has held leadership positions focused on

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6 days ago

August 30, 2026

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Post Co-Publisher Gay Plair Cobb with Brendalynn Goodall. Courtesy photo.

By California Black Media

Gov. Gavin Newsom has appointed longtime Black Women Organized for Political Action (BWOPA) member Brendalynn Goodall to the California Workforce Development Board.

Goodall, an Oakland resident with decades of experience in public service, has held leadership positions focused on employment, aging services and assistance for underserved communities.

“Brendalynn will be a great addition to this Board,” said Gay Plair Cobb, who served as former state Assemblyman Sandre Swanson’s alternate to the California Workforce Development Board (CWDB).

“She understands that California’s non-profit organizations serve persons who have the most significant barriers to their labor market success and that the Board should help these groups navigate the complicated requirements of state funding.

“In other words, she will be a strong advocate for our most marginalized populations. Her voice is needed now, more than ever.”

CWDB works with the governor to shape workforce policies, programs and investments designed to strengthen the state’s economy. It collaborates with employers, workers, labor organizations, educational institutions, community groups and California’s 45 local workforce development boards to expand access to quality jobs and respond to regional employment needs.

According to the board, its work includes coordinating state programs and guiding investments in workforce training and development.

BWOPA California celebrated the appointment, describing Goodall as a dedicated advocate for workers, families and older adults.

“Her appointment reflects a lifetime of leadership, service, and unwavering commitment to strengthening California’s workforce and expanding opportunity for all,” the organization stated in a press release.

Goodall served as summer jobs program coordinator in the Oakland Mayor’s Office from 2012 to 2014. In that position, she helped connect young people with employment opportunities and job experience.

Before joining the Mayor’s Office, Goodall was division manager for Aging and Adult Services in the City of Oakland Human Services Department from 2002 to 2011. She previously served as senior services supervisor and program director for the city’s Department of Aging, Health and Human Services from 1990 to 2002.

Goodall is also a member of the California Commission on Aging, which advises the governor and state officials on policies and programs affecting older Californians.

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Black History

Jackie Wright Champions Bay Area Stories, Filmmakers and Cultural Institutions

As an award-winning communications professional, Wright has worked with corporations, nonprofits, government agencies, educational institutions, artists, and community organizations. In 2026, she expanded that work by launching an introductory public relations class for small businesses and nonprofits, offering practical tools for gaining visibility, shaping messages and building productive relationships with the media.

Published

6 days ago

August 30, 2026

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Jackie Wright of Wright Enterprises. Photo courtesy of Wright Enterprises.

By Carla Thomas

Jackie Wright has spent more than two decades helping people, organizations and communities understand the power of a well-told story.

As founder and president of Wright Enterprises, a San Francisco-based strategic communications and public affairs firm, Wright has built a career spanning journalism, public relations, media relations, crisis communications, community engagement and multimedia storytelling.

Wright’s commitment to storytelling is also deeply personal. She wrote and co-directed the 15-minute documentary, “Love Separated in Life…Love Reunited in Honor,” which chronicles the story of her parents, Specialist Five (S5 Wyley Wright Jr. and Ouida Fay McClendon Wright. Her father, a U.S. Army helicopter crew chief, died in Vietnam in 1964 while serving as an honor guard during a visit by then-Secretary of Defense Robert McNamara. Decades later, Wright and her siblings had their father exhumed from a segregated cemetery in Jacksonville, Florida, and their mother moved from her burial place in Georgia so the couple could be reunited at Arlington National Cemetery in 2014.

The family journey later took Wright and her sister to Vietnam, where they discovered the former military compound that had been named in honor of their father and another fallen soldier. The documentary, centered on love, war, family, racial understanding, and remembrance, earned festival recognition at screenings.

“It was quite an honor to learn about my family’s history and share it on film,” said Wright.

That filmmaking experience complements Wright’s longstanding advocacy for independent cinema. She has served as a media partner and brand ambassador for Bay Area film festivals, including the San Francisco Black Film Festival, Oakland International Film Festival, and the Durban International Film Festival in South Africa.

“It’s important to help filmmakers and underrepresented stories reach broader audiences,” said Wright.

Whether promoting a neighborhood organization, championing an independent filmmaker or preserving her own family history, Wright has remained consistent. Through Wright Enterprises, she has turned communications into both a profession and a form of community service, telling stories that might otherwise go unheard.

“Our stories are an integral part of our history, and our history is not only American history, but worldwide,” she said.

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Gov. Newsom Signs Law Shielding Immigration Aid Workers From Doxing Threats

“AB 2624 is fundamentally about freedom — the freedom from fear that lets our immigrant service providers do their jobs, and the freedom of the press to do their jobs without ever being conflated with the doxing this bill actually targets,” Bonta stated. “Those two freedoms were never in tension. Right now, our immigrant service providers are living in fear because of extremists looking to demonize the work that they do and the populations they serve.”

Published

6 days ago

August 30, 2026

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By Antonio Harvey, California Black Media

Gov. Gavin Newsom signed legislation on Aug. 22 designed to protect immigration service providers and humanitarian volunteers from targeted harassment, doxing and violence.

Authored by Assemblymember Mia Bonta (D-Oakland), Assembly Bill (AB) 2624, the Privacy for Immigration Support Services Providers Act, establishes an address confidentiality program modeled after California’s Safe at Home program.

Bonta and other proponents of the law say an increase in death threats, online abuse and anti-immigrant vigilante activity has made address confidentiality essential to protecting aid workers.

Beginning Oct. 1, 2027, eligible immigration service providers, employees and volunteers who face documented threats will be able to apply through Secretary of State Shirley N. Weber’s office to use a substitute address.

Doxing has also affected state lawmakers. In August 2024, Assemblymember Lori D. Wilson (D-Suisun City), a member of the California Legislative Black Caucus, had private information published online without her permission.

“I’m proud that with the signing of this bill, California is rejecting that, even when people try to make us feel that the political cost of supporting immigrant communities is too high,” Bonta stated.

Sen. Tony Strickland (R-Huntington Beach) opposed the legislation, calling it the “Stop Nick Shirley Act.” Strickland said he is concerned the law violates the First Amendment and could chill free speech, investigative reporting and public accountability.

Shirley is a conservative YouTube content creator, social media influencer and self-described independent journalist. He gained national political attention in late 2025 and 2026 after publishing viral videos alleging widespread fraud in government-funded programs.

After Newsom signed the measure, Strickland argued that it threatens citizens and independent journalists seeking to expose government waste and fraud.

“I spoke out against it earlier this week. I’m concerned it could have a chilling effect on investigative journalism and protected speech. The law allows at least $4,000 in damages for certain violations,” Strickland posted on X the day Newsom signed the bill.

Established in 1998, California’s Safe at Home program protects survivors of domestic violence, sexual assault, stalking, human trafficking, child abduction and elder or dependent adult abuse. It has since been expanded to cover reproductive health care and gender-affirming care providers.

Bonta said AB 2624 extends a similar framework to another group of Californians facing comparable threats.

Angelica Salas, executive director of the Coalition for Humane Immigrant Rights, testified before the Assembly Privacy and Consumer Protection Committee about her experience being doxed.

“It happened to me and happened to a family member. They were looking for me and ended up in my mother’s home,” Salas said. “There are so many of my colleagues where individuals have shown up to their homes, who have been threatened, and this is not just our organization, but many others.”