Interview with Terri Sanders
In this interview, conducted on November 15, 2023, Ms. Terri Sanders relates the impact of lead in her life and that of the rest of Omaha. She is the current owner of the Omaha Star newspaper and prominent member of the North Omaha community. Her daughter Simone was a participant in the Watie White "Lead Stories" project .
Terri Sanders grew up in Omaha, yet she was not introduced to the danger of lead until after she became a mother. The Superfund Site had been established, she noted, and people were grateful that the problem was being recognized and handled. People discussed the danger of leaded paint chips and soil and emphasized its relationship to the health of children. Her own home was tested for lead many years ago and yet she mentioned a lack of understanding of what they were doing. She did not fully understand the importance of lead testing or its danger for kids. She was relieved to find out that her own home was not contaminated, but concerned about the other places her kids frequented.
Schools became a topic of concern. People wondered, if their own homes were not safe, how could schools be safe? These concerns were expressed in a context of significant distrust with the government, informed by years of official neglect and even outright antagonism. The lack of concern for residents damaged this relationship, which impacts remediation, even today.
She now understands the importance of lead education and thinks that people should be better informed on the impacts of lead. She says, “I think people need to know that this risk exists and what are the side effects of this risk so that if someone is exhibiting those side effects that they can receive treatment or at least acknowledgement and know what to do next.”
As a business owner and active member of the North Omaha community, she knows there is still work to be done and that lead is not a simple issue. It is also an issue that closely mirror the geography of racial inequality in Omaha. “You find it mainly in North Omaha and you know that people of color are the people that live in North Omaha. So that is automatically an injustice just by association and location.” Lead has been shown to disproportionately affect minority communities, especially the Black population of Omaha. Sanders says, “That is unfair and we always need to be vigilant about what goes on in our community, what is happening in our community and any other ramifications of what has been done before. How are we still living with that?”
There is a strong recognition among the people of North Omaha that lead exposure is a racial and environmental injustice, but it is not the only source of danger. While lead remediation continues, community members remain concerned with other environmental injustices as well, especially pollution related to OPPD smokestacks.
Sanders also noted that people need to be reminded of the problem of lead. “I need to know (about lead) specifically so that I can inform our readers...inform our readers about what could potentially be going on in their yards and in their homes.” As funding or excitement around environmental injustices wax and wane, they can often be forgotten by the larger community, while those affected by the issue continue to suffer. Continued education and advocacy surrounding lead is essential for solving the problem.