My work with CRCQL has significantly transformed this semester. In the near term, CRCQL and C4 have renewed their focus on the multitude of upcoming hearings and council meetings important to their work, so most of my involvement has been focused on them as well. I attended a Delaware County Council meeting on February 5th, and met with Ms. Zulene and other CRCQL members at a meeting over the Marcus Hook Energy Transfer terminal, where they gave powerful testimony on environmental justice. In terms of the media campaigns on which I worked (or in which I acted) last semester, our focus has shifted squarely to Liquefied Natural Gas. The development of this highly volatile and polluting energy source, including possibly in Pennsylvania, had been paused by President Biden; naturally, this has been reversed by the new administration. Thus, CRCQL has stressed the necessity of a consistent online campaign communicating the dangers and very real threat of LNG in Chester.
This barrage of important meetings and new or renewed developments, all of which require CRCQL’s attention, has set the tenor for a demanding yet rewarding semester of defensive, constructive, and restorative work. In the face of extreme political uncertainty and anxiety, my main goal for the second and final semester of my internship is simply to be reliable. That is, I seek to maintain clear lines of communication, to consistently attend CRCQL meetings, and to establish myself as ready and willing to help wherever I am needed. Whether that be attending hearings to assert C4’s presence and attention, acting in informative skits for social media, or helping with the logistics of CRCQL events, one of the strongest lessons I have learned—from last semester and previous work—is that the least I can do is to be reliable.
That is not to say that I do not hope to work from my own initiative or contribute from my unique perspective. On February 12th, I helped organize and host a Tu b’Shevat celebration (the Jewish holiday of trees and nature) at the Swarthmore Arboretum, at which I gave a speech I had written on behalf of CRCQL and C4. It was a pleasure to bridge my Jewish identity with environmental justice, and I am excited for similar chances throughout the rest of my internship and my time at Swarthmore. As I immerse myself further in sociology and anthropology, I have become more and more interested in the applicability of those fields to organizations of CRCQL. Having done short, informal interviews with a few members and Chester residents last semester, I think it would be very valuable to attempt a more in-depth and formal ethnographic project centering the organization. While outside the scope of this internship, that motivation—to observe the practices that shape CRCQL and how the group matters—is something I want to center in my work for this semester.
As I have learned in my Foundations of Anthropology course, no discussion of ethnography—and, in this case, my engagement with CRCQL in general—is complete without a consideration of its ethical dimensions. It is deeply important to me that bringing my own experiences to my work does not mean using them as the basis for my involvement with the group. In fact, for environmental justice activism centered in a specific community, I believe that the members of that community for whom these questions of justice are most important must always have the first and last word on what CRCQL is, needs, and does. Rather, bringing my perspective to my work in this internship means finding unique ways I can contribute and further CRCQL’s message, while constantly ensuring that I am centering the organization’s needs and intents on their terms. Despite the challenges and anxieties of, well, everything, I have loved my time with CRCQL thus far and hope to further deepen my involvement with Chester throughout this semester and beyond.