Abstract
This article presents a case study of a community organizing effort known as Citizens Actively Protecting the Environment (CAPE). Led by rural West Virginians in response to the Elk River chemical spill of 2013, this environmental justice movement was novel in that it harnessed social media, specifically Facebook, to catalyze advocacy and change efforts in a rural area. The literature on environmental health disparities and environmental justice in rural communities is reviewed. Then authors describe how resident-led organizing in rural areas was effective in promoting environmental justice. Details of the CAPE project are presented, as well as ways social media can catalyze and augment environmental justice organizing efforts in rural communities. Implications for social work researchers and practitioners are presented.
Recommended Citation
Young, Debra Hunt; Teixeira, Samantha; and Hartnett, Helen
(2015)
"Social Action Meets Social Media: Environmental Justice in West Virginia,"
Contemporary Rural Social Work Journal: Vol. 7:
No.
1, Article 3.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.61611/2165-4611.1071
Available at:
https://digitalcommons.murraystate.edu/crsw/vol7/iss1/3