New Orleans Film Society New Orleans, LA
Dr. Kimberly Terrell
Director of Community Engagement. Tulane Law School
Vs. Goliath: Cancer Alley— An environmental dialogue
Program Description
Dr. Kimberly Terrell is joined by filmmakers and community members that call Cancer Alley home. Using their first hand experiences, Dr. Terrell engages in a monumental discussion pertaining to environmental justice, land rights and the steps that can be taken to begin a healing journey.
Presented At
New Orleans Film Society New Orleans, LA
Film Synopsis
A grandmother fights the industries poisoning her community.
Until she learned about a proposed plastics plant a few miles from her home, Sharon Lavigne was a special education teacher whose favorite pastime was singing in her church choir. Vs Goliath: Cancer Alley follows Sharon, a grandmother of twelve, in her fight against the industries poisoning her community. She lives in the region known as “Cancer Alley,” a corridor along the Mississippi River that was once the heart of plantation country, and is now petrochemical plant country, still populated largely by the descendents of the enslaved. Receiving a message from God that she must stay and fight the plants, Sharon becomes an internationally renowned activist as she mobilizes her family and wider community.
About the Speaker
Dr. Kimberly Terrell is a Research Scientist and the Director of Community Engagement at the Tulane Environmental Law Clinic (New Orleans, Louisiana). She has broad expertise related to environmental issues, including in public health, statistics, and air monitoring. Her current work focuses on the intersection of science and environmental regulation, particularly with respect to underserved communities. In her role at the Clinic, she provides technical assistance to students, attorneys, community members and others working on environmental issues. Much of her work focuses on addressing knowledge gaps in environmental health. For example, she recently published the first peer-reviewed study to identify toxic air pollution as a contributing factor to Louisiana’s disproportionately high cancer burden. Dr. Terrell also works to promote science literacy among environmental decision-makers in Louisiana, particularly with respect to the precautionary principle and the challenges of identifying adverse health outcomes in small populations. She has provided expert testimony on environmental issues to the U.S. Congress Subcommittee on the Environment and to the Louisiana Legislative Auditor.