Best of CASE District II Award
 

Institution: Johns Hopkins University

Title of entry: Community vs. Coal: Reclaiming Health in Curtis Bay

About this entry: In the South Baltimore neighborhood of Curtis Bay, black dust plasters windows, coats water in children’s inflatable pools, and slips into homes when doors swing open. Community residents long knew that the dust came from piles of coal at a CSX terminal, but CSX denied this. Curtis Bay residents knew they needed science to back up their claim and effect change.


This 3,000-word feature tells the story of how community residents partnered with scientists at Johns Hopkins’ CHARMED Center to prove that the dust was indeed coal—and then to advocate for policy changes to protect the community’s health. “There is research behind us,” said Shashawnda Campbell, environmental justice director at the South Baltimore Community Land Trust. “We’ve been able to open doors we hadn’t been able to get into with this research.”


Our magazine was committed to telling this story for several reasons: The health hazards affect people in our school’s home city. The story demonstrates the power of community and university collaborations to influence policies that improve health. And it shows the value to researchers of leaving the lab and entering the community. It is an example not just of a community-led effort to address pollution, but of how public health works best: in partnership with the people affected.