00:00:01.770 - 00:00:10.910

[Audio Description: Two women sit on a porch in front of a white house. The woman on the left wears a black “IMPACT Greater Fifth Ward” T-shirt and black pants. The woman on the right wears a navy shirt with red trim and denim shorts, sitting with arms folded and legs crossed.] Shay Olaifa: Hello, my name is Shay Olaifa, and I'm here with Abi Savizon. And we're both Rice University students and members of the Fondren Fellows Program,

00:00:10.910 - 00:00:24.720

which is an initiative directed by Rice's Fondren Library, which aims to foster research projects centered around the theme of archiving material. Our project is focused on the creosote contamination of Houston's Fifth Ward and Kashmere Gardens.

00:00:24.720 - 00:00:38.610

Today is March 31st, 2025, and I'm here with. Leisa Glenn: Leisa Harris Glenn of the Fifth Ward Community. And I'm,

00:00:38.610 - 00:00:51.890

I've been living down there in that house for 40 years plus. I haven't kept count, but I have lived on the contamination

00:00:52.390 - 00:01:02.460

for a very long time. And at the time, we didn't even know it was contaminated until it blew up. You know?

00:01:02.460 - 00:01:13.340

And so, I had a son, I raised my son down there, and, he's a grown man now.

00:01:13.340 - 00:01:29.720

But we've dealt with contamination for a very long time. We had no idea we were being contaminated. We didn't have, no one to even tell us. When you are in a poor black community,

00:01:30.490 - 00:01:40.930

most of the time, they don't bother to tell us when we are sick or going to be contaminated. It's like a nonchalant situation.

00:01:40.930 - 00:01:54.980

They are black, and we're not going to bother with the poor black people that come and tell them that they are being contaminated by the creosote over there.

00:01:54.980 - 00:02:08.960

And it's really sad because black lives do matter. And so we should have been told by the billionaire Union Pacific that we were going to be sick

00:02:08.960 - 00:02:21.540

if we drank the water, cooked with the water, bath with the water, clean the house with the water, wash the clothes with the water, brush your teeth with the water, sleep on the water at night,

00:02:21.540 - 00:02:31.250

wake up in the morning, fix the breakfast for the kids in the morning. We weren't told anything about it. We were

00:02:31.250 - 00:02:47.870

re-contaminating ourselves after the creosote had contaminated us too. So the reason I thought it was something wrong - because my mom ended up getting cancer and she got cancer,

00:02:47.870 - 00:03:02.120

they were given her chemo after chemo, and they couldn't figure out why she would never go in remission. Every time she took a blood test, she would never go in remission. So my mom ended up

00:03:02.120 - 00:03:16.060

with breast cancer, ovarian cancer, bone cancer, and she had a kidney that had turned into a golf ball. It was so hard, one kidney left.

00:03:16.060 - 00:03:29.140

So eventually, you know, the ending was she passed away from being contaminated with the creosote, which the whole neighborhood basically passed away.

00:03:29.940 - 00:03:45.260

So it's not really any senior citizens left on this street because everyone has passed away from, you know, from cancer. And when you live in a poor community, you don't have the funds.

00:03:46.430 - 00:03:58.770

It was six of us in my house. You don't have the funds to pay to get all this medication and what you need to survive, you have to go to the charity hospital.

00:03:58.770 - 00:04:08.410

And in the charity hospital everyone can say it's okay. But to me it was horrible. I took her for her chemo,

00:04:08.580 - 00:04:19.190

you know, to get done. I was in the room with my mom. It must have been about six or more chemo patients sitting in there, and they were all sick.

00:04:19.560 - 00:04:34.140

If they weren't throwing up or something, they all had to use the same restroom to sit in and get their chemo. And it was horrible to them. And even with them having to go to the charity hospital to get treated.

00:04:34.740 - 00:04:44.180

Union Pacific never, never stepped up to come over and help the community. Can we help the community you know, buy water?

00:04:44.180 - 00:04:56.400

But you told us not to drink the water, but you never told us you were going to buy water and help the community. For the ones that were getting sick over here, they never been good neighbors to say they want to come over here

00:04:56.400 - 00:05:11.910

and help the community from what they have done to us. So I've been very angry at Union Pacific for treating us like second class citizens, by letting all of the whole community die over here.

00:05:12.250 - 00:05:24.620

Now, they're still treating us the same exact way, saying they are not the problem, they're not the cause. But even though we are sitting on creosote, so probably 1000ft,

00:05:26.160 - 00:05:38.070

maybe about 1,100 feet under the ground, we're sitting on, peanut butter, creosote. This is the plume.

00:05:38.070 - 00:05:50.050

And okay, they blacktop Union Pacific over there. But we are still getting sick over here. Everyone is still dying that moves over here. And they tell us they are not

00:05:50.050 - 00:06:01.760

the cause of everyone continuing to die over here, continue to get sick over here. And it's. And then when we try to talk to them, or reach out,

00:06:02.060 - 00:06:14.040

they never reach out or want to talk to us about anything. Everybody that comes into this neighborhood pretty much say they're helping us. But right now,

00:06:14.570 - 00:06:26.920

look how many years down the line since it blew up in 1974. Was it in 74. Look how long it's been. And guess what? They have not.

00:06:27.920 - 00:06:39.470

Have not come over here and been good neighbors to us and say we're going to help you all You know, with some things, or donate

00:06:39.470 - 00:06:53.580

towards the cause, of getting us help over here, or anything. Only thing we keep getting a slap in the face, you know? But they keep Union Pacific over there, safe, by blacktopping them.

00:06:53.580 - 00:07:04.590

They don't walk on top of this grass and ground and get sick. We do. So I'm just saying everything we went through in this

00:07:04.590 - 00:07:15.300

black and brown neighborhood, it's been horrible. It's a horrible situation. And I'm very upset because my mom passed away at 62

00:07:16.270 - 00:07:32.080

and that's young to me and I'm older than that now. So I consider that young to me. Still, nobody has come from Union Pacific, who keeps saying they're not the blame

00:07:33.390 - 00:07:42.730

I don't know how to make creosote. Nobody in the neighborhood knows how to make creosote. So why are y'all are not to blame? It came into this neighborhood.

00:07:42.730 - 00:07:51.840

It contaminated this ground. We smelled it every day, And it was horrible. It would take your breath away if you tried to get a good whiff of air

00:07:51.840 - 00:08:02.480

Trying to take a deep breath, It would cut your breath short. You could not do that. Okay. And on top of that, it came into the house constantly

00:08:02.650 - 00:08:15.530

because most of these old houses had ceiling fans. We didn't have AC, we had ceiling fans, we had fans in the window, fans in the ceiling, which some people don't know about ceiling fans.

00:08:15.530 - 00:08:30.910

That were in a lot of old houses that we had. And now that the whole neighborhood has died off, you know, and new people are moving in, and you tell them that the land is contaminated, but they're still moving here.

00:08:31.280 - 00:08:43.920

But that's on them, because if someone told me the land was contaminated, I wouldn't move here. But being that I'm already here and it's my land. I want them to step up

00:08:43.920 - 00:08:54.230

and do the right thing for the neighborhood and take care of us. Do the right thing. Come over here and do what's right. You know, don't just clean up your land

00:08:54.230 - 00:09:06.550

over there and blacktop it, and you leave our land over here Still toxic. That's not right. So that's basically all I have to say.

00:09:06.910 - 00:09:22.130

Shay Olaifa: Thank you so much. Sandra Edwards: My name is Sandra Edwards I'm a community activist as well. And basically the same thing she said.

00:09:22.130 - 00:09:33.210

People that it just left us in the dark With no hope, nowhere to go. Our children are dying

00:09:33.210 - 00:09:50.520

Our children are getting sick. Grandparents are not living long. They're not being here to be grandparents But it's just, it's bad. It's bad. And then they want to talk about gentrifying,

00:09:50.520 - 00:10:04.140

Okay, you’re bringing all these new homes in But, yet and still, we are here and we can't get our homes repaired. but you want to put new homes on top of us. You don't want to help us pay our taxes.

00:10:04.170 - 00:10:14.350

You don't want to help us do nothing. You want to help us get medical insurance. You don't want to help us get life insurance. Those are two main things you ought to

00:10:14.350 - 00:10:27.390

help with. But since you are the problem, the reason why we're going through what we're going through, but I guess that's asking for too much. So, I

00:10:28.490 - 00:10:41.570

I don't know which way to turn anymore, but I know this fight is a long way from over And because of the state officials, we have to be careful who we keep putting in office because they're not on our side. They get in office, they get comfortable

00:10:41.570 - 00:10:51.180

They forget where they come from. They forget about their people. First of all, they forget their black, most of them But Tangerine \[Donald Trump] 'gon change all that.

00:10:51.180 - 00:11:07.630

He 'gon show you what affirmative action is. And I mean it's not funny, but it's funny because so many people have faith in him. Think he's 'gon do the right thing. You voted for him. Look what you get We’re used to this. We knew what he was going to do.

00:11:08.930 - 00:11:23.620

So, good luck And you luck to us too, because if he stops all this our work will still be even harder. It's going to be even harder because

00:11:24.450 - 00:11:34.730

he wanted to do away with climate justice and everything that's actually killing people. He wanted to do away with it. because he doesn't want to pay for the cleanup.

00:11:34.730 - 00:11:50.280

The government would have to pay for the cleanup. The EPA and all of that. And what That's going to do is hurt the people like us in disadvantaged communities. It's going to hurt us.

00:11:51.940 - 00:12:04.920

Ain't nobody going to suffer about this but us But this is what they think about us. Shay Olaifa: Thank you so much. Can you please tell me a little bit

00:12:04.920 - 00:12:16.770

about yourselves and your connection to Fifth Ward? You can also talk a bit about IMPACT as well, and the work that IMPACT has been doing on this issue. Leisa Glenn: Okay.

00:12:16.770 - 00:12:27.780

IMPACT started out with me, as Leisa Glenn

00:12:28.250 - 00:12:41.260

And Sandra Smalls she deceased. Barbara Bill was with IMPACT. She's deceased. Only thing originally left from IMPACT is,

00:12:42.290 - 00:12:58.280

Sandra Edwards, myself, Mary Hutchins, Mr. Lewis. And, what was Ms. Small's son's name? Sandra Edwards: Andre.

00:12:58.280 - 00:13:07.590

Lesia Glenn: Andre Smalls. He's left. But much of IMPACT has gotten cancer and has been

00:13:08.950 - 00:13:22.500

dying off. And so we still are struggling to be together to fight this situation because we are not going away.

00:13:22.870 - 00:13:35.920

You know, if we have to fight to the end, we are not going away. We're going to be here for this fight. We didn't ask to have creosote dumped on us. Creosote came to our front door,

00:13:36.880 - 00:13:51.060

under the ground, contaminated us. Now we've had children to die in this community from the contamination. And how do you think

00:13:51.060 - 00:14:06.380

a 13 year old died from contamination and an 18 year old and nobody look around and said, "something is wrong." This street is basically the street where a lot of, special needs kids were born.

00:14:07.210 - 00:14:21.190

A lot of special needs kids were here on this street and in this neighborhood. And that's kind of strange to have a neighborhood and a lot of special needs kids being born at the time of the contamination.

00:14:21.190 - 00:14:36.010

Look around. I mean, it's a lot. And I really can't on the special needs me, myself

00:14:37.140 - 00:14:49.460

I have three special needs nephews on this street. Okay. And that's not including what's around the neighborhood.

00:14:49.460 - 00:14:57.760

It's a lot of special needs. And I know that for a fact, that to be, contaminated.

00:14:57.760 - 00:15:11.940

The contamination is from- that caused these kids to be special needs. I know the contamination caused this. And you got two people that lived in that house next door

00:15:11.940 - 00:15:23.590

they are special needs you know, they were special needs. Three people because Pookie was too yeah, three people next door. I mean, you know, really

00:15:24.220 - 00:15:36.240

it's just a lot, special needs kids over here And nobody talks about that. And I know that's caused by the creosote. contamination. You can't tell me it's not. It's a lot.

00:15:36.540 - 00:15:47.410

I just haven't called all the kids on the street. But it's a lot of kids was on this street, you know contaminated. And they are special.

00:15:47.410 - 00:15:58.420

They are. The ones who were really sick, they already passed away, you know, but they still got other kids

00:15:58.420 - 00:16:11.900

on this street that are surviving. My three nephews are surviving, but one of them just showed signs of contamination a month ago. His kidneys were failing.

00:16:12.100 - 00:16:19.110

His liver was failing. His heart was failing. They couldn't figure out what it was. I told them.

00:16:19.110 - 00:16:32.620

When I got to the hospital last month, "check him for contamination," because he didn't know to tell them that he He lived on the plume, that he was contaminated.

00:16:34.560 - 00:16:48.070

And, I don't know if he's got the results back, but I told them that's what was causing them, I thought he was going to die. And all he could do was cry and say, "Aunt Leisa, don't let me die." Don't let me die.

00:16:48.070 - 00:17:04.220

But when you're in a situation like that, you don't know what to tell them, to tell someone, you know, about the contamination. And you know, people don't think about to be more alert when they go to the hospital. Especially my nephew, to say I'm contaminated.

00:17:04.620 - 00:17:16.200

This is what's killing me. You know, this should be the first thing they say. I live on the plume, I'm contaminated. That could be causing me to get sick. You can't tell me something

00:17:16.200 - 00:17:27.510

Still ain't in the water and under the ground over here For him to have to go to the hospital because it's still here. People are still getting sick over here.

00:17:27.510 - 00:17:39.460

From contamination. Even Sandra's son, which she could tell you about. Sandra Edwards: Yeah, my baby went through the same thing except he just had hundred percent liver failure.

00:17:40.030 - 00:17:50.240

When we rushed him to the hospital, he was in the ICU for seven days He got out And like four days later, we went home

00:17:50.570 - 00:18:05.550

and they had to rush him back I don't know what all happened But his liver was still not working by the time they got him home. So he had to have surgery about four weeks ago.

00:18:05.580 - 00:18:19.630

Sp he's in good now, but it was touch and go. And, you know, nobody wants to see their child suffer, period, like that. And they don't know why they got it, or where it came from.

00:18:20.700 - 00:18:33.650

And my son doesn't even drink So they kept saying, "Does he drink?" I said no he doesn't drink liquor I mean, if he does, it's like, I can out-drink my son.

00:18:33.750 - 00:18:47.360

All i drink is margaritas. I can only drink one though. But we just didn't understand Why his liverwas dfoing this? Why? And I told hime, I said, "Well

00:18:47.460 - 00:19:01.740

we stay in Fifth Ward and they kind of knew our story." They asked, "Did he grow up out here?" I say no, but he visited a lot so, who knows? but for a child to go through all that and he had to be in some kind of enviornment

00:19:02.940 - 00:19:16.720

to get that, I mean, Her nephew, he grew up over here. My son visited out here. He wasn't here as mcuh as hers was, but they got the same symptoms, same symptoms. So

00:19:16.790 - 00:19:25.560

Leisa Glenn: A month ago. Sandra Edwards: Yeah. And my son, this was at the end of the year in December something.

00:19:28.630 - 00:19:37.410

Shay Olaifa: I'm so sorry. Yeah. Thanks you. So y'all both talked a lot about how the contamination has personally affected

00:19:37.410 - 00:19:51.690

y'all, y'all's families, people in the community that you know of. But can we go back and talk about why this contamination was so disruptive and what makes the community of Fifth Ward so special in the first place, and why it needs to be preserved?

00:19:52.520 - 00:20:05.070

Sandra Edwards: It's a legend. It's a legend. Fifth Ward has a lot of good potential in it and a lot of good people come out of it. And they keep looking at where we stay

00:20:05.700 - 00:20:17.480

and what color we are instead of looking at who we are. That's what they're missing. It's all the good stuff out here and good people out here, but they keep looking at- Oh, they're poor or they black. Okay. So

00:20:19.120 - 00:20:34.830

I know white people poor. But we are survivors. That's the difference. We are survivors. We. I'm not going to say

00:20:34.830 - 00:20:51.550

we make struggling look good, but we know how to fend for oursleves and how to depend on each other and how to thrive out here. Because the help is not coming. I realize that And I hate that I pushed people

00:20:51.550 - 00:21:05.200

as much as I did, to believe in a system that's broken. It's very broken. They're not going to help us. They don't care. and since they are at that point

00:21:05.400 - 00:21:20.380

they're going to do that to us. We got a plan for you. We're not going to stop coming. We'll continue to come. Because this is wrong. I wouldn't wish this on my enemy, my friends.

00:21:20.380 - 00:21:31.960

But you know, what's getting me is how state officials and I'm not going to say no names, but you read it, you're going to know who I'm talking about. They are

00:21:32.460 - 00:21:49.710

Saying they are on our side. they are walking with us But they doing business with Union Pacific So how are you going to help somebody if you're doing business with the devil? So you're going to go to church with me on Sunday, But Monday

00:21:49.710 - 00:21:59.690

through Saturday, You're in bed with the devil. and then you're going to come and walk through the doors of the church with me on Sunday. You cannot stradle the fence with me. I'm sorry.

00:21:59.690 - 00:22:13.400

You're either going to be with me, fight with me or you're not. And since, I saw you bought all this stock from them day after day after day, Guess what? You're on their side you're not making any agreements for us to have some stock

00:22:13.400 - 00:22:57.240

Or get us some insurance or something. You getting stock for your future to make sure you Okay. And you still- Leisa Glenn: But, Union Pacific, Like San said, they in bed with the devil

00:22:58.240 - 00:23:14.060

Union Pacific and you said why not our poor community? One thing if you might've been paying attention, This poor community has the most beautiful site to downtown and people pay for that

00:23:16.160 - 00:23:25.240

Beautification What you see when you can stand at the end of the street or stand on your porch and look at downtown. People pay for this site.

00:23:25.240 - 00:23:35.880

That's a beautiful site. That's a million dollar site. But instead, they seem like they are trying to wait us out, till all of us die Over here

00:23:35.880 - 00:23:47.630

Then they are going to do what they want to do, gentrify it. Sandra Edwards: yeah. Leisa Glenn: So to me that's what they are really trying to do.

00:23:48.360 - 00:24:02.210

Gentrify the situation. So they can sell it for a high price. And people that are moving here to Texas to look at that beautiful skyline

00:24:02.940 - 00:24:14.790

when they get ready, that creates a lot of money But why do you got this dirty, poor neighborhood, beat up looking neighborhood? So let's just wait them out.

00:24:14.790 - 00:24:23.800

We ain't going to fix the neighborhood. We ain't going to help the neighborhood. We are going to leave this neighborhood right here right here, right?

00:24:23.800 - 00:24:37.010

for the people to continue to die out. Because they know this neighborhood is still making people sick these houses are still making people sick, because they're contaminated. So they are waiting for us to die so they can continue

00:24:37.010 - 00:24:48.490

to do what they need to do. They're not even trying to help us. And then they are talking about building a slurry wall, right? How is the slurry wall going to help

00:24:48.490 - 00:25:00.470

The neighborhood? The slurry wall is going to help Union Pacific because it's going to keep the contamination was still, like a lake under our the land right now.

00:25:00.970 - 00:25:10.510

It's not going to flow back into their land. They just making sure this is going to be the slurry wall Well, okay. And this is our land.

00:25:10.510 - 00:25:21.850

So they ain't going to let the creosote come back over to their land. It's going to stay over here where it needs to keep killing people because the contamination is still under the land.

00:25:21.850 - 00:25:30.730

So what purpose do they keep talking about - they helping us? They're building the slurry wall. They are going to put millions and millions of dollars into this slurry wall.

00:25:31.060 - 00:25:42.970

The millions and millions of dollars they could use to help us. They are putting it into this slurry wall to keep Union Pacific safe over there. where they work. But us over here, the

00:25:42.970 - 00:25:54.020

poor people, they are not trying to help us. Now, imagine when that slurry wall goes up over there. The same way you want to keep something out, You're going to build it where it's going to stay over here.

00:25:54.020 - 00:26:08.430

We going to stay clean over here, but this little black neighborhood where the water going to run off at, it is going to continue to kill us. And that slurry wall that they putting millions of dollars into that is going right down side Liberty

00:26:08.430 - 00:26:19.310

Road, out here. That ain't going to help us at all. They're really stomping on us every chance they get. And that's enough for us to be angry

00:26:19.310 - 00:26:32.690

and not be good neighbors to Union Pacific. Because really, right now, in the situation we in, I'm not really good neighbors to Union Pacific because you're killing off all my family. How about picking up some of these dirt

00:26:32.690 - 00:26:50.640

and going to put it in your community, where you live. How about you struggling, have something going on in your community, right? But being that we are poor black people and underprivileged and a lot of people over here, struggling, either on some kind of,

00:26:51.910 - 00:27:07.330

Medicaid, Medicare or whatever they got to do. Union Pacific is not showing that they can still be a good neighbor. I mean, most of the people over here through basically the ones that are moving in and building these houses,

00:27:07.330 - 00:27:22.440

they are not struggling because they are moving into this with a good quality of life and changing it. But they are not doing a good quality of life for the people that are in the neighborhood that are still struggling, that have lived here forever.

00:27:22.810 - 00:27:40.330

They are sick, they cannot do anything for themselves. Most of them. If you go knock on their door, they are sick and they are struggling. Union Pacific needs to come and do something about it. You know, look at,

00:27:40.690 - 00:27:51.740

you know, Erin Brockovich. Neighborhood full of what? White people. They took care of them white people. They gave them white people what they deserve.

00:27:51.740 - 00:28:02.610

Just because this is a poor black community and we are not white people, we are black people. They are not thinking about us.

00:28:02.610 - 00:28:14.790

They don't care. And and that angers me. Just because I'm black don't mean I don't want the finest things in life too. And I want to live and I want my people to live in Fifth Ward.

00:28:14.790 - 00:28:23.540

Kashmere Gardens Trinity Gardens Wherever this plume has went to or flowed to, I want all of them to live.

00:28:23.540 - 00:28:33.040

We like living just like everybody else Likes living. We don't want to live poor, but we don't have a choice because we've been contaminated and poisoned.

00:28:33.450 - 00:28:47.430

And Union Pacific is not showing good neighbor sense to us because we are black. But you look at what happened with the movie with Erin Brockovich and all of them.

00:28:47.430 - 00:28:57.500

They went and they took care of the people. Okay? And I even saw a movie with Blue Waters. They took care of the people.

00:28:57.940 - 00:29:11.280

But us, they - Sandra Edwards: They sent 'em all to jail. Leisa Glenn: Yeah, with us, they have not taken care us at all. And look, and I saw the the thing about Silver Dollar Lake.

00:29:11.820 - 00:29:21.030

Have you heard of that? It was black people that owned the beach and they wanted it and they got it. They took it from the black people.

00:29:21.030 - 00:29:36.140

That family had that beach for a long time. So this is what I'm talking about. Anything that comes on about the black community, they're not concerned at all. never have been,

00:29:36.410 - 00:29:53.290

never will be. I know for a fact that they are never gonna look at a black community ever in history of life and take care of it and do the right thing by black people.

00:29:53.360 - 00:30:06.370

Black people want a little bit of the good life too. Shay Olaifa: Thank you both so much. So y'all both grew up in Fifth Ward. Can you please describe

00:30:06.370 - 00:30:18.780

what life was like growing up, being a part of this community? What are some of your favorite memories, whether through music, people, food, or community events that made it truly special? Sandra Edwards: All of it.

00:30:18.780 - 00:30:31.360

The food, the music, the clubs, the hanging out, the roller skating up and down the street when they finally blacktopped it the, just,

00:30:31.360 - 00:30:43.880

it was like a close community. Everybody got along. Everybody. It was like family, you know, the kids, they could rely on their neighbor. You didn't have nothing to eat,

00:30:43.880 - 00:30:52.950

I'm telling you, you could go to her mama's house, she was always going to have some pot of beans on. She was going to feed you so you didn't have to worry about your child being

00:30:54.750 - 00:31:05.560

I guess you could say mistreated or whatever Wherever they went or whoever house they went to, they were going to have to respect that house. You had permission to whoop them as well as when they got home

00:31:05.560 - 00:31:18.710

they were going to get a whooping again. Because out here we didn't play that with our kids. You just couldn't do certain things. They had morals, something that they don't have a lot of kids today just don't have. They just don't.

00:31:18.710 - 00:31:33.690

And it was it was fun. We didn't know we were poor because the way we were living, you make your own stuff your own toys, your own golf course. Most of these little boys had their own little golf carts.

00:31:33.690 - 00:31:43.300

They made them out of lawn mowers or something. They were creative. I mean, they couldn't go out and buy the stuff, so they made it and

00:31:44.400 - 00:31:54.510

They learned to share. That's one thing big about Fifth Ward, they learned to share because we couldn't buy all the good stuff. So if somebody had something else they would probably share it

00:31:54.510 - 00:32:00.650

with each other. You keep the go cart this night and you'll keep it the next night. You know, just stuff like that. Or

00:32:00.650 - 00:32:11.330

you take the bike home, you might get a whooping for that somebody taking your bike home, but you still, you'll do it because that’s your friend. That's your friend. Back then you had friends. Nowadays, that friend will get you sent to jail

00:32:11.330 - 00:32:23.540

and leave you there. But it was just, how you would say, it was the good old days. Those actually was the good old days. And they never knew

00:32:23.540 - 00:32:41.290

their life was in danger. That they would get sick, that they're life was going to be cut short. So it just didn't dawn on us that we were being contaminated. We were just goiing along like

00:32:42.660 - 00:32:53.040

life was just a breeze and we did not know that later on it would bite us in our butt that we would have to fight for our life in the place that we grew up where we thought we should be safe.

00:32:53.340 - 00:33:03.880

It was killing us. so that's our future. And some of 'em didn't even have a future, especially ones that you grew up with. especially when they died young, got sick

00:33:03.880 - 00:33:16.660

when they were young and didn't know what was causing it. They get sick. They might go stay with somebody They go into remission or get better, but they come home and they come back sick. This was the life story of Fifth Ward. Go into remission and die.

00:33:16.660 - 00:33:27.410

You go into remission, You come back home to this field and then you die. I don't know too many people that went into remission and then came out alive. Now Mary,

00:33:27.410 - 00:33:39.020

she's in remission again. But you heard her say she doesn't feel good and this is her suffering the third time around So, you know,

00:33:39.020 - 00:33:51.360

I don't see Me, myself and my children is mad. I feel this way. If I get it, I'm not going to get any treatment. I'm gonna accept it

00:33:51.360 - 00:34:01.940

And go on and meet my maker. I'm not going to keep going through And I know where I stay. I'm going to go into remission I'm going to think I'm going to be okay. I'm going to get my body to go through all this treatment

00:34:01.940 - 00:34:09.010

And then I wind up getting sick. And keep repeating the fact I'm not- I'm not doing that I'm not doing it to myself.

00:34:09.010 - 00:34:19.760

So I enjoy every day to the fullest. Because when it happens, I'm going to accept my faith and do whatever. But right now, I'm living every day to the fullest.

00:34:19.760 - 00:34:29.370

I'm sorry. I'm just not gonna go through all that. My son says I'm going to fight till I can't fight no more. I'm going to take every treatment I can. Kudos to you baby. Do what you have to do.

00:34:29.770 - 00:34:40.910

But I'm not, I don't see me. Even if I go into remission, I'm coming back here. This is home.

00:34:40.910 - 00:34:55.830

I'm gonna keep going through the same thing. repeating the cycle knowing no, I'm not going to do that. Leisa Glenn: You know, While I was staying over here, I coughed and I coughed.

00:34:56.490 - 00:35:09.240

Didn't I San? I coughed 'til I couldn't cough anymore. I know I've had over 20 colonoscopies. At night I threw up,

00:35:10.880 - 00:35:21.020

we didn't know what it was. My mom stayed worrying about me Had no idea she had it in her too.

00:35:21.450 - 00:35:32.960

I took everything that they could give up for acid reflux. Could not figure out they could not figure out what kind to give me or what to give me.

00:35:33.530 - 00:35:45.510

You know, and I was just sick and did not know I was being contaminated. That's what made me sick. Sandra Edwards: Had it for years

00:35:45.510 - 00:35:59.390

Leisa Glenn: I've seen every colonoscopy doctor I must have thought – I could send me to this one. This one couldn't get me cured. Send me to that one And we went from ulcers,

00:35:59.390 - 00:36:14.870

ulcerative colitis, gastritis to everything. Everybody had some colonoscopy, wonders Wow. All I had to do was tell me the water was contaminated, and that was causing me to

00:36:14.870 - 00:36:31.090

have all kinds of spitting up and refluxes and and I was a mother with a kid by the end and couldn't figure out what was going on in his head and had a son still living with my mom

00:36:31.920 - 00:36:40.570

and dry birth. I had no idea. Dry birth. I had the hardest time.

00:36:40.570 - 00:36:50.940

I never did have any more kid. I only got one. I was so miserable. All they had to do was say, you're being contaminated.

00:36:50.940 - 00:37:04.020

It's coming from the creosote water. You know, and and if I tell you, I must have had a great big old bag of every kind of medicine they can give for my stomach.

00:37:04.560 - 00:37:20.670

I mean you could carry it in a garbage bag Everything is expensive, you know, medicine and, one medicine they put me on was like $700

00:37:22.670 - 00:37:33.720

I mean, you know, and insurance wasn't paying a lot on the medicine. So I really, I really had to try that medicine. So I was working.

00:37:33.720 - 00:37:47.300

I had to spend my paycheck on this medicine and they would only pay, like, $400, maybe on the medicine, but it would help me a lot.

00:37:47.470 - 00:38:01.450

You know, that was the most expensive one, they said they had. And it would help me a lot. But I couldn't afford that medicine. And that's that's not being good neighbors. When you ain't told me what's really making me sick

00:38:01.710 - 00:38:19.030

and I never could tell the doctor it was the water, or I'm contaminated, because I didn't know they couldn't figure out what was going on. I went from Ben Taub to

00:38:20.100 - 00:38:31.940

to all kinds of colonoscopy doctors. Baylor College of Medicine, I've been to Methodist. I went to one doctor, who would send me to the next doctor, and the next doctor

00:38:32.110 - 00:38:45.460

and they never could figure out what kept triggering What had me so sick. And it got to the point of I started bleeding,

00:38:45.460 - 00:38:56.500

so I'm still paying to go see a stomach doctor to make sure I have not gotten cancer. You know, so far, they have not

00:38:57.100 - 00:39:10.450

said I've gotten cancer, but I still go see a colonoscopy doctor in the Southwest Medical Center because of that, you know, but I'm very cautious with going see him

00:39:10.450 - 00:39:26.330

because I know the truth now, you know, and I still have to take medicine. I still take medicine. And, there are times I could hardly breathe. I coughed so much not knowing what was going on with my stomach.

00:39:27.500 - 00:39:42.680

And my mom started doing the same thing I was doing. and she would say: I think I done caught what you caught. But we thought she was just, it was like catching a cold but it was never a cold.

00:39:43.880 - 00:39:55.890

It was always the contamination of the water because we didn't know better. Now that I know, I'll tell anybody, go get you some water, pay that $2 or $3 and get that water

00:39:55.890 - 00:40:05.240

Don't drink the water still around here. And Ms. Mary has still come up with cancer And you don't think about it. Physically

00:40:05.240 - 00:40:20.420

When a woman is a woman. and you drinking it from here and you use that same water to clean yourself up, you just - My mama was recontaminating herself every time she went and got chemo.

00:40:20.890 - 00:40:31.930

She got back and they said, well it's like we ain't did nothing for you it’s all back here again. So she never went into remission.

00:40:31.930 - 00:40:46.610

and that alone woke something up in me when I had to keep sitting at this hospital. Why can't my mama never go into remission? You know? But then still, nobody said nothing about

00:40:46.610 - 00:40:58.320

the contamination in our neighborhood. only time somebody say some is: look like all of them start dying at the same time. Everybody over here, that was the senior citizens, started dying

00:40:58.320 - 00:41:08.030

at the same time. Sandra Edwards: It was a domino effect. Leisa Glenn: Yes. Sandra Edwards: In one house- I mean, one year we had like five of 'em I know Don died. Leisa Glenn: Ms. LeeLee died.

00:41:08.030 - 00:41:25.180

Sandra Edwards: No, I'm talking about within the last four or five years. When Don died, how many people we lost? Ms. Bill, John, ... Leisa Glenn: It's quite a few people who have died here recently. Sandra Edwards: Yeah.

00:41:25.180 - 00:41:33.860

Leisa Glenn: Cancer. All of them been cancer. Nothing else but cancer. Sandra Edwards: All of them had almost the same cancer. Leisa Glenn: Yeah. Sandra Edwards: And it took him fast. The guy across the street, it took him real fast.

00:41:34.890 - 00:41:46.470

He went to the hospital, they said pneumonia and he was gone for like two weeks. and then he called me from the hospital and said this is pneumonia. He was a chain smoker though,

00:41:46.470 - 00:41:57.380

he would light a cigarette off a cigarette. Then The third week, he came home.

00:41:57.380 - 00:42:07.490

He was already a toothpick But he was a skeleton after that and he had real long hair. They cut out every hair, all the hair Like I said, they had started his treatment

00:42:07.490 - 00:42:15.970

the next week he was dead. So it's like Once they find out we had that it's too late.

00:42:15.970 - 00:42:25.640

By the time - That's why we are trying to push to get this pre-screening done. Because by the time we can afford to pay

00:42:25.640 - 00:42:39.920

for this, we are already in stage three and four By the time we get to know we have cancer, we done got ill We ill, we sick, and we already dead. So this is why I was begging for the health department to do this.

00:42:39.960 - 00:42:51.370

They didn't want to do it. It's too much money, too much. But y'all can go plant some damn trees and clean up some trash. I ain't seen that saving anybody's life yet.

00:42:51.370 - 00:43:03.650

I'm not trying to bash nobody. I'm just saying I'm being real. That money you could have taken. Got some people some insurance out here some life insurance, some medical insurance or something.

00:43:04.880 - 00:43:16.430

But that's too much like - that's too much like coming to Fifth Ward and piss on us and tell us it isn't raining. Because we are losing people left and right.

00:43:16.430 - 00:43:25.540

We need funds. And you want to bring trees and pick up trash. How many times are you going to do that? That one time

00:43:25.540 - 00:43:38.820

'all get that photo shoot and it's over. So - Leisa Glenn: I just- I don't understand. You want to make it public. ou want to make the public think you are doing so much

00:43:38.820 - 00:43:56.830

for Fifth Ward but you have not done anything for Fifth Ward. Not- And I mean, when I say people were dying quick and fast, but every time someone would say they're sick,

00:43:57.900 - 00:44:10.350

I want to be the one to go to MD Anderson if I need treatment, okay? I don't want to sit up in Ben Taub waiting, sitting in a chair, sick

00:44:10.350 - 00:44:20.920

and waiting, five and six hours to get waited on. No people from Union Pacific. Don't do that. They go to MD Anderson. Because that's a billion dollar company.

00:44:21.660 - 00:44:30.000

I want to go where you go. Treat me to the finest. I didn't ask to be contaminated. I didn't ask to get sick.

00:44:30.000 - 00:44:41.280

I was a sick person going to work, trying to keep insurance on myself. When I was going through the problems I was going through with my stomach, I would go to work sick

00:44:42.280 - 00:44:52.920

standing there eight hours a day, not knowing what's going on. I had a child to take care of. Union Pacific didn't do nothing to help me

00:44:54.830 - 00:45:05.100

or help anyone in the neighborhood. And just people just have to go where they can. Okay. Oh, that,

00:45:05.100 - 00:45:17.010

truck that picks you up when you pass away. Oh, it came on this street A whole lot of times to pick up a dead person. Because my mom asked to be brought back home to where I started.

00:45:17.350 - 00:45:33.230

She died in the house down there Sandra Edwards: And my mom died in her home Leisa Glenn: And what I'm trying to tell you, that funeral car Came down here many days to pick up people. Union Pacific still won't acknowledge

00:45:33.730 - 00:45:45.840

they are the cause of the reason why that car comes on. A truck comes through here and picks up many bodies. They still don't want to admit They are the reason why

00:45:45.940 - 00:45:55.820

the funeral car comes here a whole lot of days, to pick up someone and every time they picking up somebody, it's something to do with cancer. Or heart. What-

00:45:55.820 - 00:46:10.030

What everything creosote causes, all the situations that creosote causes in your body. Basically, when they pick them up, that's what happens. And they picked up an 18 year old girl from that house right there.

00:46:11.140 - 00:46:21.040

Dead. Mama went in there to check on a fan in the window, and got pneumonia in the middle of the night when the creosote plant was going. You know how that stuff is

00:46:21.040 - 00:46:28.620

blowing in your window. It's so strong. Take you out. Have you ever took a whiff of ammonia and it takes your breath away?

00:46:28.620 - 00:46:38.700

Well that's how that creosote would do. And you know that's strong. If you ever sniff ammonia in a bottle, that that ammonia in the bottle, it'll take your breath away.

00:46:38.700 - 00:46:51.040

That's what creosote does to you. So in the night, the young lady had to die within the night, of taking a good, strong whiff. And got pneumonia in the night. In her sleep.

00:46:51.040 - 00:47:02.550

Parents didn't know to check on her. She died. 18. Down the street. Diane's grandson. 13.

00:47:02.790 - 00:47:11.830

He died. Kids. I mean kids. Kids And parents shouldn't be burying the kids that young because of a contamination.

00:47:12.100 - 00:47:19.600

Cooking the- They cooked the creosote right across the street. Right across the street. The waves in the air would go like that.

00:47:19.600 - 00:47:35.490

There, you could see the heat from there, from the, creosote being cooked. The - the pressure, just the pressure from the contamination, you know, and the heat just had, you can see it, you could see it in the air. We all could look at it.

00:47:36.650 - 00:47:48.630

It was so clear to us. You know, but we never thought we was, being in the open and outside that we was going to die from all this contamination. You know, they never thought they were going to die.

00:47:48.630 - 00:48:00.240

When you was making us sick and the kids being outside all the time. And back then everybody had to go outside. Mama wasn't going to let you stay in that house all day. You had to go outside and play.

00:48:00.240 - 00:48:09.250

Sandra Edwards: Children had exercises back then, you couldn't sit in front of no TV Leisa Glenn: Yeah. And so it's like

00:48:09.250 - 00:48:23.630

they are just slapping us in the face constantly over and over and over. So who's gonna ever, ever take care of Fifth Ward? I just want to know, are they ever? Or is

00:48:23.630 - 00:48:37.050

the government going to step in with the federal government and force Union Pacific to pay for what they've done to the Fifth Ward, Kashmere Garden, Trinity Garden community,

00:48:37.050 - 00:48:46.220

or whatever community. What's this other community over the bridge? The Denver Harbor community.

00:48:46.220 - 00:49:02.870

Who's gonna ever make Union Pacific pay for all of these communities they have contaminated? Because they are billion dollar company, and they should be held accountable, and they should be able to take care of these communities and close to downtown.

00:49:02.970 - 00:49:20.420

But only thing I could see, everybody getting their handouts to take from the poor people, once again, making them in a struggle situation, making them poorer than poor. And making a situation where they don't have any doctors.

00:49:20.590 - 00:49:31.270

Community around here, no doctors or anything left here because it's a dead community. They don't have anything left. But the people can go and get

00:49:31.800 - 00:49:42.910

a situation, good health you know, for screening for cancer, or anything else. But, you know, they got LBJ down there, we've got LBJ. Sandra Edwards: We got LBJ and they have a cancer center in there now.

00:49:42.910 - 00:49:59.100

But it's still the idea nd they are remodeling so it's going to be a lot better and bigger. But the idea you know, we still need insurance to go wherever to pay for this. Even at LBJ you're going to have to pay something.

00:49:59.600 - 00:50:10.910

I don't care if it's coming out of your pocket. You got to pay something for the treatments you need. So, why is it so hard for you to see what we see? And you know, what you have done.

00:50:10.910 - 00:50:21.120

Even if you don't get it, you test out here and our bodies have already absorbed it and it's just waiting for it to launch. It is just waiting. They're waiting for it to come out. Waiting for that

00:50:21.120 - 00:50:34.060

Accident to happen for for it get airborne, then it's going to make us sick or whatever. But how you can't, you can go Go with the state representatives and get stock and this trade

00:50:34.060 - 00:50:45.480

Money and stuff. But in the community out here that is supposed to be contaminated, you can send it to the state commission. So the

00:50:45.480 - 00:50:59.190

commissioner and Union Pacific got a deal going. So I think they are just gambling with our lives and we the dice, they rolling us. We are the dice. Because if you are helping us,

00:50:59.220 - 00:51:08.570

you ain't going to go do business and give them no kind of money. Don't care if it's your money or state money or nothing. If you contaminate somebody, you hurting any community, you're not going to sponsor them.

00:51:09.130 - 00:51:24.820

You're not going to make sure they have money. You're not going to go buy their stocks and bonds. So you’re buying up the property out here through the Union Pacific. And we know they're not really paying for it. This is just the paperwork, just showing money.

00:51:24.820 - 00:51:32.990

They ain’t paying for it, that's hush money. Be quiet while I contaminate your community. Just shut the hell up.

00:51:33.690 - 00:51:43.570

I gave you this stock, shut up. Put a number on it like your body. Yeah, yeah. And in my heart, I believe it.

00:51:43.570 - 00:51:57.150

Leisa Glenn: And you got so many kids out here that needs... you know, I mean, my son is grown now, but you got kids out here that grandparents are raising them because the parents

00:51:57.150 - 00:52:09.730

are either dying from breast cancer or some type of cancer. You got so many kids out here in need. You know, they don't choose to be on the streets. They don't choose to go into the store and steal something.

00:52:09.760 - 00:52:23.170

That's not a choice that they choose for themselves. They getting it because they don't have it and they want it, but they already grandparents taking care of their grandchildren because the parent passed away.

00:52:23.170 - 00:52:35.420

Or somebody in the family passed away. and they have to- aunties or uncles being stuck with neglected kids and they have to- the children are going,

00:52:35.420 - 00:52:49.800

doing things to try to get extra money of stealing and taking. They don't really want to do that. If Union Pacific would step up and parents that are deceased from cancer and got contaminated or whatever

00:52:50.170 - 00:53:03.310

and give them some type of income, they'll be able to live better. Fix an income where that parent child who died from this contamination, their child, if they grow up and want to go to college and be somebody,

00:53:03.580 - 00:53:15.560

then you won't have to say we got thugs and killers over here, people robbing and stealing and all this over here. They are not doing that because they want to, some of them. Some of 'em are doing it because they don't have a choice.

00:53:15.660 - 00:53:27.870

You got don't have a choice. You gotta eat. How are you going to survive if you don't eat? And so it's a lot of kids being really neglected to the fact of: our grandparents got to take care of us. They struggling,

00:53:28.100 - 00:53:42.350

they living off some type of income, the best income they got, you know, and some of them can't even get food stamps because they get too much money with whatever they getting. And then you got your grandchildren or whatever because their parents

00:53:42.350 - 00:53:55.230

passed away from being sick of something and then they go and do stuff to try to make ends meet. They go out and do stuff they don't want to do. Then they get in trouble,

00:53:55.230 - 00:54:07.510

and they are in prison. A lot of black kids don't want to go to prison but they are doing what they know how. They don't know it no other way. If Union Pacific would step in and try to help these families

00:54:07.740 - 00:54:23.060

to do the right thing, you wouldn't have as much crime out here as you do. Sandra Edwards: They need to start a youth program for out here because just like she said, a lot of people are raising their grandkids. They don't have- their parents are sick or maybe on drugs or something or missing from the picture.

00:54:23.460 - 00:54:39.980

So they need to start doing something constructive for families out here. And you see somebody struggling And you don't decide to help them but you will hinder them

00:54:41.280 - 00:54:46.680

and kick them while they are down. Okay. This lady made a comment

00:54:46.680 - 00:54:59.500

Sit down, come out, come here. the other day about Fifth Ward children talking about they’re juvenile delinquents.

00:54:59.500 - 00:55:15.880

And they got into a big argument over it. That's how you look at our kids out here because you can't afford to go stay nowhere else. So you come and buy your house out here and then want to talk about the kids out here?

00:55:16.010 - 00:55:31.560

And- I don't know what it's saying, but it got his attention You want to talk about the kids out here because you live and this is what you see. But you're not helping them by talking about them. Why don't you start something to help them

00:55:31.560 - 00:55:42.270

instead of calling them juvenile delinquents? You don't know what their family problems are. You don't know what their struggles are, for you to keep on talking about them. Everybody is too busy to criticize them,

00:55:42.270 - 00:55:51.250

but they don't know what their odds are, what they are doing and how they are living. Like, this little boy was going to jail the other day stealing soap and deodorant.

00:55:52.880 - 00:56:02.960

and that's the third time. I heard another person, this cop, was telling us about it, and I happened to go down And then I said, don't do that. Don't take him to jail. I paid for his stuff.

00:56:02.960 - 00:56:14.040

If some people just lend a hand to some of these young, They're not stealing drugs or cigarettes It's deodorant.

00:56:14.040 - 00:56:22.810

The bath stuff that you should be able to have at your house or be able to have every day. They don't have that. So you want to kick them and hinder them

00:56:22.810 - 00:56:31.320

While they are down? That's not how you do that. You lift them up because your Encouragement might be the way to help them think differently

00:56:31.320 - 00:56:39.600

or move on. But as long as you're talking down on them, Yeah, they're going to continue to do stuff. Yeah. They're going to start doing more crimes because you already got them convicted.

00:56:40.260 - 00:56:48.100

Already convicted and served. They ain't ever been in jail. But they get caught stealing some simple stuff and you want to call them criminals and juvenile delinquents.

00:56:48.100 - 00:56:59.520

That's what too many people look at them as. That's why they don't have a future. Because there isn’t anybody giving them any encouragement or lifting them up so they can have some respect or something.

00:56:59.850 - 00:57:10.060

They might've been raised in the streets, They don't know how to do nothing else. But you steady kicking them while they are down ain't going to make 'em no better. I get so sick of seeing that everyday.

00:57:10.060 - 00:57:20.600

Ooh, and she wanted to whoop this girl when she told them. She said you're going to stop calling my kids out here juvenile delinquents. I mean she ain't got but one child, But she was finna get in this lady's butt.

00:57:20.600 - 00:57:30.210

But I'm not going to call no names. I really want to, but I'm not going to call no names and I can't wait to talk to her because they got back to me. They got back to me and I don't

00:57:30.210 - 00:57:44.730

like, that you are going to leave these babies alone out here because some of 'em ain't got no choice. Shay Olaifa: A little bit earlier, y'all talked about hush money, and I feel like from a lot of my conversations with residents in Fifth Ward,

00:57:44.730 - 00:57:56.540

something I keep hearing being brought up is about Union Pacific attempting to buy Fifth Ward residents water rights. Do y'all know anything about that? Who was receiving payments… Sandra Edwards: I took the money.

00:57:56.540 - 00:58:10.850

I sure did. Excuse me. Right after I took the money, excuse me Right after I took the money, This is when

00:58:10.850 - 00:58:24.500

This is when I brought her in right after we took the money. Yeah, I took it and I told everybody to take it Because guess what? This is a way to link them. So that means, if you buy my water rights, we don't have- you have cheaper water in her yard,

00:58:24.600 - 00:58:34.880

But I don't have a well. So you paid me the hell up. What you did was pay me to come after you because you came around here, You were serious trying to get us to sign

00:58:34.880 - 00:58:41.920

all these water rights from people, and get this and do that. I don't even have a well. You wanted to give me some money? I took the money

00:58:41.920 - 00:58:50.060

That just made me open my eyes and say you are guilty of something. But what? That's when I went to the health department. found out about the precinct and all this.

00:58:50.060 - 00:59:01.040

I didn't really know a whole lot about what was going on. Sandra Small and Kathy Blueford Daniels already started this fight, but they kind of slacked. Ms. Small was sick

00:59:02.110 - 00:59:11.650

So she couldn't do the running. Kathy Blueford Daniels was too busy holding offices everywhere So she didn't have the time. So that left me and her.

00:59:13.680 - 00:59:20.820

Hit these streets told these people, they got you thinking you can't get in a lawsuit. They get you thinking you can't do this. You can do it.

00:59:20.820 - 00:59:31.940

Because guess what? Think about it. They paid you that money to shut your mouth. But guess what? You better scream louder than you. Ever screamed. And ever since I got that money, I got what? It was about $1500

00:59:32.600 - 00:59:44.510

And some of 'em say they didn't even get that. Some of 'em say they didn't get but like $300, $400. I'm like, I don't even have a well how I get more than you got. They must have known I was coming

00:59:44.510 - 00:59:54.820

They must have known I was coming because baby once we started And I got madder and madder and then every time I took a shower my arms were burning. I was getting rashes every time I took a shower,

00:59:54.820 - 01:00:03.630

But I got a filter now. Well, They redid the whole house now But I had to get me a shower with a filter because every time I took a shower I was burning. It was burning,

01:00:03.630 - 01:00:12.910

Literally burning me. I'm like, how do you take a bath? And then Channel 13 came to do a report. I had just got outta the shower, I went outside, I was blistered

01:00:13.480 - 01:00:26.620

so I put the medicine on that they had I had went to the doctor, gave me some medicine, put on right after the shower. That's the only thing that was keeping my skin from looking all nasty looking because the first two weeks I didn't know what to do. It was just blisters on me.

01:00:26.620 - 01:00:37.800

And then when I go in the sun, it would swell up. I ain't know what to do. And I kept saying maybe it’s something I’m eating. I eat everything. So it wasn't that. It was the water.

01:00:37.800 - 01:00:56.350

It was the water. So I got filters all through the house. Leisa Glenn: So, now that, We know better, we are trying to do better But Union Pacific

01:00:56.350 - 01:01:08.060

is not trying to be good to us. That we know. Union Pacific is still just pushing us to the side. like she says, giving

01:01:08.060 - 01:01:22.650

certain people money, stocks under the table. So pretty much we are in a losing situation

01:01:22.650 - 01:01:37.790

Sandra Edwards: a lose-lose situation. Leisa Glenn: A win-losing situation because they seem like they're never going to own up to this

01:01:37.790 - 01:01:50.640

plume that we sitting on right now. Only time they're going to own up to it, probably When they can feel that they can take all of the land over here, the plume land

01:01:50.670 - 01:02:07.290

Sandra Edwards: And there's no help Leisa Glenn: And do what they want to do. But I'm not planning to let my land go, for someone to come and move onto my land with this beautiful skyline

01:02:08.220 - 01:02:19.800

And do what they want to do. I think that I'm going to hold them accountable for what they need to do with this neighborhood here

01:02:19.800 - 01:02:35.790

and whoever else they have contaminated. Thank y'all so much for sharing. So y'all talked about, Do y'all know why Union Pacific had such an interest in the water rights?

01:02:35.790 - 01:02:46.200

And do you know if there are any records of the transactions? Who received the payments? Do people still have the letters from Union Pacific buying their water rights? What does that kind of look like?

01:02:46.200 - 01:03:01.310

I think I have mine. Good luck finding it though. it's just somewhere in that house. But, it was just some paper that said they were buying my water rights to my well.

01:03:01.310 - 01:03:07.620

And, I'm reading this. This is so false. I said, this is so false. But okay.

01:03:07.620 - 01:03:19.760

Well my cheek, they showed me my check. Okay, I signed it and then I said, now I got you. In my head I'm saying, yeah, I got you. Gotcha. But yeah, he kind of told us what to do and we did.

01:03:20.100 - 01:03:32.480

So this is how we got where we are now. Shay Olaifa: And you you had a well in your backyard. What happened with that? Leisa Glenn: It's still back there.

01:03:32.610 - 01:03:41.020

And Union Pacific just owns the rights to it now The water rights to it. I know that well.

01:03:41.020 - 01:03:56.300

Sandra Edwards:I was finna say haven’t nobody used no well water out here in decades. I mean I think yours is topped off ain't it? Leisa Glenn: You can walk back there, you can You can look down, your foot probably will fall in it.

01:04:03.870 - 01:04:15.690

Shay Olaifa: Okay, so earlier before you talked about how after Union Pacific started buying up the water rights in the neighborhood, that's when you started asking questions and went to the Health Department and found out about the contamination.

01:04:15.750 - 01:04:26.630

Could y'all expand on how y'all both individually found out about it and the steps y'all took from there? Leisa Glenn: Yeah, yeah. We found out together. All together and

01:04:27.830 - 01:04:42.610

Ms. Smalls had they had already, kept saying it was contaminated, you know. Ms. Smalls kept telling us too, the wells in our yard. They checked to see about the wells in the backyard because they are contaminated.

01:04:43.180 - 01:04:53.390

So me and Sandra, that's how Sandra’s dad walked in the backyard, ain't it? That's when your dad walked in the backyard and got sick? Sandra Edwards: No, he did the front yard.

01:04:53.390 - 01:05:05.600

He was in front yard. He started walking outside, he just stopped wearing his shoes and he started going outside talking about how good the grass felt on his feet and stuff.

01:05:05.600 - 01:05:14.040

And he just. My dad was old, but he was a whipper snapper. He was still getting around. He was still going around.

01:05:14.040 - 01:05:26.490

He was still driving and he just got extremely sick and he started hurting real bad. And he said it was in his joints. So me and my auntie kind of said we knew what was wrong,

01:05:26.490 - 01:05:42.000

but we wasn't sure you know? So we kind of like, he is already old, let's not let him get the test. We were talking behind his back. So he goes to the doctor and they convinced him to get a bone marrow test.

01:05:42.000 - 01:05:56.750

He got the bone marrow test, had a stroke on the table, never came back, never came back. Four weeks later he was dead. It took him real fast.

01:05:56.750 - 01:06:10.830

So I mean, it's like Leisa Glenn: It was cancer wasn't it? Sandra Edwards: It was bone cancer. It had eaten his bones up, Once they did the bone marrow went in, he had the stroke. It's like his whole body just

01:06:10.830 - 01:06:20.110

within days It just went through his body like Like, I don't know, like a volcano. t just went through him and his body just deteriorated.

01:06:20.440 - 01:06:31.420

Within four weeks he was dead. And it got to the point he couldn't even walk. Now this is the man that drove himself to the doctor And from there he just went downhill

01:06:31.420 - 01:06:41.900

until he died. I'm just like, Leisa Glenn: And they tested my mom’s bone too And I saw it on the screen. They let me in the room. They said she's not going to live long. Sandra Edwards: Yeah.

01:06:41.900 - 01:06:51.410

once they hit your bone once, especially Once it's airborne It's over, it's over. Well, I'm not going to even fight this and forget it. I have watched too many people

01:06:51.410 - 01:07:04.520

Suffer, suffer trying to stay alive. Hey, I ain't been here long but I have enjoyed what time I've been here Hey, if it's time to go. It's time to go. I'm not finna let this

01:07:04.520 - 01:07:15.660

I'm not finna be walking around, with no bags on me and no walking cane, I'm not doing that. I'm sorry. I'm just refusing. I told them, let me go.

01:07:20.070 - 01:07:31.680

Shay Olaifa: Thank y'all so much for sharing. Sandra Edwards: Oh you are so welcome. Shay Olaifa: Can you also talk about or in your opinion, what has been the biggest impact of the creosote contamination on you?

01:07:31.910 - 01:07:44.490

And also the overall community? Sandra Edwards: This lady on Wayne Street, she lost four kids and she just died like four months ago. She lost four kids to cancer And she had one son

01:07:44.490 - 01:07:59.640

He got cancer, he's in stage four and she died, and he's hanging on But his dad is there. And how do you lose four kids in the same house to cancer? And then when I was working for the city truck

01:07:59.640 - 01:08:07.950

Leisa Glenn: Smalls did, remember? Sandra Edwards: Yeah. Yeah. Ms. Small went through the same thing. So see, this is what the disadvantage of these people out here.

01:08:08.120 - 01:08:18.690

They're not losing one or two kids. They are losing all of their children. And some of 'em die before their kids but eventually the kids wind up dying too.

01:08:18.690 - 01:08:31.870

So those two families alone make me in my heart keep on going and keep fighting because she says ain't nobody speak up for her. Like I told her, I said if you walk with me

01:08:31.870 - 01:08:44.320

You can speak for yourself. They could see your struggle. they could see what you went through. I don't have to speak for you. You know, that's just two families. But think about how many of those families like that that's out here that have been through this.

01:08:44.330 - 01:08:55.230

Leisa Glenn: And these are young people Sandra Edwards: Yeah. Ms. Payne is younger than me. Yeah. And this is it's just not right.

01:08:55.460 - 01:09:05.940

And it impacted me a whole lot because every time I talk to 'em and I see somebody say, I need you to tell this. I need you to do this for me. I need people to know what I'm going through.

01:09:05.940 - 01:09:16.590

So you can't stop. You got to keep going. So it impacts you as well as that family because they come to you for the information. To you, to get the

01:09:16.590 - 01:09:27.660

story out there. Or they help. So it is a big part of it. Leisa Glenn: And you remember Nakia said that, they had a lot of stillborn babies.

01:09:28.030 - 01:09:35.540

Sandra Edwards: Oh, yeah. And Nakia ought to be about what? 40. Something Leisa Glenn: It might be 40.

01:09:35.940 - 01:09:47.180

Sandra Edwards: Probably about 40. All the kids around her age that had kids around that time, stayed here. all the kids were stillborn

01:09:47.450 - 01:09:57.860

and either her son had challenges or special needs. Yeah, they was special. And that's too many

01:09:57.860 - 01:10:10.640

for a whole community. All these youngsters children to come out like that. Something isn’t simple. Yeah, something is in something for your baby not to make it, or to be born with challenges

01:10:11.040 - 01:10:22.620

or something. I mean, these kids are not all related So there's something out here. And it's still out here. Leisa Glenn: You know us being

01:10:22.620 - 01:10:38.130

not educated on the creosote contamination. We had no idea. You know, the first thing you would say, I can't seem to figure out, you know, the older generation. Why are these young girls around here

01:10:38.130 - 01:10:53.380

all these babies are coming stillborn? You know? We ain't been to no scientists or to college to learn about things on why these babies are stillborn and and what's going on.

01:10:53.580 - 01:11:04.990

You know, we really weren't knowledgeable to the fact, of okay Yeah, now we know, we know. So we know better about why they had a lot of stillborn babies around

01:11:06.130 - 01:11:15.370

here now. It's because they were already sick when they was taken in the water and everything. You know, food, and all that from the contamination.

01:11:15.900 - 01:11:30.150

That's why a lot of babies and somebody's gotta be held accountable Sandra Edwards: Somebody, I mean, it's just not normal that... it's inhumane for people to see

01:11:30.790 - 01:11:43.930

and know you have contaminated or have hurt somebody. And you are just going on with your life l ike you ain't do nothing and keep saying the same old lie. It's not my fault It's not my fault. You're right. It's not your fault,

01:11:43.930 - 01:11:50.770

it's your company's fault. Because this was the 1900s this happened. You probably weren't even born yet when it happened.

01:11:50.770 - 01:11:58.210

I'm talking about Union Pacific. The people they are sending to talk to us. You're right. It's not your fault. You weren't even born yet. It's your company's fault.

01:11:58.210 - 01:12:07.620

So stop telling the lie That it's not your fault. It is. You're part of the company so it's your fault.

01:12:07.620 - 01:12:18.900

Leisa Glenn: Do you know what creosote does? You see that pole right there? Those poles are made from creosote. Did you know that?

01:12:24.240 - 01:12:38.290

Sandra Edwards: They stopped dipping them. I think those are the new ones because the one that used to be in front of my house was black and slimy And had the stuff on there. I think they stopped treating them with it for some of 'em, because the ones in Fleming,

01:12:38.720 - 01:12:49.930

You could see 'em from the street. They are shiny, shiny, shiny. They are full of creosote. Leisa Glenn: Yeah creosote shines; when it get cold. It shines and sparkles. Sandra Edwards: Even when it's not, it's just

01:12:49.930 - 01:12:58.410

shining. When you pass through there, it's literally shining. So, you know, they trying to preserve. And they are way bigger than these are in the school field.

01:12:58.410 - 01:13:09.320

So they're trying to preserve 'em to keep as long as they can. So you know they're full of creosote on the track field. That's it. Children running around it. Oh my god, look at the chickens.

01:13:09.320 - 01:13:15.960

You know, you're in the country now. You're running down the street. Look, why did the chicken cross the road? He wants me to fry him.

01:13:18.390 - 01:13:25.030

I will fry you. Leisa Glenn: Don’t fry the people’s chicken. He tryna make it back home. Sandra Edwards: And he a long way from it.

01:13:25.030 - 01:13:33.240

Leisa Glenn: Uh, uh. No he ain't, he going in the right direction. Sandra Edwards: He in the right direction because that's where they coming from. But I say why he come flying down from down that way. He done went on a rendezvous all night.

01:13:33.240 - 01:13:46.520

Leisa Glenn: I don't know but I think he better get away from your dog. Sandra Edwards: It ain't gon’ mess with him. Ain't gon’ mess with him. Leisa Glenn: And I'm just saying this is,

01:13:46.690 - 01:14:00.540

it's just so much going on in this neighborhood. You couldn't even imagine how much stuff is going on in this neighborhood. And no matter how hard we've been working on trying to get

01:14:00.540 - 01:14:10.450

this neighborhood restored and put back together. We try to go forward. For them to keep knocking us backwards, kicking us backwards.

01:14:11.750 - 01:14:27.030

So it seems like they're never going to step up to the plate and do what they're supposed to do. Sandra Edwards: Let me tell you what life in Fifth Ward is. The treadmill. You get on the treadmill and if you don't move fast enough,

01:14:27.860 - 01:14:40.210

it's going to throw you backwards. That's Union Pacific throwing us backwards throwing us backwards Everytime we get on that treadmill, think we 'gon go far. WHOOP. Giving us whiplash.

01:14:42.910 - 01:14:56.530

Shay Olaifa: Thank you so much for sharing. So, Miss Edwards, you talked a lot about how individual people's stories kind of propel you to keep fighting for this community, to keep moving forward. How have y'all also been doing that through the organization, IMPACT?

01:14:56.530 - 01:15:08.040

Because it also began because y'all found about the contamination, correct? Sandra Edwards: Yeah. Shay Olaifa: So what has IMPACT's role been in this process? Sandra Edwards: Doing the same.

01:15:08.040 - 01:15:23.950

I don't know. Because I'm still with IMPACT, but I have branched out. I want to spread, to broaden my horizons. So I started doing IMPACT justice, which my organization does a little bit more.

01:15:23.950 - 01:15:37.170

We fight for contamination, but we fight for everything. You know, like, how we have our streets. When you see water running up,

01:15:38.800 - 01:15:53.720

You know, we have a lot of water leaks out her. Let's just put it like that. And sometimes it reflects our people's water bill. So I get calls and I get 'em help for repairs, get it back down and right. I don't help pay it.

01:15:53.720 - 01:16:05.190

I get- I go after the city. because they the ones that messed up. So I go after them, make them get the bills right And if I see heavy trash Or I see some abandoned houses

01:16:05.190 - 01:16:15.170

that have too much going on around it, try to get it tore down Or get something done to it, get it boarded up You know,

01:16:15.170 - 01:16:27.150

I do some of everything, put it like that. We do some of everything to take care of community when they call for whatever. I try to get the media involved as much as I can because if you put the city on blast

01:16:28.180 - 01:16:37.160

you know, you get everybody to see what you're going through and then they'll come out and do the job. So after me calling, you're not going to get it done?

01:16:37.160 - 01:16:46.870

I'll get the media to call you while you are on the air and let's see how fast you do it. So it has been working. So I've been doing that for two years now.

01:16:46.870 - 01:17:02.050

So that's what I do mostly out here. Try to help the residents stay afloat, especially when they're being treated badly. I try to get some enlightenment on it. Leisa Glenn: Well she has called a lot about rainbow water.

01:17:02.420 - 01:17:16.900

There's a lot of rainbow water out here. Rainbow water says contamination. Sandra Edwards: We caught it in my yard one time right after we had just had the meeting and I said wait a minute, that's in my yard right now. I went out, took a picture and then the next day we were trying to

01:17:16.900 - 01:17:29.880

catch it, it was running too bad. Okay, it was raining so bad, but it was it was puddles of it, and it was like I was like wait a minute, I thought this wasn't happening no more.

01:17:29.880 - 01:17:59.470

But then we had, just had a meeting about it And they were talking about they see rainbow water too. But, after we had the meeting, I went out, took pictures

01:17:59.470 - 01:18:12.020

and I sent the pictures to them and they were saying, well they should come over here, Do your car leak on, do this, do that. No. That is not from my car. This is in the driveway port. My car is parked under the carport.

01:18:12.320 - 01:18:20.160

This was not from my car. We don't know where it came from but I have only seen it like twice since then. I haven't seen it any more lately.

01:18:20.160 - 01:18:31.070

Now I don't know why but, I haven't seen it any more lately. Shay Olaifa: And what is your organization called? Sandra Edwards: Impact Fifth Ward Justice. Justice is justice in Fifth Ward

01:18:31.070 - 01:18:45.150

to bring justice to the residents of it. Shay Olaifa: Thank y'all both. So y'all talked about how y'all went to the health department. And you also talked about the EPA coming in.

01:18:45.150 - 01:18:56.030

Do you have any- like what is your perception of the EPA and the health department's response to the situation? Sandra Edwards: Not enough. Not enough.

01:18:56.030 - 01:19:08.340

I'm going to leave it at that. Not enough. Not enough was done I don't think. Not enough was done. I don't think,

01:19:08.340 - 01:19:31.130

I do say the health department. I know the health department cared. They were okay but they just couldn't do enough And it was because of the leadership that they… Leisa Glenn: Yes, they are not

01:19:31.130 - 01:19:49.020

doing enough for the community. So for us it’s them talking to the community. The last meeting we had with the EPA, people got up and walked out of that meeting

01:19:49.180 - 01:20:07.040

because they were very upset and felt like they were being talked down to and humiliated because of being poor. They they talked about things way over the community's head.

01:20:07.200 - 01:20:21.020

Sandra Edwards: And it didn't make any sense what they were saying. They weren't answering questions. And I'm like that's not giving us any information. That's not telling us anything.

01:20:21.020 - 01:20:29.490

That's not helping us. This is not what we bargained for. This is not what we came here for. It was like a

01:20:29.490 - 01:20:40.140

slap in the face, all this time and then all this testing And then we get the testing back I only got one thing on that- benzene. How many tests you ran and that's all you came up with- was benzene

01:20:40.140 - 01:20:47.940

And then want to say it ain't high. Well what about the rest of the stuff? What about it? I don't have anything missing on that paper. One thing.

01:20:47.940 - 01:20:59.350

So you trying to say. So how are you going to say you tested and then the rest of the tests coming in when? In March or April, May. Well y'all don't sound like y'all know what y'all doing first of all.

01:21:00.020 - 01:21:11.700

I lost faith in you second of all. And third of all, y'all not working for us. Y'all working against us. Y'all no better than the TCEQ. So I'm done with them all.

01:21:11.700 - 01:21:22.440

I'm done with them all. I'm fixing to come off the CAG board, the CAB board, all them boards. They can keep them and they can shove them somewhere. I'm not going to say where but you know where I'm going with this.

01:21:22.440 - 01:21:34.520

Leisa Glenn: Now why would you come to a community? We are not scientists. They are talking about stuff that's so far it's like WHOOSH. I had to turn and keep asking the lawyer.

01:21:34.520 - 01:21:41.960

So what do that mean? Turn and keep asking the lawyer. What does this mean? I had no idea. And I know if I hadn't been sitting up

01:21:41.960 - 01:21:54.240

beside the lawyer, we wouldn't have known anything and I still don't know anything. I wouldn't have known what they were talking about. So people get frustrated. It's like you're talking to me like I'm a fool.

01:21:54.240 - 01:22:06.720

You know? Like I said to them before. You got to come to their level, you got to come here. Yeah. You got to come to us. We know we ain't no scientists and doctors and whatever.

01:22:07.020 - 01:22:20.070

You got to come here with us. But you talking all this here so far over our head. The people got up and walked out because they were very frustrated and disgusted. Either you’re telling me my land is contaminated or not contaminated.

01:22:20.340 - 01:22:38.120

You're telling me that this benzene, or whatever, is high Then you’re telling me it's a thousand times worse than we thought. Then you come back and tell me it is not. What is it? You are not talking to me with no common sense whatsoever.

01:22:38.350 - 01:23:01.440

You're talking to me like I'm totally ignorant. Sandra Edwards: And then you say, look you can't- You see how big this dog is, right? Then you tell me You tell me before me dog

01:23:01.440 - 01:23:11.490

Come in the house to wipe… this is supposedly how bad this is… Wipe the dog's paws off before it comes into the house. It goes inside outside Twenty times a day, and I'm

01:23:11.490 - 01:23:21.060

Each time he goes in and out, I'm going to stop I'm going to get under here and wipe this big ass dog's paws off before it comes into the house. Then you’re going to tell us – you see all these chickens around here. Right?

01:23:21.060 - 01:23:32.410

Don't eat the eggs, don't eat the chickens. What do you think they are keeping the chickens for? Pets? No, for their food. And the eggs. And some got gardens.

01:23:32.410 - 01:23:44.820

Leisa Glenn: They got great big ol gardens in the corner. Sandra Edwads: Yeah. So how are you going to tell us, at the same time, it's safe to live there but you just gave me instructions on what to do with my dog and children. Don't let the children run around and play out here.

01:23:45.550 - 01:23:59.130

So I'm confused. Is it? I’m damned if I do, I'm damned if I don't then if I listen to what they say, I'm not gonna to live because I'm going to be too busy worrying about dying. Leisa Glenn: That lady got four, six children over there, ain't she?

01:23:59.130 - 01:24:09.210

Sandra Edwards: Who? Leisa Glenn: Is that? I don't want to call her name, ain't her children sick? Next to Sharon. Next to Sharon. Sandra Edwards: Oh.

01:24:09.210 - 01:24:20.690

Oh, lead posioning. Leisa Glenn: Yeah. Sandra Edwards: And they ain't happy. Cause their house is older than these houses here. Older than this house. Leisa Glenn: Lead and the contamination.

01:24:20.690 - 01:24:31.570

Sandra Edwards: It used to be a funeral home a long time ago. Leisa Glenn: All of 'em like that. Children, they're all sick Sandra Edwards: She got five now. Leisa Glenn: And they all sick. Sandra Edwards: All of them lead poisoning.

01:24:31.570 - 01:24:39.640

But you can't do nothing for 'em. Leisa Glenn: Too poor. Too poor to move forward. Sandra Edwards: Can't go nowhere because you can't afford to. Leisa Glenn: And then

01:24:39.640 - 01:24:49.180

You can't get no help. Can't get no help. So you know what eventually happened. One of them,

01:24:49.220 - 01:25:05.570

I ain't going to call that word. But you know what happens after a while? You been living over here Shay Olaifa: Thank y'all.

01:25:05.570 - 01:25:18.780

Something else that y'all said is that the EPA is no better than the TCEQ. And that's something that I've heard from a lot of community members. Can y'all please talk about why the TCEQ has not been here in the community out and actually doing something to help.

01:25:19.780 - 01:25:27.690

Sandra Edwards: They're not doing anything. Don't waste my time. I ain't going to waste yours. Shay Olaifa: And what have they done in the past that has made you feel this way?

01:25:28.120 - 01:25:39.470

Sandra Edwards: Nothing. Absolutely nothing. They don't work for us. They work for them. On how to contaminate us, how to lower their standards so they can keep killing us.

01:25:39.470 - 01:25:51.280

They don't try to raise the bar, they lower it so the permit will pass. So they don’t work for us. They work for them. Okay, you can't pass this? Okay, what's the level? 10? Okay,

01:25:51.280 - 01:26:01.660

We're going to do it to nine. So that makes you pass. This is what they're going around doing. So they don't work for us. They help them kill people. They're murderers

01:26:03.120 - 01:26:12.930

But they get away with it They are licensed to kill. Leisa Glenn: It's nothing. Nothing. Neither one of 'em have done anything for the neighborhood

01:26:12.930 - 01:26:20.440

Tell me what they keep doing tests after tests. That's prolonging, prolonging. Prolonging the problem. How many times are we going to test this place?

01:26:20.440 - 01:26:29.850

How many times? You already know it's contaminated. I mean, really. I don't even want to, I'm getting so discouraged with them

01:26:30.120 - 01:26:41.430

I don't want to hear about another test. The whole point is, you don't want to do what's right. When you're wrong, You're wrong. Okay.

01:26:41.430 - 01:26:58.110

And in my, they are found guilty over and over again. And they keep coming back and having meetings. It's like… I have to take off work to come to their meetings And I hear the same thing I heard last time.

01:26:58.110 - 01:27:10.660

People are taking off, the ones that do have jobs and things that have to come to these meetings And we hear the same thing we heard last time when you were here. So that's just a way to keep us thrown off

01:27:10.660 - 01:27:21.970

And just coming here just to say, okay, we went over there, And we had a meeting. We went over there and we had a meeting. You come back with the same thing. If you record that meeting that you went to before, you are going to hear the same thing you heard from the other meeting.

01:27:22.040 - 01:27:30.780

Sandra Edwards: Came up here and wasted our time. That's all it did. Leisa Glenn: And the first thing, the news, when the news came on, Well we had a big meeting tonight. alking about creosote

01:27:30.780 - 01:27:41.920

contamination in Fifth Ward. But you hear the same thing over and over and over and over. And nobody, nobody is admitting that they are killing us over here.

01:27:41.920 - 01:27:52.070

Nobody's admitting that. Union Pacific is will not admit that because it is a black neighborhood, you know, black and brown now. Everybody on the street was black.

01:27:52.070 - 01:28:03.850

It was everybody on the streets. So now it's turning into a black and brown neighborhood. But at that time, back then, everybody. And we shared everything

01:28:03.850 - 01:28:13.020

a cup of sugar, flour, oil, rice, You name it. go down there and tell Ms. So-and-so, give me some rice.

01:28:13.020 - 01:28:24.330

Or go down there and see if she got a pepper. Anything. We shared everything on this street because when the struggle was in And one person didn't have it, needed flour or fried chicken.

01:28:24.600 - 01:28:33.510

They'd go down and ask Ms. so-and-so and Mr. so-and-so And this and that person, And let me tell you back then people on

01:28:33.510 - 01:28:44.850

this street were productive before we got contaminated. Now Ms. Youngblood lived in that house. She was a school teacher. Okay. My mom had six children, but she worked every day.

01:28:45.420 - 01:28:55.700

Okay. And what Ms. Lele? She was productive too. Was she a teacher? Sandra Edwards: I don't know what Ms. Lele did But she used to leave by dressed up. So I don't know.

01:28:55.700 - 01:29:09.440

Leisa Glenn: And they were dressed every night And Ms. Yuhu back there. Sandra Edwards: Well she was a maid. She was a maid but she worked for some very wealthy people.

01:29:09.440 - 01:29:16.980

Very wealthy people. And Mary's mama retired from Craig's downtown. She was a department store manager

01:29:16.980 - 01:29:29.430

and she would have high heels and leave out here looking all spiffy every morning. Leisa Glenn: And they have a lot of sophistication about themselves. Back then. Sandra Edwards: My dad was a craftsman. He built half the houses out here. And,

01:29:31.330 - 01:29:42.440

let’s see who else we had. Leisa Glenn: And Marie, what was Marie's mother? Sandra Edwards: I don't know what Mr. Brooks did. I don't know. I don't know what they had.

01:29:42.440 - 01:29:54.060

But most of these people had their own business. Some kind of way. Like Ms. Bill, she was a beautician. Yes. And, Ms. Youngblood had her own garden

01:29:54.060 - 01:30:04.930

She was a gardener. Yeah. Leisa Glenn: And a teacher, and she had a stillborn child. Sandra Edwards: She grew all her own food. I mean her vegetables.

01:30:05.600 - 01:30:14.940

Let's see who else. Oh the house, Ms. Coachman. She was a beautician too. It was two beauticians right next door to each other. Leisa Glenn: Yeah. These people were productive.

01:30:14.940 - 01:30:21.950

Sandra Edwards: They had their own business. Their little beauty shop was in their backyard. Leisa Glenn: Yeah, yeah. It was a very productive street until

01:30:23.050 - 01:30:31.560

Sandra Edwards: Illness Leisa Glenn: That explosion. Sandra Edwards: They got sick. They could not go- They couldn't run their business anymore. They had to close down

01:30:31.990 - 01:30:47.070

and then they on disability and then the children… Leisa Glenn: And Madea an them Madea that used… Sandra Edwards: Marcel and them? Leisa Glenn: Yeah. Marcel and them. They were a very productive family Sandra Edwards: Very productive

01:30:47.240 - 01:30:58.050

Leisa Glenn: Yeah. I mean, everybody over here has some type of stuff going for themselves. Sandra Edwards: Everybody. Yeah. I don't know now. Leisa Glenn: And Ms. Mary here.

01:30:58.050 - 01:31:10.260

She has two, two children. That's grown up and one is a teacher. Sandra Edwards: One is a nurse. Leisa Glenn: Right now, that grew up over here. Leisa Glenn: And, one is a,

01:31:10.600 - 01:31:17.640

one is a, Yeah, a nurse. Yeah, a nurse. And the other one is a teacher. And what's your daughter? Sandra Edwards: My daughter is- Both

01:31:17.640 - 01:31:28.880

My daughter's are engineers Leisa Glenn: See, it was very productive. And my son, he works for, UPS, and he's been there

01:31:28.880 - 01:31:40.500

for 29 years, and he went to college too. Sandra Edwards: See, everybody has children. They did. We didn't just have kids. We made sure

01:31:40.500 - 01:31:51.470

We raised our kids. I just don't- I mean, I thank God that they are healthy but with my son going through this, Well, you know, he's going to come out of it healthy, I have faith in that.

01:31:53.040 - 01:32:05.950

But we would have stayed here. See I didn't raise my kids out here for one. I left home at 16. So if I would have raised them out here, I could see my children being like half children that was raised down here, some of them sick,

01:32:07.050 - 01:32:13.760

Going through stuff. Leisa Glenn: Well Samisha was out here. Sandra Edwards: Shamisha, my oldest. My oldest, well she stayed out here for about a year. Yeah. Until she

01:32:13.760 - 01:32:22.470

was in what, third grade? Something like that. I took her back when she was in third grade. That's when I got established. But I came back and got her.

01:32:22.470 - 01:32:31.350

But she stayed out here, she went to Dobie. She want to Dobie. because I took her, I had to put her in elementary out there where I was.

01:32:32.280 - 01:32:41.260

But I wanted my children to have a better life. So I got 'em from out here. Children grew up right here, But they still had a better life. They had a good life.

01:32:41.260 - 01:32:51.230

Her child grew up right here, got a good life. So they keep saying what you ain't 'gon get out here Give a child a chance. You don't give them a chance and you stay down on them

01:32:51.230 - 01:32:59.370

How do you expect for them to ever be anything? Sandra Edwards: See I know about that bashing, I was bashed as a child. My parents were cruel to me.

01:32:59.370 - 01:33:14.190

I ain't going to even lie and say they weren't. They were cruel to me. All they wanted was my brother. But when my real mama died, they had to take me. They had my brother already from birth. So I was the prodigal child I called it. But through it all, I made it.

01:33:14.590 - 01:33:20.760

That's why I left home so early. I couldn't take it anymore. But I came back. Ad took care of the same parents, both of them.

01:33:23.130 - 01:33:32.570

So, you can't Just knock a child for what you think they are, what you see – You got to give 'em a chance. Leisa Glenn: Well see, that's why I can say

01:33:32.570 - 01:33:47.190

Everybody in his neighborhood, you can't say just with Union Pacific looking at the neighborhood. You can’t say that productive people didn't come out from over here. because there have been some

01:33:47.190 - 01:34:04.570

very productive people that was living over here that wanted to make a good life for themselves. And did things to try to make a good life for themselves over here. But now you can't do that because half the time you're too sick

01:34:04.570 - 01:34:15.220

to do anything to take care of yourself. Most of the people over here, they're too sick to take care of themselves. If you knock on the door now Somebody in there is sick. Trust and believe that

01:34:17.550 - 01:34:26.330

And really, I mean sick. And like the little girl next door over here, How old is she now? 20 what? 20 what? Sandra Edwards: 22?

01:34:26.330 - 01:34:38.340

Leisa Glenn: She 22. Never heard her spoke a word in her life. And she was born over here and never said one word Never. And her name is Ashley.

01:34:38.340 - 01:34:52.090

She lives next door. She's never spoken a word. Same way we were telling you about all of these bad kids has been born on this street and she is one of them.

01:34:53.450 - 01:35:07.970

So it's not that they don't want to do nothing in life is what you were born into, and really you are - and they still live next door. You are too poor to

01:35:09.500 - 01:35:18.510

get up. A lot of them say, I can't afford to move, When you say you can't afford to move, That means you have to sit here till the end.

01:35:19.980 - 01:35:33.360

Sandra Edwards: And I hate when people say I get tired of y'all complaining. Why don't you just move? Why don't you pay for me to move? If it was that simple, don't you think we would've been gone by now? Leisa Glenn: Yeah, a lot of people do say that

01:35:33.360 - 01:35:40.500

And that's really hard for them to say... Sandra Edwards: That’s disrespectful. Because you don’t know our situation. Leisa Glenn: You're just going to sit there on the contamination?

01:35:40.500 - 01:35:48.210

Sandra Edwards: Yeah, no I'm gonna lay on it. Lay on it until I die. That makes me mad with that. Well, they make me mad with me.

01:35:48.210 - 01:35:54.920

Leisa Glenn: I mean, think about it. And I say this all the time. I got a house down there. Paid for.

01:35:54.920 - 01:36:07.190

All I gotta do is pay taxes on it. But I'm too scared to live in it. I 'don been through- Well, I had to go to the doctor a whole lot. I mean, so much.

01:36:07.190 - 01:36:21.540

You remember San, it was so much. I don't want to have to do that anymore. So I continue to work and I'm at the age of 66

01:36:21.880 - 01:36:38.490

and I continue to work, to make sure I never have to go back to that situation. where I was in. Basically, I moved out.

01:36:38.490 - 01:36:49.470

But I would love to live in a house without a house note. And pay taxes. Because I'd rather pay that once a year taxes

01:36:49.470 - 01:36:59.980

Than to pay a house note every month. And I'm quite sure a lot of them around here, they don't have a house note. Most of the people that live here don't have a house note.

01:36:59.980 - 01:37:16.630

So it's hard for you to tell me to tell them to go move somewhere else. They are already living on a fixed income. They can't live on that fixed income and move most of these homes. You move into these subdivisions right now, you got to pay,

01:37:18.170 - 01:37:28.940

all these HOA fees and all these different types of fees. The house note. The light, the water, the gas. Sandra Edwards: It is 2,500 for them right there on Waco.

01:37:29.740 - 01:37:40.990

At I-10. 2500 – the deposit. So by the time you pay your deposit, That's a reality around here. You paid three month rent.

01:37:40.990 - 01:37:51.800

That's just outrageous. And you wonder why the turnaround is so great because you can't keep nobody here. Not from out here unless doctors

01:37:51.870 - 01:37:59.540

Or lawyers and that's what they're putting out here. And then they make half of these new houses Airbnb's. So they rent them out

01:37:59.810 - 01:38:12.150

weeks and months at a time. Ain't nobody really buying all these houses here. They are renting them out too. They're getting ready for LBJ when they open up, they get them in these houses for training and stuff. So they

01:38:12.150 - 01:38:25.330

come down from other states, they come in for a short period of time and they put them up in these Airbnb's. So every time we were going out trying to get- Before we started doing the sign ups,

01:38:25.330 - 01:38:41.180

we were trying to get people for the relocation stuff. To see if they, if they were interested. We went to those addresses so much. So we started calling the investors. They told us, there was one who told me that there was no one staying there at the moment. They're Airbnbs.

01:38:41.180 - 01:38:55.330

And we're just waiting for when LBJ gets their hospital together. He didn't know who he was talking to and just gave me all of that information. And so I went to the Health Department and told them,

01:38:55.500 - 01:39:05.270

these are not even residents, they are Airbnbs waiting for people to come into town to stay in. So if somebody right out here needed To move out of their house and move into one of them

01:39:05.270 - 01:39:21.160

They couldn't do it. You couldn't do it. Leisa Glenn: No. And it's really sad that we are out here That have houses that we can't even get repaired.

01:39:21.160 - 01:39:35.300

She had a husband across the street and they hadn't been married that long. Them over there, yeah They got married, what, three years later? Sandra Edwards: No, they had been together for a minute.

01:39:35.840 - 01:39:46.510

Marie and him had been togetehr for a while. Leisa Glenn: But he died. He didn't grow up out here. Sandra Edwards: He died first. Then a couple months later Don died.

01:39:47.680 - 01:40:04.800

I knew it was somebody that was right behind the other. He died. Both of 'em died. He didn't grow up out here. He just moved into that house. And he wasn't even sick when they got married. He moved in and moved into that house. That house was older. I mean it's renovated now, but it was older. And she had said

01:40:04.800 - 01:40:18.580

it had a lot of stuff in there from when her grandmother stayed there. So that means they had all of the old contamination stuff, still in that house. And living in it. You are just closed up in it. You are inhaling everything.

01:40:19.180 - 01:40:30.660

She said he got sick, and he just never came back from it. And it was cancer. Cancer. Leisa Glenn: So you can't tell me that it ain't still here. It's here.

01:40:30.790 - 01:40:44.370

Sandra Edwards: It's here, and it is going to keep killing people. If they don't do anything about it, it's going to keep killing them. Leisa Glenn: Yes. So basically this whole section here needs to be redone.

01:40:44.910 - 01:40:59.020

It needs to be redone. Sandra Edwards: They need to drag these yards, tear these houses down. And rebuild some houses. We ain't asking for all that 40 acres and a mule, We just want our damn acres. We just want our property. That's all.

01:41:00.250 - 01:41:11.400

Tear our houses down and rebuild them and strip our yards, bring us some dirt and let us have the rest of our life. Let us be at peace. Leisa Glenn: Yeah Sandra Edwards: That's all we ask.

01:41:11.400 - 01:41:22.980

Leisa Glenn: Seriously and financially they need to take care of us financially. We should be able to get a financial check every month

01:41:23.280 - 01:41:35.390

or one big lump sum or whatever, to financially take care of anything and everything that's been caused and brought down on us. We didn't ask to get blown up.

01:41:36.990 - 01:41:48.800

And maybe if they'd had handled their business on that end, We wouldn't be in this situation today. So we didn't ask for this. All we are asking for them to come back and do what they are supposed to do.

01:41:49.370 - 01:42:02.780

But, being that we are black, I guess we don't. We still going to be in this situation forever. Shay Olaifa: On the same topic of the explosion, if y'all remember, like,

01:42:02.780 - 01:42:12.960

do you know what happened in the days and weeks after the explosion? Do you know if there was any cleanup effort or were any of the hazards addressed? Sandra Edwards: There was nothing.

01:42:12.960 - 01:42:24.570

They didn't even come over here and tell us how to survive. Nope, they didn't do anything. Now they went to Pleasantville, which is across the freeway. They went over there. Even some people in Pleasantville got paid.

01:42:25.640 - 01:42:35.880

They didn't come here. Pleasantville had a couple of white, but it was the wealthy black. I call 'em the wealthy black and a couple of whites over there.

01:42:35.880 - 01:42:47.130

They went to Pleasentville but they did not come over here. We didn't hear from them for years and years. And then when they did come, they didn't come to help. They came to say “that’s not our fault.”

01:42:47.130 - 01:43:01.410

Leisa Glenn: And that stuff splashed all over here. There were rocks and creosote all on the ground that turned into marbles and everything. Sandra Edwards: Houses were black. Only thing they told us to do was go in the house. Stay in the house. Cause if

01:43:01.410 - 01:43:14.790

that cerosote hit your skin, it will be burn you to the bone. Sandra Edwards: Now how are you going to go in the house and close your windows? You don't have AC. So you're going to tell me to go home. Because first of all, we didn't have windows anymore.

01:43:14.790 - 01:43:27.000

The windows had blown out. Our house down there, all the windows had blew out. The house was dripping black sludge. Like tar. But back then we didn't know it wasn't tar. We didn't know about creosote.

01:43:27.000 - 01:43:38.110

They didn't put any windows in anybody's house. My daddy replaced so many windows. My dad was the repairman. He went to so many houses, repairing wondows.

01:43:38.110 - 01:43:52.360

After he got our windows repaired It was- they didn’t even have to do nothing. Leisa Glenn: I remember it was some – I can't remember. I was so young then with the glass you had to go get the window panes recut.

01:43:52.360 - 01:44:11.010

Sandra Edwards: So, yeah, you had to get, you know, they had them lead. Does Mary? Oh no, she got hers changed out. Hey, Sharon. They have,

01:44:11.010 - 01:44:25.630

Does she have them changed? Yeah, she got the aluminum frame now. But you know that's why you had the wood around the window. You literally had to cut the glass, glass, put it in between the wood, put the wood back together and sit the wood

01:44:26.090 - 01:44:36.540

In the windows. They were full of lead then. Old windows. Yeah, you sure do at your house. She still got 'em. Yeah, yeah, but those were the windows. That you had back then.

01:44:36.540 - 01:44:48.020

And any time they see those windows now, they want to repair the house. because then that lets you know there's lead in your house And, but, that was what we had back then. So we had to go

01:44:49.280 - 01:44:57.820

get all those, get the glass. And some of the wood might have been old. My daddy probably had to cut some wood and build it. My daddy was skilled.

01:44:57.820 - 01:45:13.770

He used to use that garage. He had all kinds of Saws and every tool it was, he had because he was a carpenter. That's what he did. He was a carpenter. Leisa Glenn: And so.

01:45:17.680 - 01:45:31.530

So, so when we- back then, like she's saying and, she's been sick too, hasn't she? Sandra Edwards: I don't know. She got her feet or her toes cut off.

01:45:31.590 - 01:45:44.470

Leisa Glenn: Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah, she has been sick lately. She's the one who has the daughter that can't talk. Sandra Edwards: And she just She said she’s got to get the other side done. Now she said that on the other side

01:45:44.570 - 01:46:01.490

is doing the same thing. They're going to cut them off now. Leisa Glenn: I mean she is young. She's not really old. Sandra Edwards: I thought Sharon was older than you? Leisa Glenn: No, I'm older than her. Sandra Edwards: Oh, okay. Leisa Glenn: But I mean it's really horrible.

01:46:01.620 - 01:46:10.260

And her mom died, what, A couple years ago now? Sandra Edwards: Last year. Leisa Glenn: Last year, yeah. Her mom passed away,

01:46:10.260 - 01:46:18.670

So, I don't know. I ain't asked what it was from, you know. Sandra Edwards: Well, she was almost a hundred, so I'm assuming it was old age.

01:46:18.670 - 01:46:27.610

But, you know, we don't know If she was sick or not though. Leisa Glenn: Well I know Mary’s Mom died.

01:46:27.850 - 01:46:41.500

And her brother died too. You know, that stuff caused heart attacks. Her brother had a heart attack Sitting right here. Sitting right there in the front. So the creosote plays a lot of points on your organs in your body.

01:46:41.500 - 01:46:54.270

So you don't know what organ or type of way- It's killing everybody. some of them the same exact way, some of them different ways.

01:46:54.840 - 01:47:09.120

But creosote caused a lot of dysfunction. You dropped the water, you don't know where the water ended up at or what made it malfunction at the time. They didn't tell us about the water, they didn't tell us nothing

01:47:09.120 - 01:47:15.160

She had to know.But to shut our doors And don't come outside. Nobody said nothing. Finally they came and said to boil the water,

01:47:15.160 - 01:47:28.280

But how are you going to boil brown water? What's going to clear Brown water? That water was brown. When that water went under there, it was brown. If you picked a glass and look. My mama said

01:47:30.080 - 01:47:40.320

We end up - she had to struggle to go get something to drink. We couldn't drink the water because if you boiled it It still wouldn’t turn back right. Sandra Edwards: It sure wasn't.

01:47:40.320 - 01:47:52.000

Leisa Glenn: It was still looking like tea. So, you know, just a light colored tea. But, you knew, that creosote that was in the water. And that's all they told us to do.

01:47:52.000 - 01:48:00.670

So my mom, you know, fruit punch was a dollar and she kept a lot of fruit punch. And at that time fruit punch was a dollar a jug or something. Or I go get it.

01:48:00.670 - 01:48:12.020

Sandra Edwards: I think it was 59 cents a jug. Leisa Glenn: Yeah, maybe it could have been 59 cents for the big boys gallon of juice. And we kept a lot of juices.

01:48:12.020 - 01:48:24.930

And she'd buy a jug of water when she could. But she kind of rationalized it a little bit, you know. But it was it was hard. But nobody told us what not to do.

01:48:24.930 - 01:48:35.480

But my mom still had to cook And she used that water to cook with. I'm telling you, she'll say, oh, it's going to probably kill all the bacteria. But it didn't, you know.

01:48:35.740 - 01:48:50.190

So she boiled it and didn't turn around. She turned around and strained it Or whatever, because it had little particles in it In that brown water. It had little stuff floating through it.` And when she did, you know.

01:48:50.190 - 01:49:04.000

When she turned around and put a rag in there Or something. And then whatever was in that water would go into that rag and it'd be in the strainer, and it'd be into that. And she set that strainer up

01:49:04.000 - 01:49:14.610

Over a pot and that little old brown stuff would be all in the towel once You go through it and boil it through there to cook with it. It was still horrible. But when you're poor, you gotta make it work.

01:49:16.620 - 01:49:31.160

So I mean, this neighborhood has been through a lot. Shay Olaifa: Thank you. In regards to the explosion, how did the neighborhood kind of respond to it

01:49:31.160 - 01:49:42.580

and what role, if any, did Union Pacific play in the aftermath of the Explosion? Sandra Edwards: Nothing, they didn't play any part. They didn't do nothing.

01:49:44.480 - 01:49:56.460

Leisa Glenn: And when we mean nothing, we mean nothing. Shay Olaifa: Okay, so this is my last question, if Abi doesn't have anything,

01:49:56.920 - 01:50:08.700

but do y'all have any questions or clarifications you'd like to give to the EPA or the Health Department or any other organizations that have come in and said they want to help the community,

01:50:08.700 - 01:50:15.480

but haven't been doing what y'all want? Do y'all have any questions or clarification you'd like to give them? Sandra Edwards: We are still waiting. Help is still needed.

01:50:15.480 - 01:50:28.420

So what do you plan on doing? How do you plan on doing it? When do you plan on doing it? Because we are still waiting. Leisa Glenn: Yeah.

01:50:28.420 - 01:50:44.370

A lot of people, can't afford to, find no happiness. You know, when you live in a situation

01:50:44.670 - 01:50:57.280

and you are struggling and you know what might happen to you and you don't know when it's going to happen to you. That's like a stressful situation. That's like sitting there

01:50:57.280 - 01:51:08.460

waiting to find out when you are going to get your test results. Or waiting, Like waiting to see if you are going to die. That's a stressful situation. That puts you into like a situation of saying,

01:51:08.900 - 01:51:18.970

What am I going to do next? that can cause stress, nervous breakdowns Sandra Edwards: Hypertension. But I got one

01:51:18.970 - 01:51:30.850

Better than that. When you do get tested and you still don't know because it's not explaining what's going on. So you still lost. So it's like I'm damned if I do, and I’m damned if I don’t.

01:51:32.990 - 01:51:44.400

Leisa Glenn: And see she's in that situation too Next door, with having her daughter Still with the situation of cannot talk or whatever and and needing help.

01:51:44.400 - 01:52:06.320

Sandra Edwards: And can't get her house done. Yeah. Just Damned if she do. Damned if she don't. And now is she- Leisa Glenn: And like

01:52:08.290 - 01:52:37.350

she doing over there, doing the best she can and just fell on security. Well, then, I'm just saying

01:52:37.350 - 01:52:50.130

It's stressful to wake up every morning and wondering when you are going to eat? Where you are going to get your next income? Where you're going to get your next source of help? And just like now, she's telling me she got to go back and have surgery again.

01:52:50.230 - 01:52:58.440

Some of that is caused, you can't tell me it ain't caused by the creosote. Some of that is caused by the creosote. So I mean now she has a

01:52:58.910 - 01:53:13.050

spare daughter, now she is losing part of her limbs, and she is a nurse. Sandra Edwards: Yeah, that part. Yes, she's a nurse and she's going through all this. Leisa Glenn: And she wasn't asking for anybody's help because she was a nurse. She was trying to do it

01:53:13.050 - 01:53:22.100

herself. Sandra Edwards: Her brother over there, He's disabled as well. So he has to take care of the daughter Because it is actually 24 hour care

01:53:22.630 - 01:53:32.970

and he's barely walking. He barely could walk now. So when she down when she go back in for surgery, he's going to have to be the provider.

01:53:34.740 - 01:53:43.220

What is You can't get no help over here. You can't get no insurance, You can't get nothing. And now you are fixing to be down and out and you have nobody

01:53:43.250 - 01:53:56.860

to help you but a handicap person. It doesn't get any better over here. I mean, there ought to be a situation where The people in the community over here ought to be able to call for help.

01:53:57.300 - 01:54:07.740

They ought to send her a provider for her daughter. Exactly. Until she's able to get well. She is a nurse. She has took care of other people Sandra Edwards: All her life.

01:54:08.010 - 01:54:16.180

Leisa Glenn: All her life. Sandra Edwards: So now who's going to take care of her? While she's down and needs help. See, that's the thing. We all look out for each other,

01:54:16.180 - 01:54:26.160

but when one of us goes down, We don't have nobody step up and take their place to help us. We have to just be Self sufficient all the damn time Leisa Glenn: She needs

01:54:26.160 - 01:54:37.640

a home. Healthcare Nurses take care of her daughter until she comes and is able to take care of her daughter. After she gets out of the hospital. She needs somebody to help her.

01:54:37.970 - 01:54:48.150

But that's a lot around here in a neighborhood like that. Sandra Edwards: Cause she can't be on her feet once she get it cut off. You 'gon have to have it elevated. Leaisa Glenn: And, she's not a real old- I think Sharon could be 62.

01:54:49.120 - 01:54:57.960

Maybe. Sandra Edwards: No, I'm fixing to be sixty – Sharon way older than me. Patrick is 61. No, Sharon, way older.

01:54:57.960 - 01:55:07.430

Leisa Glenn: Sharon ain't way older than that. All of them, Mary, none of them. Ain't nobody older than me. I was the oldest. Sandra Edwards: But she's right there with you though.

01:55:07.430 - 01:55:14.670

Is what I'm saying? Sharon is right there with you. She was older than all of 'em. Leisa Glenn: No, Denise wasn’t me, Denise was under me too.

01:55:14.670 - 01:55:24.450

Sandra Edwards: Denise, but I'm saying Sharon way older than Denise. Leisa Glenn: No she wasn't. Sandra Edwards: Yes she is. I'm serious, Sharon. Leisa Glenn: Okay. We 'gon find out.

01:55:24.450 - 01:55:33.560

Sandra Edwards: Yeah, we 'gon find out. But I know she is way older because I remember she used to keep my kid. As a baby. She had spoiled riding.

01:55:34.330 - 01:55:43.000

That was one reason why she grew up. Leisa Glenn: But Sharon, Sharon is struggling herself. She's. If she wasn't going through the problem she is going through now,

01:55:43.000 - 01:55:54.610

You see she just got in the car and left. She can still be a nurse On her nursing job. But I know it has something to do with this creosote. So I mean they telling us don't walk on the ground, ain't they saying, barefooted?

01:55:55.380 - 01:56:06.760

Sandra Edwards: And telling me to wipe my dog's foot aftering coming in. What do I look like? Leisa Glenn: And telling us to not walk on the ground. Sandra Edwards: Like I’m gonna get on the floor and wipe his paws? And if you telling us to not walk on the ground, something is wrong.

01:56:06.760 - 01:56:18.740

Sandra Edwards: Something is definitely wrong. Then they tell you not to eat the vegetables. Don't eat the chickens, don't eat the eggs. And then you're going to tell me, some people, that we’re good. Somebody lying somewhere. Somebody just forgot to talk to each other before they told us the lie.

01:56:19.240 - 01:56:32.850

They forgot the meet with each other, miss me with that bullcrap. Leisa Glenn: And they need to help the community, help these communities over here. You shouldn't have a house paid for that you cannot live in.

01:56:33.190 - 01:56:45.130

You should not. You should have a house. If you pay for it, you ought to be able to live in it and live at peace, Not worry about if the house is going to kill you

01:56:45.130 - 01:56:58.080

with the contamination that's inside the house. Okay? Right. I mean, I have a nephew that lives down there and he cries and he tells me, well, I don't want to die, Aunt Leisa

01:56:58.080 - 01:57:11.960

But I don't want to move, because if he moves, he doesn't know anybody in the other neighborhood. Everybody in this neighborhood looks out for him because everybody in his neighborhood, they know each other.

01:57:12.560 - 01:57:22.770

And so if he moves, he's going to be lost. He don't know nobody. He don't want to move, I beg him, he don't want to move. "I don't know nobody."

01:57:22.770 - 01:57:34.810

Well, he's a 48 year old SPED man, but he's a 48 year old kid in mind. He know how to go around the corner. And buy himself a soda and come back to the house. He knows how to fix himself

01:57:34.810 - 01:57:47.090

Something to eat and put his clothes on. But he don't understand. He might have to leave that house, but he's not going to have to leave. If Union Pacific does the right thing for the community.

01:57:47.360 - 01:57:59.110

Step up. Do the right thing. These kids, just like any grown person, when they in a place they don't want to move, and they want to stay there. These kids feel the same way.

01:57:59.110 - 01:58:11.250

They might not understand nothing else. A SPED kid might not understand nothing else. But when you put them in a place where they are used to doing the same routine, they don't want to leave that routine.

01:58:11.250 - 01:58:21.390

So if they step up and help the community, even with the seniors, they don't want to move. They know everybody in the neighborhood.

01:58:21.390 - 01:58:32.710

Everybody knows everybody. Now, in this day and age, you can move. And I've been with new neighbors for four years. I don't even know their name.

01:58:32.710 - 01:58:48.020

But here I know everybody, just knew neighbors. If something was to happen to me now, I don't even know their name. I mean, it's not like it used to be, you know? Don't nobody want to move out of their community that know everybody?

01:58:48.020 - 01:58:58.360

Because they all look out for each other. And I got everybody's phone number on the street. I call everybody. But in my new community,

01:58:59.130 - 01:59:11.280

I don't know who they are. So it just angers me that I'm not allowed to live where I want to live and be comfortable, because Union Pacific

01:59:11.280 - 01:59:24.420

won't step up to the plate and do what they supposed to do. That puts you in a situation to have to have a house over here. That you don't want to give up. Trying to see what Union Pacific is going to do.

01:59:24.690 - 01:59:32.230

Pay taxes on it. Then you live in another house over here. You got to pay the house note And the taxes and everything else on it.

01:59:32.230 - 01:59:41.770

So really Union Pacific is winning. You paying taxes and for another place to live and you got to pay taxes

01:59:41.770 - 02:00:01.930

over here to take care of this. I mean the poor man is not winning at all because you trying to keep both situations going and and at the end of the day, I mean, you have nothing saved up because you 'don spent everything. You spend it on a new place and you're spending it on the old place.

02:00:02.360 - 02:00:18.080

I mean, either way, Union Pacific is really hurting the poor Brown and black community, really hurting us really bad Because some people have tried to move and tried to stay out there

02:00:18.840 - 02:00:31.320

And had to come back to the neighborhood because they couldn't afford to pay for two spots. Sandra Edwards: And that's really hard. So it's not fair.

02:00:31.320 - 02:00:42.740

It's not fair to be treated poorer than poor, just because you're poor. It's not fair. You have to pay for two places

02:00:42.740 - 02:00:56.950

Right now Union Pacific, ought to be held accountable. If you ain't gonna fix my house where I'm at now at least pay my rent where I'm at. Not me, to have to pay for everything over here and still pay for everything over there.

02:00:57.350 - 02:01:07.960

Something or somebody ought to be held accountable. If I had to relocate. You need to pay for one or the other. So I'm angry about that.

02:01:07.960 - 02:01:21.070

You know, either way, when I get my check, I gotta pay for something over here and pay for something over there. And I know a whole lot of people in this neighborhood feel the same way. You know, even if I do have to move.

02:01:21.310 - 02:01:34.050

I ain't going to have nothing, because I'm spending it up on everything I got to do to survive and keep what I got. Shay Olaifa: Thank y'all. Sorry. I have one more question.

02:01:34.050 - 02:01:45.160

A bit earlier, you were talking about the explosion and how sometimes, like, the creosote would take your breath away. Were there any other impacts that y'all felt especially after the explosion that affected y'all's health,

02:01:45.160 - 02:01:53.840

Affected the community's health? What did it kind of feel like? What did it look like? Stuff like that. Sandra Edwards: Like,

02:01:53.840 - 02:02:02.920

a volcano It was. It shook. It shook the whole community. I think at least we don't have

02:02:02.920 - 02:02:11.360

earthquakes out here, But if we did, I think they would've been on the Richter scale, a 3.5, something like that.

02:02:11.790 - 02:02:18.930

It literally shook and shifted houses. Leisa Glenn: Everybody out here came outside. Sandra Edwards: It's a lot of houses that are crooked. Leisa Glenn: We didn't know.

02:02:18.930 - 02:02:34.380

Sandra Edwards: If your houses were on brick pillars or whatever. It shook. Most of these people needed leveling after. But I know our house got leveled. Leisa Glenn: I know my house still not leveled. Sandra Edwrads: But yeah, it shook them.

02:02:34.580 - 02:02:45.090

The houses were uneven, the windows were all blown out. So it was like it was like an earthquake and you had to come back from an earthquake. And you know how when

02:02:45.090 - 02:02:58.970

Well, I don't know. In different states when they have earthquakes, how hard it is to come back because your house is torn up and damaged, and then you don't have help. So it's years on, years of neglect it feel like. Because you can't repair a house.

02:02:58.970 - 02:03:10.720

Well, my dad was a carpenter, so we got ours, but it still was hard on us because he had bad hours because he was always out fixing other people's houses all the time. So, you know, we didn't get the full potential

02:03:10.720 - 02:03:24.860

like we should have because he was always working. And so I don't think you ever really come back. You just learn how to survive and keep moving because you

02:03:24.860 - 02:03:34.540

you aren’t going to pay for a house to get leveled and all that. When you barely making it already, you can't afford it. So you just keep leaving it until the house Fall in or doing whatever.

02:03:34.540 - 02:03:44.480

And that's why a lot of people out here end up moving too Because their houses got back and it was beyond repair Didn’t no help come. FEMA wasn’t invented then.

02:03:44.480 - 02:03:58.330

Black folks didn't know about FEMA then. I don't think it was out. So we couldn't call American Federal Emergency. They wasn't in place for us, So we just had to do the best you could.

02:03:58.730 - 02:04:09.240

Leisa Glenn: Now You got to know it was turning dark when it blew up. And guess what? It was like somebody had put a light on, like the sun.

02:04:09.240 - 02:04:20.820

had came out. You know how the sun be real bright, bright, bright. And you can hardly see? It was so much fire. Wasn't it? Sandra? That's all you saw. Sandra Edwards: Yeah. But it wasn't dark at that time Because I was coming from Fleming when it happened.

02:04:20.820 - 02:04:29.300

Leisa Glenn: But no one, when it started getting dark. It was still lit. Sandra Edwards: Oh, yeah it was still lit up. Yeah. When it started getting dark. It was like a big, bright flame.

02:04:29.330 - 02:04:42.110

They couldn't put it out, and it was because all the box cars had caught From the one that exploded. The rest of 'em had caught. So it was hard for them to put them out. They didn't know what kind of chemicals it was. Didn't have no records, didn't have no track of nothing.

02:04:42.110 - 02:04:58.020

And then I'm just like, Yeah, they just exterminated us. Leisa Glenn: I mean, when I say that fire was tall, you could stand in your yard to see that fire wayyyy up there It was tall, that fire was really bad.

02:05:00.290 - 02:05:08.530

Shay Olaifa: Thank y'all so much for sharing. I completed all of my questions. But if there's anything that I didn't ask that you would like to finalize and talk about, please feel free to do so.

02:05:09.400 - 02:05:17.180

Sandra Edwards: I thank you covered the good questions. I really do. I'm hungry. Shay Olaifa: Thank y'all so much.