Even with the Roof Depot demolition called off, East Phillips still faces many toxic threats from companies polluting their neighborhood. Residents called for the Smith Foundry iron-casting facility to close after the EPA found it was violating regulations: unicornriot.ninja/2024/protest...

"Like, why don't our community matter enough if they have so many violations? I don't understand why they're not shutting it down now. And just saying, we need to shut it down unil they're in compliance or until they can fix all the things that they're in violation for..."

"Because if there was a condemned house, best believe the city or whomever would be shutting them down. So why is this company still in operation putting us all at risk, making our health even worse? Stop telling the community that we don't know what's best for us." vimeo.com/892983524

Last August, the Smith Foundry announced it was ceasing operations permanently: unicornriot.ninja/2024/minneap... “This victory represents a significant step towards urban environmental justice, particularly for the Native community of South Minneapolis." - Rachel Thunder

Unicorn Riot is dedicated to making sure important stories get told whether media companies owned by polluters want them told or not. We're celebrating our 10-year anniversary - we need your support to keep doing it for another 10! Donate here: unicornriot.ninja/donate

The Phillips neighborhood has two huge hospitals, a private university and extensive economic development around the periphery. The poverty of the Phillips neighborhood only makes sense in light of systemic racism

Companies like these should have two choices: Modernize to drastically reduce pollution, or cease operations. Often it is more cost effective to build a new facility then retrofit the old one.