How people of color are targeted in 'sacrifice zones' (Photo credit: wisepig/Flickr) A slew of enormous petrochemical facilities shape the skyline and pollute the environment along the Mississippi River corridor. The Black Lives Matter movement and the COVID-19 pandemic have highlighted how systemic racism disproportionately places danger and harm on low-income and minority populations. One harsh reality of this systemic racism is the existence of "sacrifice zones," which are communities located near pollution hot spots that have been permanently impaired by intensive and concentrated industrial activity, such as factories, chemical plants, power plants, oil and gas refineries, landfills and factory farms.