Baptized in PCBs

“A significant and richly detailed study of environmental justice.” — Journal of American History

“Makes a powerful case for considering health and environmental activism as integral components of the long civil rights movement. . . . Scholars will be metabolizing Spears’s observations for years to come.” — The Journal of Southern History

“Exquisitely fulfills sensory history’s potential, advancing concern for the health of natural systems while expressing deep commitment to exposing the historical roots of racial and economic inequality.” — Labour/Le Travail

“A tale of civic redemption.” — Anniston Star

“Spears’ writing is clear and interesting, and she explains the complexities of chemical bonds with the same eloquence that she describes the events that took place in Anniston when Freedom Riders rode through the town in 1961. . . . An excellent addition to the fields of environmental, southern, and Alabama history.” — The Alabama Review

“A well-written and well-documented account of the importance of environmental justice.” — CHOICE

“Spears constructs a thoughtful and nuanced narrative that supports a call for reform in the manufacture, use, and regulation of the chemical industry and military-industrial complex.” — H-Net Reviews

“An important study in the ongoing effort to document and understand the huge legacy of environmental racism in our past. Hopefully this story will help spur us to fight against the ongoing scourge of environmental injustice in frontline communities.” — Bill McKibben, author of Deep Economy: The Wealth of Communities and the Durable Future

“This is an excellent book — well written, exhaustively researched, original, and brilliantly conceived. Anyone interested in the history of the South, business history, civil rights, and environmental justice will find this essential reading. But more than that, this is a great story — at turns inspiring, maddening, depressing, and instructive. Everyone knows about Love Canal, Times Beach, Missouri, and Three Mile Island. Hopefully, after this book is published, everyone will know about Anniston as well!” — Gerald Markowitz, John Jay College and Graduate Center, City University of New York

“Baptized in PCBs is a richly textured history of Anniston, Alabama, and the movements of chemicals, capital, and people over a century that transformed it into one of the most toxic towns in the U.S. Spears offers a compelling and compassionate account of the South’s hope for the chemical industry in the wake of Reconstruction and the environmental and racial inequalities that accrued over time. It is a telling tale of toxic secrets and legal challenges and the heartbreaks and triumphs that are familiar to toxic towns across America seeking redemption and justice.” — Gregg Mitman, author of Breathing Space: How Allergies Shape Our Lives and Landscapes