Ujima Village was an urban housing development which housed at least 365 low-income families. A majority of these families were African-American, until its closure in 2009. Unbeknownst to the residents of Ujima Village, their apartments were built upon a former oil tank farm owned and operated by Exxon Mobil until 1962. In 1972, just 10 years after the Exxon facilities containing crude oil, gasoline, and petroleum products were decommissioned. Chemicals from the former Athens Tank Farm leached into the ground and eventually poisoned the Ujima Village residents. 

Los Angeles County Authorities knew the land was poisoning the residents and instead of remedying the problem, they sent the residents off with a $1,500 stipend and a section 8 voucher. Authorities told the residents that they needed to vacate their homes under the false  premise that their homes were built with flawed building materials and it would be too costly to renovate the housing complex.

Miss Navaline Smith protested leaving the village, but was forced to relocate from her Ujima Village apartment along with all other residents in 2008 and 2009. Beyond being forced from their homes with no reparations and minimal assistance, former Ujima Village residents have experienced and continue to experience horrible health outcomes such as rare cancers and medical expenses as a result of their poisoning. 50 former Ujima residents that we know of have passed away from cancer. Far too many lives have been ruined and lost to this injustice. 

For years, Ujima Village residents experienced nose bleeds, headaches, hair loss, and developed rare cancers from being exposed to a highly toxic environment. As a result, over 50 residents died and to this day it is unknown how many more people have been affected by exposure to toxic chemicals. When a class action lawsuit was filed in 2010, it was ruled in Exxon Mobil’s favor under the premise that the residents were made aware that the land was contaminated. In their words, “The court concluded that although the notices suggested the contamination was not harmful, they were nonetheless sufficient to cause a reasonably prudent person to suspect that it might be so.” 

This suggestion contradicts the fact that LA County officials knew that the land was poisoned all along. Between multiple environmental investigations conducted between 1990 and 1995 by HUD and outside agents, LA County was well aware of the findings: volatile organic compounds in concentrations that significantly exceeded the highest suggested action levels, and elevated concentrations of lead, mercury, benzene and methane. When in talks of purchasing the land from the Department of Housing and Urban Development, LA County expressed their concerns about potentially being sued due to the environmental contamination. In fact, HUD agreed to sell Ujima Village to the LA County Housing Authority for $1.00 in 1995. In 2005, LA County wanted to sell Ujima Village to developers who could afford the renovations the village needed, but had to get the site’s soil tested for contamination yet again. The tests found high concentrations of hydrocarbons and volatile organic compounds, because of which the report stated that “residents were at significant risk of exposure and cancer.” After this finding, LA County hired the same environmental consultants to conduct an overall evaluation of the site in 2006. This test concluded that “the possibility of a chronic health risk concern at th[e] site warrant[ed] additional study and that remediation [was] likely warranted.” The developers chose not to purchase Ujima after learning about the contamination at the site.

In 2007, Miss Navaline Smith and all other Ujima residents received a notice from the LA County Housing Authority that they were considering closing the Ujima Village complex. This was a lie. The letter briefly mentioned environmental concerns but never expanded on what that meant nor what the potential harm was to residents. The residents were only told they needed to stay put for the time being and continue to pay their rent, and that they would forfeit their right to relocation assistance if they left before receiving official notice of eligibility for relocation assistance. 

Miss Navaline Smith as well as hundreds of other former residents are demanding justice. You can help achieve this by signing this petition. 

Our demands are as follows:

• LA elected officials must be held accountable for what happened at Ujima Village
• The LA County Department of Public Health must conduct an epidemiological study on the health impacts of the Ujima Village poisoning who were forcefully evicted from their polluted homes
• LA County must explore options of how to reopen the case
• LA County must conduct an investigation of how the county and Water Board can be more efficient in preventing catastrophes like the one at Ujima Village