Today we’d like to introduce you to Yvette Arellano.
Hi Yvette, thanks for joining us today. We’d love for you to start by introducing yourself.
My name is Yvette Arellano (they/them). I was born and raised in Houston, Texas, and have over a decade of petrochemical organizing experience.
I am a Mexican-American petrochemical organizer based in Houston, Texas. My dad is from Novillos, Zacatecas, and my mom is from Monterrey, Nuevo Leon. Except for one aunt and her children, the rest of my family lives and thrives in Mexico. Spanish was my first language, but out of necessity, my sisters and I were interpreters for my parents’ interactions with landlords, utility companies, doctors, and in everyday life. I am proud to be a Spanish-speaking, Mexican American.
I began organizing in high school, collecting petitions and participating in protests to protect the rights of migrants like my parents.
Houston is the most diverse city in the country and home to the nation’s largest petrochemical complex. In Houston, the communities that tend to suffer the most are migrant communities of color who lack resources and tend to have language barriers. Unlike in other parts of the country, Houston has no zoning. This means you could site a petrochemical plant or oil refinery next to a school, a church, or homes. Fenceline Watch started organizing for language justice with the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality (TCEQ), especially in providing translation on air, water, and waste permits. The TCEQ permits allow refineries, petrochemical plants, and landfills to operate, and for years, our Spanish-speaking neighbors’ access-to-information rights went unprotected. I saw children testify in English on behalf of their Spanish-speaking mothers beside them. Their testimonies were filled with countless experiences of cancer survivors, respiratory issues, fear, stress, or the headache-inducing odors that would envelop their homes at night. It is our civil right to have access to information in the languages we speak.
I founded Fenceline Watch because I’m dedicated to helping families like mine access information. I have spent 10 years advocating against petrochemical, oil, and gas mega-projects that relentlessly pollute our communities along the Houston Ship Channel. Not without just cause. These hazardous facilities mercilessly pollute communities. You could be fast asleep and suddenly feel like the oxygen is being squeezed out of your lungs. Sometimes you are in a park, and if a plant is flaring, you can feel your cheeks and eyes burn. During chemical facility explosions, the worst feeling is sheltering in place, where you have to turn off your air conditioner, close all windows and doors, and then cover them with a tarp. In areas that can reach over 100* it can become insufferable quickly. Danger in our communities is common, and the mental toll is crushing. Still, we celebrate and come together to make our communities better for our future. We experience chemical fires and explosions multiple times a year, and I don’t think people outside of the community or city know how common it is. When I speak to neighbors, you can hear how hopeless some have become about our living conditions, the endless cancer diagnoses, and community losses. Still, we show up for each other, supporting BBQ benefit plate sales and raffles to help cover hospital and funeral costs, and every day more embrace the opportunity to spread awareness, organize, and collectively build a better future, if not for them, then for their grandchildren.
People deserve to have the right to rest in their homes without toxic trespass. We have the right to clean air, clean water, and a safe place to call home, without fearing what’s in the air. We have a duty to protect the future generations of our community from being poisoned before their first breath. After years of learning the true cost of the petrochemical, oil, and gas industry on our health, I decided to dedicate my life to spreading awareness, creating systemic change at the local, state, national, and international levels, and speaking up against these human rights atrocities.
I believe in our ability to establish a counterbalance to an industry that has leveraged systemic inequities to increase profit margins at the cost of our health, dignity and future. We will pave a path toward an equitable future that is safe, healthy and enriching.
Fenceline Watch is an environmental justice organization at the mouth of the Houston Ship Channel, home of the largest petrochemical complex in the US. Fenceline Watch is dedicated to the eradication of toxic multigenerational harm on communities living along the fenceline of industry.
I’m sure it wasn’t obstacle-free, but would you say the journey has been fairly smooth so far?
Being a person of color in a patriarchal society has made my journey difficult. Growing up as a Mexican American, I faced machismo in my community, whether it was the expectation to be married and have children or, as a gender nonconforming person, being admonished for not exuding femininity.
People often dismissed my advocacy because I was nontraditional. I wasn’t white. I wasn’t a man. I wasn’t rich; I had no titles. I wasn’t a conventional size. I wasn’t identifying myself as a woman.
I had to work harder for longer hours. Be careful in my collaborations. Fundraise to build a team. Create protective boundaries. Be firm in my decisions. Ultimately, not expect any national non-profit, government agency, or politician to come and save our communities.
Appreciate you sharing that. What should we know about Fenceline Watch?
Fenceline Watch is an environmental justice organization at the mouth of the Houston Ship Channel, home of the largest petrochemical complex in the US. Fenceline Watch is dedicated to the eradication of toxic, multigenerational harm to communities living along the fenceline of industry. Our three pillars of work are petrochemicals, response to chemical disasters, and protecting the democratic process.
Houston is home to the nation’s largest petrochemical complex, with over 675 chemical facilities, including more than 200 listed as the most dangerous by the EPA. Houston is the largest US city without zoning, yet produces 42% of the nation’s domestic petrochemical needs.
Fenceline Watch is a petrochemical industry watchdog organization. We do deep community work with our port communities of Magnolia Park, Central Park, Pineview, Smith Addition, and Manchester/Harrisburg. Together with our communities, we form SuperNeighborhood 65 & 82 and sit on the council as a community-based organization. We are proudest of the deep multigenerational relationship-building with community members and affected workers, which is integral to our values. We celebrate, cry, and thrive together. We recently lost Mr. Victor Villarreal, whose leadership was integral to my community organizing on the east end. He was vital to the LGBTQ movement in Houston and spent much of his life being a community steward, holding politicians, city council, and agencies accountable. Our community is incredible, each with their own unique journey, struggles, and successes. I feel refreshed learning life lessons through our time together. Especially the women like Ms. Pat, Ms. Ethel, and Ms. Loretta from the Smith Addition community, who have so much history and are proud to preserve it. Women who have endured diagnosis after diagnosis and still show up to speak out and protect their communities from chemical plants nearby. Ms. Cynthia, a pillar of the community, has a deep commitment to making Manchester better every day. Priscilla keeps an eye on city issues and stresses our engagement at the voting booth. John, whose leadership has continued to keep us organized and thriving. Michael, who we are proud to continue to lead our efforts. Cesia Jorisson, our most recent councilmember as the youth representative, is now pursuing her bachelor’s at Sam Houston State University.
Before we go, is there anything else you can share with us?
I’m really proud of my team: Shiv Srivastava and Brandon Alexander Villarreal. Shiv, my current policy director, was a former political opposition researcher who also did freelance comedy writing. Brandon is our communications lead and photographer with a background in working with the Peace Corps and Houston Public Media. We love to make each other laugh and have board game nights. Most recently, we started practicing our Dungeons & Dragons skills.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.fencelinewatch.org/
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/fenceline_watch/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/fencelinewatch
- LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/yvettearellano/details/experience/
- Twitter: https://x.com/FencelineWatch
- Other: https://bsky.app/profile/fencelinewatch.bsky.social
