FUSE to show documentary on area neighborhood, Superfund site

Carver Terrace, where 75 black families lived, was built on the site of a former creosote plant

Friends United for a Safe Environment will meet at 6 p.m. today in the Nelson Room of the Texarkana Public Library, 600 W. Third St., Texarkana, Texas.

The program will feature the documentary “Poison in the Pipes,” a short film about Texarkana’s Carver Terrace neighborhood, now labeled as the Texarkana Koppers Superfund site. The film, produced by students in Monica Washington’s class at Texas High School, includes interviews with those involved in the battle to help the 75 African-American families who lived in the neighborhood that was built on the site of a former creosote plant. Washington, a 2015 Lowell Milken Fellow, will enter the film in the Discovery Award competition.

In addition, Dr. Catherine Howard, the dean of Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics at Texarkana College, will talk about her experience studying Carver Terrace while working for the Environmental Protection Agency, and her conclusions on the situation. Her studies were sponsored by the Texarkana Black Chamber of Commerce.

“This is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to see and hear about a local historic event from those who lived it,” FUSE President Dr. James Presley stated in a press release.

Former Carver Terrace residents have also been invited to speak during today’s presentation.

The program is free and open to the public.