B Local CO hosted a screening of “Be A Good Neighbor” at the Alliance for Collective Action in Denver, CO, on July 15, 2024. The film tells the story of a Latina mother fighting environmental racism in Commerce City, CO.
Lucy Molina’s family was sick. Her children suffered chronic nosebleeds that caused them to miss school to the point of truancy. Instead of looking for the root cause of the problem, the county knocked on Lucy’s door to take her to task for educational abuse. But Lucy wasn’t keeping her kids from school–their environment was.
Living in Commerce City, CO, a community “overburdened by environmental pollution,” Lucy, her neighbors, and her kids were surrounded by emissions from the heavy concentration of industry, highways, and the Suncor petroleum refinery—a significant source of pollution that has consistently violated clean air regulations for years.
The energy giant agreed to a $10.5 million settlement with the EPA and state regulators in 2021, following a $9 million deal in 2020. Judging by the EPA’s latest round of violation notices issued to Suncor just last month, these fines have failed to move the needle. In fact, for a company that earned $9.5 billion in 2023, these fines seem to be simply the cost of doing business and nowhere near significant enough to force any real change.
As Lucy Molina says: charity is not justice.
The payouts companies like Suncor are forced to pay when (and if) they ever do face consequences are band-aids at best. But you can’t and shouldn’t be able to put a price on polluting the air and water we all share. Covering medical bills (which none of these payouts effectively do) doesn’t undo the damage or get those sick people their time, energy, and education back.
She realized that the systems that were supposed to protect her and her family were too ready to simply turn the blame back on them. So she decided to take matters into her own hands and run for City Council.
“Be A Good Neighbor,” a film by Farsighted Creative, takes us through the inspiring and ultimately heartbreaking journey of Lucy’s second City Council run. After previously running for an open at-large seat, Lucy regrouped and came back stronger to run to represent Ward 1, reusing campaign signs and all.
Lucy lost the election, but she wasn’t deterred. As she reminded us throughout the film, she got into this work for her kids and for all of us–her extended community, all of our families, and all of our futures–and she’s got no plans to give up. Lucy now serves on the board of directors for the Adams 14 School District, fighting the same fight she started back in 2021, advocating at the state capitol and working hard to hold polluters like Suncor to account.
Lucy Molina and filmmaker Brittany Zampella joined B Local CO for a live conversation following the film screening. They generously shared their time and infectious hope in the face of institutional obstacles on the local and national scales–from big oil to the far right.
The conversation naturally turned to the looming political concern of the moment–the 2024 election and how to get people to care. Lucy shared the challenges she faced daily running for City Council–pounding the pavement, knocking on doors, campaigning without a car, and facing criticism and brutal conversations. She keeps going because she is doing it for reasons bigger than herself.
“And that was running for office,” she said. “Voting’s not even that hard.”
That’s the message that’s stuck with me. It can all feel pretty hopeless, but the most important thing we can possibly do–our right, privilege, and duty in the United States of America–is one of the easiest. ESPECIALLY in Colorado. So, friends, just do it, please.
Written by Katie O’Dell at YellowDog
Find the film: A Good Neighbor