Book Description

The Diamond neighborhood was an all-black enclave in the mostly white town of Norco, Louisiana, aptly named for the New Orleans Refining Co., an industrial processing plant. Margie Eugene Richard was raised in the shadow of a giant chemical plant operated by Shell, and witnessed her neighbors fall ill amid the toxic waste the plant emitted year after year. Her own sister, Naomi, eventually succumbed to a rare lung disease linked to environmental hazards.

Determined to see Shell take responsibility for its actions, Margie and her neighbors—largely poor and with few obvious resources—educated themselves not only on the consequences of environmental poison but also on how to fight back. The battle took them from Diamond's four streets all the way to The Hague and beyond. The unexpected results won Margie the prestigious Goldman Environmental Prize and helped clean up a community. With riveting narrative drive, Night Fire illustrates how determination and grit can move even the most stubborn of corporate giants.

About the Author

Ronnie Greene is a veteran investigative journalist with the Miami Herald, where he has exposed exploitation of laborers in Florida's farm fields, corruption at Miami's airport, and deadly conditions in the U.S. air cargo industry. His honors include the Investigative Reporters and Editors Medal, two National Headliner Awards, and finalist recognition from the Gerald Loeb Awards. He was lead writer for a team of Miami Herald journalists cited as Pulitzer Prize finalists in 2004 for coverage of the Columbia space shuttle tragedy, and was part of two Herald reporting teams awarded the Pulitzer Prize.

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