People Rising: Ivy City, Washington DC chronicles the active fight to close National Engineering Products (NEP), a chemical facility that has polluted the air with the smell of formaldehyde and burning tar since the 1930s. It inconspicuously operates in a poor, Black residential neighborhood and even shares a wall with a family home - including 6 children - all of whom have had negative health impacts since moving in. The existence of the facility in this neighborhood is not a coincidence; it is a product of environmental racism.
This short documentary follows Sebrena Rhodes, Ivy City resident and community organizer, as she and partners combine the power of law with the power of organizing in the fight to close NEP. This story shows how the communities impacted by environmental harm are working to build more sustainable ways of life for themselves, for future generations, and, ultimately, for all of us.
This film was produced by Namati in partnership with ‪@EmpowerDC‬ and is an Official Selection of the 2023 DC Environmental Film Festival.