Benjamin Chavis first used the term, in the 1980s. At the time, he was a leading member of the Civil rights movement in the United States. The movement found that when a new landfill was constructed, minorities such as hispanics and black people were affected more often than the white people. The explanation given was the difference in income - hispanics and black people often earn less than white people. A study of 2007 showed that this explanation is too simple and that there are more complex patterns at play. The study also showed that environmental racism occurs in almost all bigger cities in the United States. 