Kingsboro is a predominately African American community in Edgecombe County, North Carolina. These landowners and residents are situated between the city of Rocky Mount and the town of Tarboro. Black landowners have been here since the late 19th century, and many families remain in the area.
In 1995, a White-majority Edgecombe County Board of Commissioners began facilitating plans with Iowa Beef Processors (IBP) to place a hog slaughterhouse on a tract of land in Kingsboro. The slaughterhouse would have utilized 300 acres and employed 2000 workers to kill 20-30,000 hogs daily. The plant would operate 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, bringing traffic through at all hours of the night and could result in environmental disaster. For example, the IBP would have required 6 million gallons of water daily from Rocky Mount, threatening the Tar River as a clean water source.
According to the Center for Biological Diversity, “Slaughterhouses are a key source of water pollution and environmental degradation. Laws regulating these facilities are weak and poorly enforced, for the animals killed in the process, the workers putting bodies and limbs on the line, and the environmental health and safety of neighboring communities. From direct disposal of pollutants to toxic runoff and water usage, slaughterhouses are significantly impairing North American rivers and streams and further endangering aquatic wildlife.”
By September of 1995, local attorney Marvin Horton exposed the efforts of the Board of Commissioners and concerned citizens organized the Citizens for Responsible Zoning chaired by Kingsboro resident, Gleno Horne. In October 1995, Citizens for Responsible Zoning brought in a health expert from Iowa to educate the public and elected officials on the health hazards of a hog slaughterhouse. Citizens for Responsible Zoning appealed to the community to organize and protest IBP and the Board of Commissioners. Citizens spoke up at planning board meetings against IBP plans and met at Antioch Church to establish the Kingsboro Property Owners Association. In March 1996 the Kingsboro Property Owners Association filed a lawsuit against Edgecombe County for re-zoning on the grounds of contract zoning, abuse of public duty, and the nuisance that the IBP slaughterhouse would pose to Kingsboro residents.
On April 9, 1996, the Edgecombe commissioners voted down the IBP request. Citizens for Responsible Zoning determined this was the victory necessary for their community. Instead of seeing the environmentally unstable hog slaughterhouse arrive in the area, Kingsboro saw the opening of the eco-friendly QVC distribution center, powered by its solar farm and employing up to 2,000 people in clean jobs.
References:
Berger, Jamie. “How Black North Carolinians Pay the Price for the World’s Cheap Bacon.” Vox, April 1, 2022. https://www.vox.com/future-perfect/23003487/north-carolina-hog-pork-bac….
Davis, Traci. “Kingsboro Challenges IBP Zoning.” Rocky Mount Telegram, March 16, 1996.
Murphy, Frederick. "We Can Do Better" documentary film. 17 Jan. 2023. Phoenix Historical Society: African American History of Edgecombe County Records. 1260-s1-i2. East Carolina University Digital Collections. https://digital.lib.ecu.edu/65919.
Rocky Mount Telegram. “IBP Rejected.” April 10, 1996.
The Daily Southerner. “Protesters Just Say No to IBP.” December 26, 1995.
Williams, Bob. “Edgecombe OKs Rezoning for Hogplant.” The News & Observer, January 11, 1996.