The Collegian
Friday, March 29, 2024

Environmentalist to speak on grassroots activism

Lois Gibbs knows the power of grassroots activism well.

In 1978, after discovering that her town of Love Canal, N.Y., sat on top of 20,000 tons of toxic waste, Gibbs started a movement to remove families from the area. With no expertise in grassroots organization and no knowledge of toxic waste, Gibbs fought tirelessly against Occidental Petroleum, as well as state and federal government officials. In 1980, President Jimmy Carter issued an emergency declaration that moved 900 families out of Love Canal.

At 7 p.m. on Feb. 6, Gibbs will speak in the Brown-Alley Room about her grassroots environmental activism in her discussion, "Citizen Activism for Environmental Health: The Growth of a Powerful New Grassroots Health Movement."

The program is sponsored by Women Involved in Living and Learning (WILL); the Women, Gender and Sexuality Studies program (WGSS); and the Richmond Quest as part of the speaker series titled "Environmental Justice."

"We chose her [for our speaker series] because of her activism with Love Canal," said Melissa Ooten, assistant director of the WILL program. "Once we decided that we were going to do an environmental justice theme, we wanted someone who had made a huge impact on environmental activism."

WILL senior Amy Bradshaw said she thought all Richmond students could benefit from Gibbs' speech.

"I don't think a lot of people, particularly at our school, have had an experience like that," Bradshaw said. "I think she will be a very dynamic and engaging speaker. It's a really important issue that needs to be noticed because it speaks to a lot of other social problems."

Holly Blake, director of the WILL program and associate dean for women's education and development, said activism was always an important element for the WILL speaker series and that Gibbs was a perfect choice for this year's theme.

"It's very important for us to stress the connections of local activism and how it can morph into national activism for both our students and the broader campus community," Ooten said.

Ooten said that one of the most important results of Gibbs' activism was the drafting of the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation and Liability Act of 1980 (CERCLA or Superfund), the U.S. government's program to clean up the nation's uncontrolled hazardous waste sites.

"This woman had no experience, no expertise in these issues before she started, and I think that's important," Blake said. "In other words, it could be any of us. That's the message

Bradshaw agreed with Blake. "It's an issue that's pretty widespread, and it crosses race lines, class lines and gender lines," she said.

Enjoy what you're reading?
Signup for our newsletter

In addition to her discussion, Gibbs will also be leading a workshop called "How to Organize," which is open to the campus community. After Gibbs succeeded in Love Canal, she moved to Washington, D.C., in 1981 and established The Center for Health, Environment and Justice (CHEJ), a national organization to help families living near toxic waste sites. CHEJ teaches grassroots groups how to organize and be heard.

"If people are really passionate about the environment, they can learn so much from her," Blake said. "But if you're passionate about anything, you can gain the tools in the workshop and apply them to different issues."

Ooten and Blake said the lecture would be beneficial for everyone because of the prevalance of environmental issues in today's society.

"We're all affected by what happens to the environment," Ooten said. "No one knew about these 20,000 tons of toxic waste. There had been a few articles about it, but it really hadn't been recognized as a problem. Who knows what could be potentially very hazardous to us? The power of knowledge is really important."

The organizing workshop led by Gibbs is open to the campus community and will be on Feb. 6 from 2 p.m. to 3:30 p.m. For more information about registration, contact Melissa Ooten at mooten@richmond.edu.

Support independent student media

You can make a tax-deductible donation by clicking the button below, which takes you to our secure PayPal account. The page is set up to receive contributions in whatever amount you designate. We look forward to using the money we raise to further our mission of providing honest and accurate information to students, faculty, staff, alumni and others in the general public.

Donate Now