Hidden Figures: Hazel M. Johnson #BlackHERstoryMonth 6/28 (Patreon)

Hidden Figures: Hazel M. Johnson #BlackHERstoryMonth 6/28

If you enjoy my work, please consider supporting! CashApp: $SerenSensei Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/seren_sensei All Patrons get access to the Discord server! NEW MERCH SHOP: https://the-bheezebake-project.creator-spring.com Hazel M. Johnson (January 25, 1935 – January 12, 2011) was an environmental activist who is considered to be the 'Mother of Environmental Justice.' For more than 30 years, she led community action pressuring local officials and corporations to clean up toxic waste and pollution in her southeast Chicago community of Altgeld Gardens. Johnson was born Hazel Washington in New Orleans, Louisiana on January 25, 1935. She met her husband, John Johnson, in NOLA, and they moved to Chicago in the mid-1950s, where they had 7 children. In 1962, Johnson and her family moved to Altgeld Gardens Homes, a South Side Chicago public housing project. Altgeld Gardens was situated in an industrial area surrounded by abandoned factories, hazardous waste sites and landfills, and was built on top of a former toxic dump site. When John Johnson died suddenly of lung cancer in 1969, his death shocked his wife, and she began to notice respiratory issues among her children as well as other cancer cases in the community. Johnson began investigating the neighborhood's environmental conditions, and agitating for accountability from the Chicago Housing Authority. In 1979, she founded the People for Community Recovery (PCR). Incorporated as a not-for-profit organization in 1982, one of PCR's first achievements was successfully lobbying the city of Chicago to test the drinking water, demonstrating the presence of toxins like cyanide and pathogens far above EPA limits. When Johnson challenged the city on not upholding EPA regulations, the 1984 findings resulted in the introduction of new water and sewer lines to the area. Johnson was a fixture at government meetings and community hearings, where she pressured city officials for improvements. Her work led to the removal of asbestos and lead paint from housing complexes, a moratorium on new or expanded landfills in the city of Chicago, and the enactment of laws requiring corporations to clean up their decommissioned dump sites. In 2004, PCR helped reach a $10 million settlement with the Chicago Housing Authority over residents' exposure to industrial pollutants. In October 1991, she attended the first National People of Color Environmental Leadership summit, where she was honored for her contributions to environmental justice and received the title ‘Mother of the Environmental Justice Movement.’ In 1992, she received the President's Environment and Conservation Challenge award. Johnson died of complications related to congestive heart failure on January 12, 2011 at age 75. #HazelJohnson #HiddenFigures ****************** Merchandise! MAKE SURE U GETTA SHIRT!! https://www.teepublic.com/user/sssseren https://www.shophouseof950.com/embroidery-tees/theblackamericans https://www.shophouseof950.com/embroidery-tees/dacs?rq=d.a.c.s Follow me on social media! Instagram: @sensei_aishitemasu Personal Tumblr: http://sensei-aishitemasu.tumblr.com Tumblr for my work: https://sssseren.tumblr.com Snapchat: sssseren GoFundMe: https://www.gofundme.com/tc5wh7q ****************** Did you know I wrote a book? ☺️ 'So, About That... A Year of Contemporary Essays on Race and Pop Culture' Paperback: https://www.amazon.com/About-That-Contemporary-Essays-Culture-ebook/dp/B013V0CHK6 Kindle: http://www.amazon.com/dp/B013V0CHK6 Digital download (e-book): https://gumroad.com/l/IkUa ****************** Links: IntersectionalEnvironmentalist IG: https://www.instagram.com/p/CZhpaOjubuS/ People for Community Recovery: https://www.peopleforcommunityrecovery.org/our-story/mission-and-people 'Rush Introduces Legislation Celebrating Black History Month:' https://rush.house.gov/media-center/press-releases/rush-introduces-legislation-celebrating-black-history-month 'The Chicago Woman Who Fought to Clean Up the Southeast Side:' https://interactive.wttw.com/playlist/2020/02/24/hazel-johnson ‘Mother Of Environmental Justice’ Hazel Johnson Could Get Postage Stamp To Honor Work Cleaning Up South Side:' https://blockclubchicago.org/2019/12/30/mother-of-environmental-justice-hazel-johnson-could-get-postage-stamp-to-honor-work-cleaning-up-south-side/ 'Hazel M. Johnson Fought For Clean Air And Water On The Southeast Side. A Congressman Is Doubling Down On Efforts To Honor Her:' https://blockclubchicago.org/2021/04/29/hazel-m-johnson-fought-for-clean-air-and-water-on-the-southeast-side-a-congressman-is-doubling-down-on-efforts-to-honor-her/ 'Here’s why Congress is recognizing Hazel M. Johnson, the ‘mother of environmental justice:’ https://grist.org/equity/hazel-johnson-environmental-justice-month-chicago/ 'Hazel Johnson, the mother of environmental justice, was Catholic:' https://www.ncronline.org/news/earthbeat/hazel-johnson-mother-environmental-justice-was-catholic