Lois Gibbs (1951-present) is an activist whose work protecting her community opened our eyes to environmental crises on a local level. Her small town campaign made national headlines and established her as a leading voice in toxic waste management–even though her entire career started, literally, in her own backyard.
Lois Gibbs (1951-present) is an activist whose work protecting her community opened our eyes to environmental crises on a local level. Her small town campaign made national headlines and established her as a leading voice in toxic waste management–even though her entire career started, literally, in her own backyard.
History classes can get a bad rap, and sometimes for good reason. When we were students, we couldn’t help wondering... where were all the ladies at? Why were so many incredible stories missing from the typical curriculum? Enter, Womanica. On this Wonder Media Network podcast we explore the lives of inspiring women in history you may not know about, but definitely should.
Every weekday, listeners explore the trials, tragedies, and triumphs of groundbreaking women throughout history who have dramatically shaped the world around us. In each 5 minute episode, we’ll dive into the story behind one woman listeners may or may not know–but definitely should. These diverse women from across space and time are grouped into easily accessible and engaging monthly themes like Educators, Villains, Indigenous Storytellers, Activists, and many more. Womanica is hosted by WMN co-founder and award-winning journalist Jenny Kaplan. The bite-sized episodes pack painstakingly researched content into fun, entertaining, and addictive daily adventures.
Womanica was created by Liz Kaplan and Jenny Kaplan, executive produced by Jenny Kaplan, and produced by Liz Smith, Grace Lynch, Maddy Foley, Brittany Martinez, Edie Allard, Lindsey Kratochwill, Adesuwa Agbonile, Carmen Borca-Carrillo, Taylor Williamson, and Ale Tejeda. Special thanks to Shira Atkins.
Original theme music composed by Miles Moran.
We are offering free ad space on Wonder Media Network shows to organizations working towards social justice. For more information, please email Jenny at pod@wondermedianetwork.com.
Follow Wonder Media Network:
To take the Womanica listener survey, please visit: https://wondermedianetwork.com/survey
Hi, I’m Grace Lynch. I’m one of the writers and producers behind Womanica and the creator and host of another Wonder Media Network show, As She Rises.
As She Rises is about personalizing the elusive magnitude of climate change through the power of poetry and the stories of climate activists. Which is why I’m so excited to guest host this episode and introduce our new theme for the month: Eco Warriors – women fighting for conservation and ecological justice.
Today, we’re talking about a woman whose work protecting her community opened our eyes to environmental crises on a local level. Her small town campaign made national headlines and established her as a leading voice in toxic waste management– even though her entire career started, literally, in her own backyard. Please welcome: Lois Gibbs.
Lois was born on June 25, 1951. She grew up in Grand Island, New York, as one of six children. Her father was a union worker, and her mother was a stay-at-home mom. Shortly after graduating high school, Lois got married and had two kids– Michael and Melissa.
In 1972, Lois and her family moved to a three-bedroom house in a neighborhood called “Love Canal” in Niagara, New York. For a while, their life just miles from Niagara Falls was relatively normal: Lois was a housewife who worked sewing draperies, her husband worked at the Goodyear plant, and their children went to the local school.
But soon after moving in, Melissa and Michael began to show worrying symptoms. Melissa, who was born in Love Canal, developed a rare blood disease. Michael, born three years earlier, had always had asthma– but after moving to Love Canal, he developed increasingly severe illnesses. First, pneumonia; then, a urinary tract disorder; and then, a seizure disorder. His weakened immune system left him vulnerable to many sicknesses.
Lois searched for answers to her childrens’ illness, to no avail. She tried to make her home as healthy as possible, even banning soda– but Michael and Melissa continued to be in ill health.
In the spring of 1978, Lois got her answer. The Niagara Falls Gazette broke a story about toxic dump sites littered throughout the region: a petroleum subsidiary called Hooker Chemical Company had used areas of Love Canal as an industrial dump for compounds. At least 12 of which were suspected carcinogens. Once defunct, Hooker sold the dumping site to the school board for one dollar.
As a result, Love Canal’s local playground was built on top of more than 20,000 tons of toxic chemical waste.
The waste had made its way through the entire community. It contaminated the local water supply and soil, lacing everything from tap water to the dirt in peoples’ backyards with toxic chemicals. It also accounted for the high rates of unexpected illness and congenital health issues in town, including Lois’ kids.
Lois got to work. She organized the Love Canal Homeowners Association to fight for her community’s permanent relocation away from waste. The Association held rallies and protests to raise money and awareness for their efforts. They garnered media attention, but also encountered criticism from opponents. Occidental Petroleum, Hooker’s parent company, insisted the leaking chemicals were not linked to illness in the community. Lois herself was called “hysterical” for her actions against local and federal bureaucracy. She was criticized for spending too much time fighting with the Homeowners Association, and not enough time taking care of her children.
Lois and the Homeowners Association fought for more than two years.
In 1980, a new study from the EPA revealed relocation would just be the beginning: toxic chemicals like the ones in Love Canal could trigger genetic damage for future generations to come, even miles and years away from the original dumping site.
As evidence continued to pile up, residents of Love Canal grew increasingly frustrated. According to Lois, when the report came out, one of her neighbors wrote out E-P-A in gasoline on their lawn and set it on fire. In another protest, members of the Homeowners Association blockaded EPA officials in a house for six hours– a rally so newsworthy, even the FBI got involved. The Homeowners Association gave President Jimmy Carter an ultimatum: relocate Love Canal residents in the next four days.
In October 1980, the president delivered an Emergency Declaration. The US government purchased Love Canal homes at fair market value– nearly fifteen million dollars– and relocated more than 900 families from the hazardous area.
After leaving Love Canal, Lois pushed on. Despite her success, others underestimated her ability to grow the movement. Her own mother warned her she was,“just a housewife with a high school education.” But Lois knew there was more work to be done.
While working in Love Canal, she received calls from people across the country in similar situations. In 1981, she moved to DC with her two children. There, she established the Center for Health, Environment and Justice, or CHEJ, a national nonprofit to help support local activists dealing with similar situations to hers. To this day, she serves as its executive director.
Today, Lois is a renowned, international speaker on hazardous waste pollution. She holds four honorary degrees, as well as a nomination for the Nobel Peace Prize. In 1998, she continued to bring visibility to the aftermath of Love Canal in her book, “Love Canal: The Story Continues.” She also worked with a network of grassroots organizers to campaign against dioxin with the Stop Dioxin Exposure Campaign and the book “Dying from Dioxin.” In 1983, CBS produced a prime-time movie about her life.
For more information and pictures of some of the work we’re talking about, find us on Facebook and Instagram @womanicapodcast.
And make sure to check out Season 2 of As She Rises wherever you’re listening right now.
As always, the show is taking a break for the weekend - but we’ll be back on Monday.
Talk to you then.