Urging the people of the United States to observe the month of April of each year as Hazel M. Johnson Environmental Justice Month.

IV 117TH CONGRESS 1ST SESSION H. RES. 79 Urging the people of the United States to observe the month of April of each year as Hazel M. Johnson Environmental Justice Month. IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES FEBRUARY 1, 2021 Mr. RUSH submitted the following resolution; which was referred to the Com- mittee on Energy and Commerce, and in addition to the Committee on Natural Resources, for a period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned RESOLUTION Urging the people of the United States to observe the month of April of each year as Hazel M. Johnson Environ- mental Justice Month. Whereas Hazel Johnson fought for environmental justice in Chicago beginning in the 1970s and continuing through the rest of her life; Whereas when Johnson discovered that the South Side of Chicago had the highest cancer rate of any area in Chi- cago, she was inspired to investigate the cancer rates, foul odors, and number of children with respiratory ill- nesses in her own neighborhood, the community of Altgeld Gardens on the South Side of Chicago; VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:26 Feb 02, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6300 E:\BILLS\HR79.IH HR79 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 2 •HRES 79 IH Whereas Johnson discovered her community, Altgeld Gar- dens, which is a public housing project, was built on a landfill surrounded by toxicity, which polluted the air, water, and land; Whereas additionally, the Altgeld Gardens homes had asbes- tos and elevated lead levels; Whereas this discovery inspired Johnson to create the People for Community Recovery, an organization which fights for a safer environment; Whereas Johnson and the People for Community Recovery fought to educate and empower the residents of Altgeld Gardens, including providing workshops and trainings, conducting health surveys, rallying residents to protest contamination, and working with youth in the commu- nity; Whereas the People for Community Recovery put pressure on the Chicago Housing Authority to remove asbestos from Altgeld Gardens; Whereas Johnson’s fight for clean water led to the installa- tion of water and sewer lines by city health officials in the far South Side neighborhood of Maryland Manor, where the existing well water was contaminated with cya- nide and other toxins; Whereas Johnson used her vigilance and activism to give low- income minority communities a voice and a stake in the environmental justice fight by bringing the conversation to personal, immediate, and urgent concerns which di- rectly impact communities inhabited by people of color; Whereas Johnson also strove to hold both businesses and the government responsible for how their actions impact the environment; VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:26 Feb 02, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6300 E:\BILLS\HR79.IH HR79 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 3 •HRES 79 IH Whereas Johnson was given the 1992 President’s Environ- ment and Conservation Challenge Award in recognition of her environmental justice work; Whereas notably, Johnson was instrumental in pressuring President Bill Clinton to sign the Environmental Justice Executive Order, which holds the Federal Government accountable for urban communities exposed to pollution; Whereas in 2004, sociologist David Naguib Pellow credited Johnson and the People for Community Recovery with putting ‘‘the South Side of Chicago on the radar screen for activists and policy makers around the United States who are concerned about environmental racism’’; Whereas, on January 12, 2011, the Illinois General Assem- bly, by way of a House Joint Resolution, designated ‘‘the portion of 130th Street from the Bishop Ford Freeway to State Street in Chicago as the ‘Hazel Johnson EJ Way’ ’’; Whereas Johnson was a visionary, who was able to foresee the impacts of failing to address environmental and social justice conditions; and Whereas Johnson’s work earned her the title of ‘‘mother of the environmental justice movement’’: Now, therefore, be it Resolved, That the House of Representatives— 1 (1) supports the designation of Hazel M. John- 2 son Environmental Justice Month; 3 (2) honors the work of Hazel M. Johnson and 4 other environmental justice advocates; and 5 VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:26 Feb 02, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\HR79.IH HR79 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 4 •HRES 79 IH (3) calls upon the people of the United States 1 to observe Hazel M. Johnson Environmental Justice 2 Month. 3 Æ VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:26 Feb 02, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6301 E:\BILLS\HR79.IH HR79 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS