Hey y'all — welcome to The Seedling! This is Adam Mahoney again, the environment reporter at Capital B News. And for this Black History Month, I want to uplift the stories of Black women who laid the groundwork and ultimately ushered environmental justice into the mainstream. 

It is evident, time and time again, how Black women have been the backbone of radical and progressive movements in this country, from the abolition of slavery to women's suffrage, the civil rights movement, the anti-war movement, and most recently, bringing in a subtle progressive wave of elected officials to the South.  

Last year, I had the chance to share the stories of women who embody these forces of change and how their work connected to ensuring everyone had equitable access to the natural world around them. Here are two that deserve to be always mentioned:

Harriet Tubman

• We all know Harriet Tubman as being one of the most famous abolitionists in U.S. history through her work leading the Underground Railroad and freeing hundreds of enslaved people. But today, scholars also view her as one of the earliest examples of an environmental justice practitioner in U.S. history. Tubman used her vast forestry skills to propel forward those escaping slavery and built a reciprocal relationship with the land around her. 

Hazel Johnson

• By many accounts, Hazel Johnson is the mother of environmental justice. Despite often being overlooked, her advocacy in the 1970s and 1980s stood out as she vocally championed environmental cleanups and the availability of environmentally safe, affordable housing in her South Side Chicago neighborhood. This was a crucial period when industrial polluters faced limited consequences, and she emerged as one of the foremost environmental advocates in the country. When the federal government and even researchers were afraid to make these connections, she showed how air pollution, lead pipes, and asbestos led to high cancer rates and the deaths of children and adults in her community, including her husband. 

As we remember and honor the past, we also should be doing our best to support and protect the Black women environmental leaders of today, a few of whom I had the chance to celebrate in 2023: Paulette Green and Donna Dear; Esther Calhoun; Kamillah Ealom; Jo and Joy Banner; Marilyn Rayon; Rhiana Gunn-Wright; Margaret Gordon; Debra Ramirez; LaTricea Adams; zahra alabanza; Sherry Bradley; Jamaica Hawkins; Andreanecia Morris; Wykeisha Howe; Collette Watson; Dail Chambers; and Theresa Landrum. 

So I implore y'all, as you continue to do the fantastic and necessary work you all do, to be intentional about the voices and stories you uplift. Black women have something to say – and they're definitely already doing the work. 

Until next time, 

Adam