Community organizing is the process of building power through involving a constituency in identifying problems they share and the solutions to these problems that they desire; identifying the people and structures that can make those solutions possible; enlisting these targets in the effort through negotiation and using confrontation and pressure when needed; and building an institution that is democratically controlled by that constituency that can develop the capacity to take on further problems that embodies the will and power of that constituency. Heath Booth, founder of the Midwest Academy and

When the world went into lockdown in 2020, the Center for Health, Environment & Justice (CHEJ) launched an innovative new series called Living Room Leadership. This weekly webinar-and-podcast series was created to keep the Environmental Justice (EJ) community connected and inspired during a time of physical isolation. With in-person gatherings impossible, CHEJ brought the movement into people’s homes – or rather, their living rooms – through candid conversations with grassroots leaders. The goal was simple yet profound: to share meaningful stories and lessons from community activists, sustaining hope and momentum

By Sharon Franklin. In 1980 national press coverage made Lois Gibbs a household name, but her work did not end with Love Canal.  After receiving thousands of letters from people experiencing similar problems, she created what is today known as the Center for Health, Environment and Justice (CHEJ).  As many know, she was among the community leaders instrumental in the creation of two bills relating to Superfund. Lois is often referred to as “The Mother of the Superfund”. Today, as reported recently by Stephen Lee, Bloomberg reporter, a history of

Origins: From Love Canal to a National Campaign for Safe Schools The Center for Health, Environment & Justice (CHEJ) was born out of the Love Canal environmental disaster of the late 1970s, when 20,000 tons of toxic waste were found beneath a New York school and neighborhood. Lois Gibbs, the housewife-turned-activist who led that fight, founded CHEJ to help communities nationwide tackle similar threats. By the early 2000s, CHEJ had turned its focus to protecting children in schools from environmental hazards. It launched the Childproofing Our Communities campaign (often called

“To each action, there is an equal and opposite reaction”  – Sir Isaac Newton’s Third Law of Motion You’ve just had your first meeting. Turnout was very good, spirit was high, and it looks as if your organization has a good plan. Naturally, your opposition will now just roll over and die, right? Wrong! Isaac Newton’s law is only partly correct when applied to organizing: The opposition’s reaction can be overwhelming and unpredictable. When you develop both long-term strategies and short-term tactics for your group, you must try to calculate

There is a growing array of groups, agencies, and experts that offer their help to groups dealing with toxics and waste issues. Often this help is sincerely offered, gratefully received and truly helpful. Sometimes it’s not. Too much help, or the wrong kind, can be toxic to grassroots groups. CHEJ believes almost any “helper” can really help IF your group is aware of its own needs, is clear about the helper’s agenda, and stays in control of the relationship between the “helper” and you, the “helpee.” TYPES OF HELPERS Helpers