Lois Marie Gibbs was born on June 25, 1951. She is an American environmental activist. As the main organizer of the Love Canal Homeowners Association, she brought attention to the environmental problem in Love Canal. Her efforts led to the evacuation of more than 800 families. In 1981, she started a nonprofit group called the Clearinghouse for Hazardous Waste to help train and support local activists working on environmental issues. She still works with the group, which was later renamed the Center for Health, Environment, and Justice (CHEJ).

Early life

Lois Marie Gibbs was born in a working-class neighborhood of Grand Island, New York. She had five brothers and sisters. Her father worked in steel mills, and her mother stayed home to care for the family. As a child, Gibbs did not have many hobbies or activities. After finishing high school, she married Harry Gibbs, who worked with chemicals. She had two children and later moved to Love Canal.

Activism

In 1978, Lois Gibbs became involved in environmental issues when she learned that her 5-year-old son’s elementary school in Niagara Falls, New York, was built on a toxic waste dump. Her two children had been healthy when they moved to their Love Canal home, but later developed unusual health problems. This made her question whether the toxic waste was connected to their health issues. She contacted the School Board about the safety of her child at the 93rd Street School, but they did not take action. Gibbs then spoke with other parents and started the Love Canal Parents Movement in 1978. After this movement began, the New York State Department of Health said the school should close and that pregnant women and children living near the toxic site should leave their homes. The state then bought homes near the canal, leading to the creation of the Love Canal Homeowners Association (LCHA).

Gibbs created a petition and visited neighbors door-to-door to gather support. Her efforts focused on protecting her children’s health as a mother. She led her community in a fight against local, state, and federal governments by sharing the petition with the New York State Department of Health.

When Gibbs began organizing in Love Canal and later worked nationally, many people doubted her ability to make a difference. Her own mother once told her, “You’re forgetting you’re just a homemaker with a high school education.”

After years of effort, 833 families were eventually moved out of Love Canal, and the cleanup of the area began. National news coverage made Lois Gibbs well-known. In 1980, President Jimmy Carter recognized her as a key leader in the Love Canal movement. Her work also helped create the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation and Liability Act, or Superfund, which helps clean up toxic waste sites across the United States.

Gibbs’ first husband was Harry Gibbs, a chemical worker who supported her activism at Love Canal. However, after families were evacuated, he wanted her to return home and be a full-time homemaker. Gibbs said, “I just couldn’t do that.” In 1981, as a single mother of two children, she left Niagara Falls with $10,000 and moved to the Washington, D.C., area. She relocated without her family and bought a home in Virginia. As someone who valued family, this was very difficult for her.

In 1980, Gibbs founded the Citizens’ Clearinghouse for Hazardous Waste (CCHW). After moving to the Washington, D.C., area, she renamed it the Center for Health, Environment and Justice (CHEJ). This national organization helps families living near environmentally damaged areas, like Love Canal. It has supported over 10,000 grassroots groups with organizing, information, and technical help. Gibbs currently serves as the executive director of CHEJ. The organization is a grassroots environmental center that provides resources, training, and assistance to community groups across the United States. CHEJ works to create strong local groups to protect neighborhoods from harmful waste exposure.

Later life

After leaving Niagara Falls in 1981, Gibbs moved to Virginia. She married again and had two additional children.

Gibbs wrote several books about the Love Canal story and the effects of harmful waste. The first and most well-known is Love Canal. My Story, which she co-wrote with Murray Levine and published in 1982.

Her story was adapted into a TV movie made especially for television in 1982, titled Lois Gibbs: The Love Canal Story. In the movie, she was portrayed by actress Marsha Mason.

Awards

• Received the 1990 Goldman Environmental Prize
• Received the Heinz Award in the Environment (5th Annual, 1998)
• Received the John Gardner Leadership Award from Independent Sector in 1999
• Nominated for a Nobel Peace Prize in 2003
• Received an honorary degree from Haverford College for her work as an environmental activist in 2006
• Received an honorary degree, a doctor of humane letters, from Green Mountain College in 2009
• Received an honorary degree, a doctor of Laws, from Medaille College in 2010
• Received an honorary degree, a doctor of Public Service, from Tufts University in 2013

Gallery

• Lois Gibbs leads people who oppose sulfide mining in a march to the entrance of the Kennecott Eagle Minerals mine near Lake Superior and Big Bay, MI
• Lois Gibbs stands at the entrance of the Kennecott Minerals sulfide mine under construction near Lake Superior and Big Bay, MI
• Lois Gibbs joins a group of mine opponents at the entrance to the Kennecott Minerals sulfide mine being built near Lake Superior close to Big Bay, MI to sing, pray, and discuss plans.