Commemorating the 30th Anniversary of the First National People of Color Environmental Leadership Summit: A Call to Action
Event Summary
This event commemorated the 30th anniversary of the First National People of Color Environmental Leadership Summit, a landmark gathering held in Washington, D.C. in October 1991 that catalyzed the modern environmental justice movement. Bringing together grassroots leaders, scholars, and advocates from across the country, the original summit articulated a powerful vision linking environmental protection to civil rights, public health, Indigenous sovereignty, labor justice, and community self-determination. Its principles continue to guide environmental justice organizing today.
Held on October 26, 2021, this virtual commemoration honored the women co-founders and leaders whose organizing, scholarship, and lived experience shaped the summit and sustained the environmental justice movement over the past three decades. The program centered women of color as architects of environmental justice, recognizing their roles as strategists, coalition builders, and movement elders whose work spans local, national, and international contexts.
Featured speakers included Pam Tau Lee, Vernice Miller-Travis, Gail Small, Susana Almanza, Mililani Task, Dr. Mildred McClain, and Rose Augustine, each of whom has played a pivotal role in advancing community-based environmental justice struggles—from Indigenous land protection and labor rights to civil rights advocacy and environmental health. Together, they reflected on the origins of the movement, shared lessons learned across generations, and examined the ongoing challenges facing frontline communities.
The conversation also honored influential women leaders who have passed, including Dana Alston, Jeanne Gauna, Hazel Johnson, Wilma Mankiller, Connie Tucker, and Jean Sindab, whose legacies continue to inspire contemporary organizing.
Moderated by José Bravo of the Just Transition Alliance, with opening and closing reflections by Teresa Córdova of the Great Cities Institute, the event served as both a historical reckoning and a call to action—affirming environmental justice as a living, evolving movement rooted in community power, intersectionality, and collective care.