Gibbs, Lois (1952–)

Lois marie gibbs is the founder and executive director of the Center for Health, Environment, and Justice (CHEJ) in Falls Church, Virginia. Gibbs first rose to public prominence in 1978, as the organizer and head of the Love Canal Homeowners Association in Niagara Falls, New York. Upon learning that the neighborhood elementary school her son attended had been built on top of a leaking hazardous waste dump, she and other residents of the Love Canal neighborhood—many with severely ill children or histories of reproductive abnormalities—organized to demand government assistance with health, safety, and welfare. In August 1978, President Jimmy Carter declared a state of emergency at Love Canal; the State of New York closed the school, announced the relocation of 239 families, and initiated a ...