Mother of the Environmental Justice Movement, Hazel M. Johnson founded People for Community Recovery in 1979 in response to tenant and environmental issues facing the residents of her community of Altgeld Gardens. Years of research led her to connect the health issues facing her family and neighbors to industrial pollutants in the air, water, and land. Her activism to reduce or eliminate the environmental dangers surrounding “the toxic donut” connected her to a global network of activists.  Through her efforts she mentored the next generation of the EJ movement, and world leaders. Panel discussion will explore the beginnings of her environmental work, her research documenting the connection between community health and industry, her role at the 1991 First National People of Color Environmental Leadership Summit, and her impact on the current Environmental Justice Movement.