I 

116TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 5343 

To provide for the issuance of a commemorative postage stamp in honor 

of Hazel M. Johnson, and for other purposes. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

DECEMBER 6, 2019 

Mr. RUSH introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee 

on Oversight and Reform 

A BILL 

To provide for the issuance of a commemorative postage 

stamp in honor of Hazel M. Johnson, and for other purposes. 

1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

4 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Hazel M. Johnson Me5 morial Stamp Act’’. 

6 SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 

7 The Congress finds the following: 

8 (1) Hazel Johnson fought for environmental 

9 justice in Chicago beginning in the 1970s and con10 tinuing through the rest of her life. 


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1 (2) When Johnson discovered that the South 

2 Side of Chicago had the highest cancer rate of any 

3 area in Chicago, she was inspired to investigate the 

4 cancer rates, foul odors, and number of children 

5 with respiratory illnesses in her own neighborhood, 

6 the community of Altgeld Gardens on the South 

7 Side of Chicago. 

8 (3) Johnson discovered her community, Altgeld 

9 Gardens, which is a public housing project, was built 

10 on a landfill surrounded by toxicity, which polluted 

11 the air, water, and land. 

12 (4) Additionally, the Altgeld Gardens homes 

13 had asbestos and elevated lead levels. 

14 (5) This discovery inspired Johnson to create 

15 the People for Community Recovery, an organization 

16 which fights for a safer environment. 

17 (6) Johnson and the People for Community Re18 covery fought to educate and empower the residents 

19 of Altgeld Gardens, including providing workshops 

20 and trainings, conducting health surveys, rallying 

21 residents to protest contamination, and working with 

22 youth in the community. 

23 (7) The People for Community Recovery put 

24 pressure on the Chicago Housing Authority to re25 move asbestos from Altgeld Gardens. 


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1 (8) Johnson’s fight for clean water led to the 

2 installation of water and sewer lines by city health 

3 officials in the far South Side neighborhood of Mary4 land Manor, where the existing well water was con5 taminated with cyanide and other toxins. 

6 (9) Johnson used her vigilance and activism to 

7 give low-income minority communities a voice and a 

8 stake in the environmental justice fight by bringing 

9 the conversation to personal, immediate, and urgent 

10 concerns which directly impact communities inhab11 ited by people of color. 

12 (10) Johnson also strove to hold both busi13 nesses and the government responsible for how their 

14 actions impact the environment. 

15 (11) Johnson was given the 1992 President’s 

16 Environment and Conservation Challenge Award in 

17 recognition of her environmental justice work. 

18 (12) Notably, Johnson was instrumental in 

19 pressuring President Bill Clinton to sign the Envi20 ronmental Justice Executive Order, which holds the 

21 Federal Government accountable for urban commu22 nities exposed to pollution. 

23 (13) In 2004, sociologist David Naguib Pellow 

24 credited Johnson and the People for Community Re25 covery with putting ‘‘the South Side of Chicago on 


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1 the radar screen for activists and policy makers 

2 around the United States who are concerned about 

3 environmental racism’’. 

4 (14) On January 12, 2011, the Illinois General 

5 Assembly, by way of a House Joint Resolution, des6 ignated ‘‘the portion of 130th Street from the 

7 Bishop Ford Freeway to State Street in Chicago as 

8 the ‘Hazel Johnson EJ Way’ ’’. 

9 (15) Johnson was a visionary, who was able to 

10 foresee the impacts of failing to address environ11 mental and social justice conditions. 

12 (16) Johnson’s work earned her the title of 

13 ‘‘mother of the environmental justice movement’’. 

14 SEC. 3. HAZEL M. JOHNSON COMMEMORATIVE POSTAGE 

15 STAMP. 

16 (a) IN GENERAL.—The Postmaster General shall 

17 issue a commemorative postage stamp in honor of Hazel 

18 M. Johnson. 

19 (b) DENOMINATION; DESIGNS.—The commemorative 

20 postage stamp issued under this Act shall be issued in the 

21 denomination used for first class mail up to one ounce in 

22 weight and shall bear such designs as the Postmaster Gen23 eral shall determine. 

24 (c) ISSUANCE PERIOD.—The commemorative postage 

25 stamp issued under this Act shall be placed on sale as 


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1 soon as practicable after the date of the enactment of this 

2 Act and shall be sold for such period thereafter as the 

3 Postmaster General shall determine. 

Æ 


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