BANG MSS 2004/136 UniversityofCalifornia Berkeley Regional Oral History Office University of California The Bancroft Library Berkeley, California Environmental Justice and Grassroots Environmentalist!! in the San Francisco Bay Area Carl Anthony The Civil Rights Movement, and Expanding the Boundaries of Environmental Justice in the San Francisco Bay Area, 1960-1999 With an Introduction by Luke W. Cole Interviews Conducted by Carl Wilmsen in 1999 Copyright 2003 by The Regents of the University of California Since 1954 the Regional Oral History Office has been interviewing leading participants in or well-placed witnesses to major events in the development of northern California, the West, and the nation. Oral history is a method of collecting historical information through tape-recorded interviews between a narrator with firsthand knowledge of historically significant events and a well- informed interviewer, with the goal of preserving substantive additions to the historical record. The tape recording is transcribed, lightly edited for continuity and clarity, and reviewed by the interviewee. The corrected manuscript is indexed, bound with photographs and illustrative materials, and placed in The Bancroft Library at the University of California, Berkeley, and in other research collections for scholarly use. Because it is primary material, oral history is not intended to present the final, verified, or complete narrative of events. It is a spoken account, offered by the interviewee in response to questioning, and as such it is reflective, partisan, deeply involved, and irreplaceable. ************************************ All uses of this manuscript are covered by a legal agreement between The Regents of the University of California and Carl Anthony dated July 22, 1999. The manuscript is thereby made available for research purposes. All literary rights in the manuscript, including the right to publish, are reserved to The Bancroft Library of the University of California, Berkeley. No part of the manuscript may be quoted for publication without the written permission of the Director of The Bancroft Library of the University of California, Berkeley. Requests for permission to quote for publication should be addressed to the Regional Oral History Office, 486 Bancroft Library, Mail Code 6000, University of California, Berkeley 94720-6000, and should include identification of the specific passages to be quoted, anticipated use of the passages, and identification of the user. It is recommended that this oral history be cited as follows: Carl Anthony, "The Civil Rights Movement, and Expanding the Boundaries of Environmental Justice in the San Francisco Bay Area, 1960-1999," an oral history conducted in 1999 by Carl Wilmsen, Regional Oral History Office, The Bancroft Library, University of California, Berkeley, 2003. Copy no. The Environmental Justice and Grassroots Environmentalism in the San Francisco Bay Area Oral Histories have been funded by the Flora Lamson Hewlett Fund of The Bancroft Library. TABLE OF CONTENTS--Carl Anthony INTRODUCTION i INTERVIEW HISTORY v BIOGRAPHICAL INFORMATION viii Continuities with the Past: Parents, a Great Uncle, and Connections to the Land 1 Childhood influences: Hard Work, Father s High Expectations, and an Interest in the Abstract 8 High School, Running Away, and a Trip to the South, 1956 12 Studying Architecture at Columbia, and involvement in the Civil Rights Movement, 1960-1969 14 The Community Design Movement 17 Relationships 19 Exploring the Sahel in a Volkswagen Bus, 1969-1970 21 University of California at Berkeley, 1971-1979: Teaching Architecture, and Researching Nineteenth Century African-American Experience 24 Encountering Environmentalists in City Planning Work 27 Starting the Urban Habitat Program and the Race, Poverty, and the Environment Newsletter, 1989 30 Roots: Encounters Between Europeans, Africans, Native Americans, and the Ecology of North America 34 Origins of the Urban Habitat Program: The Need to Reconcile Environmentalism and Social Justice 38 Joining the Board of Earth Island Institute, 1988 42 Fund-raising for the Urban Habitat Program 45 David Brower, and the Strengths and Weaknesses of Earth Island Institute s Structure 48 Integrating Social Justice and Environmental Issues 51 Northern New Mexico Forest Management Controversy Brings Social Justice and Environmental Issues into Sharp relief 54 Leaving Earth Island Institute Due to Lack of Support for Integrating Social Justice and Environmental Issues, 1997 58 The Need for a "Working Landscape Model" of Commercial Activity 62 Deep Ecology, Equality, and Empathy 64 The First People of Color Environmental Leadership Summit, 1991 69 President Clinton s Executive Order on Environmental Justice, 1994: The Need for a Broader Focus 72 The Social and Environmental Consequences of Squandering Urban Land 75 Overcoming the Apartheid of Consciousness: Strategic Opportunity for Smart Growth 79 Managing Many Environmental Projects as President of Earth Island Institute 84 Reflections on Current Relations between Environmental Justice and Established Environmental Groups 87 Creating a New Culture to Systematically Confront Environmental and Social Justice Challenges 93 Creating a New Culture Of Tolerance 99 Raising Consciousness about Human Ecological Relationships 103 Working toward Sustainable Communities, and Service on Numerous Boards 107 Colleagues in the Movement, and Some Closing Remarks 111 TAPE GUIDE 116 INDEX 117