[Congressional Record Volume 152, Number 61 (Wednesday, May 17, 2006)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E857-E858]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




       DAMU SMITH INTERNATIONAL RENOWNED ACTIVIST DIES AT AGE 54

                                 ______
                                 

                         HON. CHARLES B. RANGEL

                              of new york

                    in the house of representatives

                        Wednesday, May 17, 2006

  Mr. RANGEL. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to pay tribute to Damu Smith, 
who died May 5, 2006, and to enter into the record an article by Makani 
Themba-Nixon entitled Damu Smith, popular activist, dies at 54 which 
appeared on May 13, 2006 as a special to The Washington AFRO American.
  Damu Smith was a people's activist who put his heart and energy into 
more than one cause. He was a St. Louis native and long-time 
Washington, D.C. resident, but he was renowned internationally as a 
great organizer and a man of ideas. He was a co-founder with Donelle 
Wilkins of the National Black Environmental Justice Network, NBEJN, in 
1999.
  As the first coordinator for Southern Organizing Committee for 
Economic and Social Justice, Smith revealed the practice of some 
corporations that targeted poor African American Communities. He 
organized Toxic Tours in the South to help bring national attention to 
this very serious problem. The story of this successful campaign to 
force a PVC plant out of Norco, La., was made into Lifetime cable 
movie, Fenceline: A Company Town Divided.
  Smith was a leader and co-founder of several social justice 
initiatives including Artists for a Free South Africa and Black Voices 
for Peace. For over 30 years, Smith worked to bring justice to all.
  When Smith first became ill, his many friends and followers from many 
peace, environmental and social justice movements rallied around him to 
give him their full support as a way of showing their love and 
gratitude for everything he had done to promote peace, justice and 
preservation of our mutually shared planet.
  Among the many projects Smith was involved in was promoting a 
national Martin Luther King Jr., Holiday. In the 1990s he joined 
Greenpeace USA and monitored corporate pollution on the Gulf Coast. He 
coordinated the first National People of Color Environmental Leadership 
Summit in 1991, helping to link the civil rights movement to the 
environmental movement for the first time, colleagues said.

  Born LeRoy Wesley Smith, he came to Washington in 1973. He later took 
the name Damu, which the Associated Press of May 8, 2006 reported means 
blood, leadership and strength in Swahili.
  Damu Smith was a leader of great strength and passion. His causes 
were many and varied but all of them were about social justice

[[Page E858]]

and civil rights. Smith was an activist for 30 years. During this time, 
he was a co-founder of Artists for a Free South Africa and Black voice 
for Peace. His efforts ranged from a stint as executive director of the 
Washington Office on Africa during the anti-apartheid movement to work 
on gun violence and police brutality with the United Church of Christ 
Commission for Racial Justice.
  According to the Afro American article, Ron Daniels founder and 
president of the Institute of the Black World 21st Century, reflected 
that Smith was an incredible organizer, an incredible leader and 
teacher. He was also an incredible human being. I certainly second that 
assessment.
  Journalist George E. Curry wrote that Damu Smith who died at age 54, 
crammed more into his 54 years on earth than people who live twice as 
long. Yet, the feeling lingers that he left us too soon. Curry wrote 
that Smith was a man of integrity and he was a visionary. Those are 
words of high praise and they are true in describing Damu Smith. I want 
to add, he was a man with a great heart who spent his life working for 
those who most needed him.
  Damu Smith loved his one child very much. His many friends knew how 
much and how deeply he loved Asha Hadia Vemice Moore Smith, his 14-
year-old daughter. They have set up a trust fund so she will have the 
opportunity for the education he wanted for her.
  I believe if Asha has inherited his heart and his character Damu 
Smith's daughter will be a light in the world just like her father.

              [From the AFRO American News, May 10, 2006]

                Damu Smith, Popular Activist, Dies at 54

                        (By Makani Themba-Nixon)

       Damu Smith, internationally renowned activist and a founder 
     of the environmental justice movement, passed away early on 
     May 5 at George Washington Hospital. Surrounded by a crowd of 
     friends and family that spilled down hospital corridors, 
     Smith, 54, succumbed after a year long bout with colorectal 
     cancer. Smith was a dedicated organizer who even at the 
     height of his health challenges found time to support social 
     justice work. In recent months, Smith addressed the Millions 
     More March and a capacity crowd for a TransAfrica forum, 
     despite his ailing health. ``He loved his people,'' says 
     Donelle Wilkins, co-chair of the National Black Environmental 
     Justice Network (NBEJN) an organization she and Smith founded 
     in 1999. ``You may have seen him at the big podiums and the 
     big meetings but he was also in the country corners, the 
     small towns, the little places. He rolled up his sleeves. He 
     got his hands dirty.''
       A St. Louis native and long time Washington, D.C. resident, 
     Smith was a leader and co-founder of several social justice 
     initiatives including Artists for a Free South Africa and 
     Black Voices for Peace. A consummate organizer and bridge 
     builder, Smith's work extended over 30 years and several 
     issues. ``He was about bringing justice wherever it was 
     needed,'' said Wilkens.
       Smith's efforts ranged from a stint as executive director 
     of the Washington Office on Africa during the anti-apartheid 
     movement to work on gun violence and police brutality with 
     the United Church of Christ Commission for Racial Justice, 
     the National Wilmington 10 Defense Committee and the National 
     Black Independent Political Party. An outspoken activist 
     on peace and disarmament, Smith served as associate 
     director of the Washington Office of the American Friends 
     Service Committee and traveled internationally to support 
     movements for peace and justice around the world. ``He was 
     undoubtedly one of the most important activists of our 
     time,'' reflected Ron Daniels, founder and president of 
     the Institute of the Black World 21st Century. ``He was an 
     incredible organizer, an incredible leader and teacher. He 
     was also just an incredible human being.'' Perhaps Smith 
     is best known for his groundbreaking work to establish the 
     environmental justice movement. As national associate 
     director and national toxics campaigner for Greenpeace 
     USA, he helped carve out the racial justice analysis that 
     helped distinguish environmental justice from the ``green 
     space'' focus that typified environmental work of the day.
       As the first coordinator for environmental justice for the 
     Southern Organizing Committee for Economic and Social 
     Justice, Smith gained firsthand experience of the corporate 
     pollution practices that target poor and African American 
     communities. He organized Toxic Tours in the South to help 
     bring national attention to the issue, taking celebrities 
     Alice Walker, Haki Madhubuti and others to the infamous area 
     in Louisiana dubbed Cancer Alley. ``The work in Cancer Alley 
     was his heart. He didn't think anything about his well being. 
     He stood in the face of the threats, of the violence, of the 
     toxics. He set an example for what was possible. It gave his 
     community a sense of strength, a sense that together they can 
     make a difference. And they did. It was profound,'' said 
     Wilkens.
       The campaign to force a PVC plant out of Norco, La. was 
     eventually the subject of a Lifetime cable channel movie, 
     {Fenceline: A Company Town Divided}. Smith's efforts helped 
     draw attention to the disproportionate toxic dumping in 
     African-American communities nationwide, which led him to 
     help found the National Black Environmental Justice Network.
       ``It was his vision to bring Black people together from all 
     over the country to unite us around this issue,'' Wilkins 
     said. ``He single-handedly brought together folk from more 
     than 30 states--welfare moms to PhDs--to give birth to this 
     network. Damu's leadership and commitment was relentless.'' 
     Although Smith remained executive director of the network 
     until his death, his primary campaign over the last year was 
     his own survival. Friends launched the Spirit of Hope 
     campaign to support Smith with living and healthcare expenses 
     as years of organizing work left him with little resources 
     and without health insurance. His wide network responded with 
     an outpouring of support including a star studded gala last 
     July that brought together artist activists Danny Glover, 
     Bernice Reagon and Sonia Sanchez.
       ``These resources went to support Damu in acquiring the 
     care he needed,'' said Sandra Rattley, Spirit of Hope 
     coordinator. ``Damu was so grateful. The doctors were saying 
     he only had three months last year but the community came 
     together and literally extended his life. And every month he 
     had, he continued to give back.''
       Survivors include his daughter Asha Hadia Vernice Moore 
     Smith, 13. He is also survived by a sister Sylnice Williams; 
     two brothers Richard Anthony Smith and Leslie Dudley Smith; a 
     significant other Adeleke Foster, two nephews, six nieces and 
     thousands of friends and fellow soldiers in the battle for 
     peace and justice.
       Rattley said the community is rallying to ensure that Asha 
     is provided for. Smith often referred to his daughter as the 
     crown jewel of his life and once boasted had started a Black 
     Kids for Peace organization. Friends and colleagues often 
     remarked on what a devoted and caring father Smith was. ``I 
     know that Damu wanted to make sure that Asha is alright,'' 
     says Rattley. A memorial service is scheduled for 5 p.m. May 
     20 at Plymouth Congregational Church, 5301 North Capitol St., 
     N.W. in Washington, D.C. In lieu of floral arrangements, the 
     family requests all donations be made to the Asha Moore Smith 
     Trust, 1750 Columbia Road, N.W., Washington, D.C. 20009 or 
     online at www.damusmith.org.

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