Dr. Martin Luther King’s Impact on The Environmental Justice Movement

Los Padres ForestWatch honors the life and work of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.


It really boils down to this: that all life is interrelated. We are all caught in an inescapable network of mutuality, tied into a single garment of destiny. Whatever affects one directly affects all indirectly. … We aren’t going to have peace on Earth until we recognize this basic fact of the interrelated structure of all reality.”- Dr. King


Dr. King’s actions and teachings led to many important acts being passed in congress including the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and the Voting Rights Act of 1965. It’s through this work that Dr. King created a movement that was meant for us to understand how we are mutually tied together and that all life is interrelated. It’s this structure of thinking that has led many to believe that his work was the early structure for the Environmental Justice Movement. We see after Dr. King’s passing that environmentalists were able to pass the Clean Air Act of 1970, the Clean Water Act of 1972 and the Endangered Species Act. All of which that had a direct effect on communities of color which are often marginalized and impacted heavily by climate change.

Below is a list of resources we’ve compiled to learn more about his legacy.

What the Environmental Justice Movement Owes Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.

Dr. Martin Luther King Jr’s Environmental Justice Legacy

Four ways Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. left his mark on the environmental movement

A Look at Environmental Justice in U.S.A. Today

MLK’s Legacy for Environmental Justice

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