Damu Smith facts for kids
Damu Amiri Imara Smith (born 1951 – died May 5, 2006) was an American activist who worked for peace and fairness. He spent his life fighting for important causes like civil rights, protecting the environment, and stopping wars.
Contents
Early Life and Learning
Damu Smith was born in 1951 in St. Louis, Missouri. His father was a firefighter, and his mother was a nurse. He grew up with his two brothers and sister in a neighborhood called Carr Square Village. His family worked hard, but sometimes they needed help from the government to get by. Smith said that growing up this way made him care deeply about people in low-income communities. This experience shaped his views as an adult and as an activist.
When he was in high school, Smith went to some Black Solidarity Day events in Cairo, Illinois. There, he heard powerful speeches from leaders like Amiri Baraka, Nina Simone, and Jesse Jackson. He also saw neighborhoods that had been affected by racial violence, which made a big impact on him.
Later, as a student at St. John's University in Minnesota, Smith became the president of the Organization of Afro-American Students. He led a protest to ask the school to start a Black studies program. Around this time, he changed his name to Damu Amiri Imara Smith. The first three words mean "blood," "leadership," and "strength" in the Swahili language.
Fighting for Justice
In 1973, Damu Smith moved to Washington D.C.. Here, he continued his lifelong work of standing up for social justice in the United States and around the world. He was one of the first African-American activists to speak out against environmental racism. This is when poor communities or communities of color are unfairly exposed to more pollution.
In the late 1970s, Smith led the local chapter of the Alliance Against Racist and Political Repression. He organized many protests and educational events. These events fought against racism in America and against apartheid in South Africa. Apartheid was a system of unfair racial separation.
For the next 30 years, Smith worked hard on many issues:
- He fought against apartheid in South Africa. He was the Executive Director of the Washington Office on Africa and helped start Artists for a Free South Africa.
- He worked to expose gun violence and police brutality.
- He was active in peace campaigns, working to stop the spread of nuclear weapons. He was the Associate Director of the Washington Office of the American Friends Service Committee.
- He spoke out against the U.S. invasion of Iraq during the Gulf War in the 1990s.
Environmental Justice Work
Smith was especially known for his important work in the environmental justice movement. He was the first environmental justice coordinator for the Southern Organizing Committee for Economic and Social Justice. He visited cities that were badly affected by chemical pollution. He saw how much this pollution hurt low-income and African American communities.
To show others what was happening, he organized "Toxic Tours" in the South for Greenpeace. In 1999, he helped put together the biggest environmental justice conference ever held. This event led to the creation of the National Black Environmental Justice Network. This was the first network of Black environmental justice activists, and Smith became its Executive Director.
He also started and led Black Voices for Peace, an organization focused on promoting peace.
Personal Life
.jpg)
Damu Smith passed away on May 5, 2006, from colon cancer at George Washington University Hospital. He was survived by his partner, Adeleke Foster, his daughter, his sister, and two brothers.
Awards and Honors
Damu Smith received several awards for his important work:
- In 1986, he received the Malcolm X Community Service Award.
- In 1989, he received the National Bar Association Community Service Award.
- The Southern Christian Leadership Conference gave him an award in 1996.
- In 1998, he received the St. James Citizen for Jobs and the Environment Award.
