Our hearts are heavy due to the passing of Marie Harrison. Marie was an incredible advocate for environmental justice and a tireless guardian for our Bayview Hunters Point community. She was a local resident with the expertise to educate, inform, and organize our community to create the neighborhood we all deserve. And she was a mentor for many individuals dedicated to environmental, health, and social justice.
Marie’s family will hold a memorial celebration on Saturday, May 18 at 12pm. It will be held at the St. John Missionary Baptist Church 825 Newhall St, San Francisco, CA 94124.
Anthony Khalil, LEJ’s Community Engagement Director shared, “May her spirit live on and our movement honor one of the founding Mothers of our local Environmental Justice Movement. Ms. Marie was a dear friend, mentor, and inspiration for many of us. Ms. Marie was called upon numerous times by LEJ and the community at-large to educate and inspire us with her vast depth of neighborhood history as well as making history with her leadership and EJ actions. The current BVHP community pollution monitoring project that LEJ is a part of with other local EJ partner groups seeks to rename the community steering committee and project in her honor.”
Marie was a long-time member and supporter of Greenaction for Health and Environmental Justice. Greenaction has a Mothers Day Walkathon for Healthy Communities and Environmental Justice planned that is now dedicated to Marie’s spirit and memory.
Click here to learn more about the event happening on Sunday, May 12 at Peacock Meadows in Golden Gate Park. Registration opens at 9am and the walk begins at 10am.
If you would like to read more about Marie’s life and her inspiring activism, please read these articles honoring her memory and legacy:
- Mission Local – Marie Harrison, tireless fighter for environmental justice, dies at 71
- San Francisco Chronicle – Hunters Point environmental activist Marie Harrison dies at 71
- San Francisco Examiner – City mourns loss of passionate Bayview community advocate Marie Harrison
- San Francisco Weekly – Crusader for Environmental Justice in Bayview Dies
In June 2018, Marie Harrison received a commendation for a lifetime of activism by the San Francisco Board of Supervisors. Click here to watch the video and fast forward to the 37:10 mark to hear Former Supervisor Malia Cohen honor Marie.
In her speech to the Board of Supervisors, a group that she often had conflicts with, Marie thanked them for the recognition and their dedication to San Francisco. And she continued to advocate for the health of our community and reminded the Supervisors of their responsibilities. She shared,
“I would be remiss if I did not ask you to continue to support the community’s effort in getting this shipyard cleaned up, completely, i.e. a full re-testing of the shipyard. I don’t want to see another family out there and be worried to death that they don’t know if they’re safe or not. And you know it’s not safe yet… You guys are endowed with the ability to make sure that our community and our new community members are safe. That’s all I’m asking. That’s all any of us are asking… Say no to corporate interests. Do the right thing. That means, saying no to corporate interests and remembering the community you actually work for.”
Bayview Hunters Point and the larger environmental justice community will always remember how hard Marie worked for us. Rest in peace and rest in power Marie.