Housekeeper to Environmental Hero: Meet the 78-year-old Bay Area woman fighting for clean air
OAKLAND, Calif. (KGO) -- As the world celebrates Earth Day, ABC7 News is highlighting local advocates pushing for environmental justice across the Bay Area. Meet Ms. Margaret Gordon, the West Oakland woman who went from humble beginnings to being a leading voice for cleaner air in the East Bay.
"There ain't no blueprint," Gordon told ABC7 News anchor Julian Glover. "You gotta keep searching-finding the best way to do this."
There certainly is no blueprint to live a life like Ms. Margaret Gordon has.
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"I was not expecting to be 78 years old and have all of these things roll out for me. Never in my wildest mind," said Gordon.
Comfortably in her golden years, Ms. Margaret has accomplished so much-starting out with so little.
She's served as the co-executive director of the West Oakland Environmental Indicators Project for the last two decades.
"I had no idea I would make a career out of this," she said. "I was a cook and a housekeeper."
She said that all changed when she picked up a book and then magazines owned by the environmentalist whose home she was cleaning. And then it clicked.
Her grandson's chronic asthma was caused by the conditions in West Oakland where she and her family lived. She had to act.
"1993, 1994 I came in as a resident volunteer and I never left," she recalled.
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And so many are grateful she never did.
Since then, the organization has notched several big wins for improving air quality in West Oakland: reducing diesel emissions from trucks heading to and from the neighboring Port of Oakland, pushing for cleaner energy use by the ships carrying goods to the port, and increasing access to air filters for locals.
Along the way, Ms. Margaret would be appointed to the Board of Port Commissioners by then-Mayor Ron Dellums and be recognized for her work by the Obama Administration.
After 30 years of shaping public policy and mobilizing community activism, this self-taught environmental justice advocate's voice is sought after.
She's now prominently featured in KQED's Alexis Madrigal's new book "The Pacific Circuit."
The book navigates Oakland's place in global trade and uses Ms. Margaret as a central character to explore the impacts - both intended and unintended - on the real people who call The Town home.
There's even a chapter with her name on it reading "Meet Miss Margaret."
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As if that's not enough-she's now featured in an award-winning jazz album
She can be heard reciting spoken word for Andromeda Turre's "From the Earth" album on the track "Ms. Margaret's Lament."
Wind in her sails as she takes on a new role as she leaves the West Oakland Environmental Indicators Project and takes on a new role as a Community Scholar with the Just Cities Institute. There she'll be focusing on research with UC Berkeley and mentoring the next generation of leaders.
"I'm standing on the shoulders of people who did it," said Ms. Margaret. "Now I got a bunch of youths. I'm getting them to stand on my shoulders."
And what incredible shoulders they have to stand on.
