By Natalie Garza
JUAN PARRAS, executive director of Texas Environmental Justice Advocacy Services (TEJAS), was born in Big Spring, Texas, in 1949. Following his high school graduation from St. Anthony’s Seminary in San Antonio, he took courses both at St. Mary’s University and the University of Houston. Juan Parras dedicated his professional life to ghting injustices, first with Harris County social services, then with AFSCME, a national public services employee union. He later used his unionizing skills to provide organizational support for the community of Convent, Louisiana, in their fight for environmental justice. Eventually, Green Peace hired Parras, a move which he believes was the organization’s fi rst permanent Latino appointment in the nation. He worked with them on the “Toxic Campaign” against polyvinyl chloride (PVC) before budget constraints ended his job. From there, he did community outreach work for the Texas Southern University – Environmental Law and Justice Center, which led to the founding of TEJAS. Parras, who resides in Segundo Barrio, sat down with UH-Oral History of Houston director, Natalie Garza, in August 2009 to talk about his work.
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AFSCME, Alliance for Healthy Homes, Anderson Cooper, Bhopal Incident, Bird Andrews, birth defects, Boy Scout leader, Bryan Lucas, cancer, Center for Health and Environmental Justice, Cesar Chavez, César Chávez High School, Coastal issues, Communities of Color, Convent Louisiana, Emission of toxic chemicals, Environment, Environmental Grantmakers Association, Environmental Issues, Environmental Justice, Environmental Justice Issues, Environmental Law and Justice Center, Environmental Lawyer, Environmental Protection Agency, EPA, Galveston Bay, Green Peace, Harris County Social Services, Hazardous waste, Houston Environmental Justice Center, Houston Ship Channel, Jaun Parras, John Sullivan, Keystone XL pipeline, Krish Navini, Land Contamination, Law school, Legal Assistance, Leonel Castillo, leukemia, Lisa Jackson, Lubbock, MALDEF, Maria Jimenez, Martina Cartwright, Medical Center, Minorities, Natalie Garza, National Environmental Justice Advisory Council, National LaRaza Council, National Public Services Employee Union, Odessa, Odessa Texas, polluted, pollution, Polyvinyl Chloride, PVC, River Oaks, Segundo Barrio, Superfund, TEJAS, Texas Environmental Justice Advocacy Services, Texas Petrochemical, Texas Southern University, The Gulf Restoration Network, The plant in Peril, Toxic Campaign, Toxic Chemicals, TSU, United Farm Workers, University of Houston, Water Quality, Wishing You Were Here in the East End
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