Dr. Mildred McClain

Dr. Mildred McClain, aka Mama Bahati, a 50-year veteran of the People’s Movement for Justice and Self-Determination worldwide, currently serves as the Executive Director of the Harambee House / Citizens for Environmental Justice.

Mama Bahati founded the organization in 1990 and has worked in the fields of education, community development, public health, environmental justice, and people’s liberation struggles for over 50 years. She has championed youth leadership development through the Black Youth Leadership Development Institute (BYLDI) since 1988, where over 3000 young people have been trained and put to work for their people.

Considered an Environmental Justice pioneer Dr. McClain has engaged with communities all over the world, assisting in building their capacity to speak for themselves as well as participate substantively in decision-making processes that impact their daily lives. For 30 years she has fought for environmental justice in marginalized and disenfranchised communities throughout the USA. She has worked tirelessly to bring attention to the plight of people of color who live near nuclear weapons production sites and address the impact of radiation.

High school graduate of the Commonwealth School of Boston
Graduate of the University of Massachusetts—Boston
Master of Education from Harvard and Antioch
Doctorate in Education from Harvard School of Education
2017 Recipient of the Sierra Club’s Robert Bullard Environmental Justice Award
2017 Recipient of the American Public Health Association’s Damu Smith Environmental Health Achievement Award.

Mama Bahati is a devout believer and a staunch Pan-Africanist. She has been serving God since the age of 12, when she was baptized in Second Arnold Baptist Church, Savannah, Georgia. She has studied meditation, healing arts, Tai Chi, yoga, and African Spiritual practices since 1969. A mother, grandma, great-grandma, and godmother.

Thank you, God, For This Day