Aaron Mair (Provided photo — Nancie Battaglia)

WASHINGTON, D.C. — Dozens of boxes of paper files and computer discs containing campaign records, strategic plans, letters to the editor, action alerts and lots and lots of maps were among the materials turned over to the Library of Congress from Aaron Mair’s home office and his Adirondack Council office in Albany recently, all in crates bound for the Library of Congress Manuscript Division.

The library hopes to document the work of pioneers to protect vulnerable communities, often in urban areas, that are struggling to cope with the impacts of locally generated air and water pollution, excessive noise, commercial traffic and proximity to heavy industries. Library historian Josh Levy worked with Mair and other council staff to select and transport items for the collection.

Capital District resident Mair has been fighting to protect open space, control air and water pollution and make neighborhoods safer for residents of Albany’s Arbor Hill and West Hill, for decades. He has also worked to protect wilderness, wildlife and open spaces, first as a volunteer and eventually the president of Sierra Club, and today as director of the Adirondack Council’s Forever Adirondacks Campaign.

“I am honored and excited that my records will be available for the public to see and understand the early days of what would become the Environmental Justice movement, right up to the current struggle,” said Aaron Mair. “The movement has made a crucial difference in the fight for a clean and healthy planet for all.

“By sharing my experience in defending frontline Communities of Color documented in the Library of Congress will help raise awareness about environmental injustices and inspire new people to get involved,” he explained. “I hope new activists will gain insights from our tactics and strategies that they can use in future campaigns. My fondest wish is to inspire the next wave of wilderness and environmental justice leaders, particularly those from communities of color.”

Among Mair’s campaigns included in the library’s collection will be records from the successful struggles to shut down a state-run trash incinerator in a residential neighborhood in Arbor Hill; clean up industrial pollution and reestablish outdoor recreation at Tivoli Park, between low-income housing and Albany’s biggest rail yard and industrial/warehouse complex; and force General Electric to begin the removal of toxic PCBs from the Hudson River.

“We are very proud that Aaron’s papers will be the first environmental justice manuscript collection at the Library of Congress,” said Adirondack Council Executive Director Raul J. Aguirre said. “He is a pioneer in the EJ movement who is still among the most skilled and creative activists doing the work today. He is Old Guard and Avant-Garde at the same time.”