Tammy Cromer-Campbell is a multi-faceted person, a woman who not only takes photographs but is also dedicated to fighting environmental injustice. Environmental justice refers to the right of all people to a healthy and clean environment in public places, at work, at home, and at play. Minorities who have been exposed to toxic substances in proximity to their homes need to be protected and made aware of the issue. Which is what Tammy does. She researches East Texas, the Houston Ship Channel, and communities along the Gulf of Mexico before and after the BP oil spill.

Tammy’s Bio and introduction to photography

Tammy came from a family of entrepreneurs. Her grandfather had his own garage

Her grandmother had Tina’s Cantina company and her mother has Nina’s Case de Beauty, her aunts, and uncles had Algo’s Imports, and her daughter had her own beauty shop.

Tammy’s mother encouraged them to draw on the wall when they were kids.

At the age of 15 Tammy decided to be a photographer after reading Rolling Stone Magazine.

Tammy wanted to become a rock star photographer, her 1st Camera was Canon TLB, and she became photographing her relatives as a practice. As soon as she discovered photography, she immediately decided to relate her life to it. At that time she was acquainted with Rufus Lovett from Kilgore college who opened a completely new world of photography for her. A man had his eponymous photography center and eventually introduced Tammy to her husband Scott. Scott has been working for eight years for a DRG publishing company and purchasing lighting equipment which Tammy borrowed to start her own business.

Awards

Her work has won many awards, one of which was at Longview Partnership’s Business Expo TX event in May 2010.

She left DRG in 1996 because a documentary project required her to travel. That project was published as a book in 2006 and won a green dot award in 2008. Thanks to that work, Campbell was awarded “100 Women Taking the Lead in Saving our Planet” as part of the National Women's History Project. She least the studio in 1998 and opened a gallery in 2006. Tammy and her employees invited emerging and mid-career photographers to work. In 2007 Shannon Gillian suggested she hold an art walk, and they did with three venues.

Later they formed a committee and started meeting and organizing the ‘Go Green’ task force partnered with Keep Longview Beautiful. Go Green under the guidance of Longview Beautiful dedicated to making Longview the genuine improvement of the environment by implementing innovations and eco-clean methods with good management. Tammy became one of 10 ‘Holga inspire’ photographers and then started to teach workshops and added video production in 2007 whether it was a social documentary or for a client. They pay attention to details and put their heart and soul into each and every project so far.

History of the Environmental Justice Movement

That history was published by The University of North Texas Press. A photoshoot made a very long time ago pushed Tammy to the will of protecting the Environment from pollution.

In 1962 Rachel Carson vividly portrayed a hypothetical town in which some evil spell had settled on the community. Nearly four decades later her hypothetical town emerged in rural East Texas in a town called Winona.

People were told that the company's plan is to inject salt water from oil fields into open-ended wells and fruit orchards were to be planted on the rest of the acreage. Instead, trucks and trains from all over the United States and Mexico came to Winona to dump their deadly contents into the deep wells. The facility processed nearly every chemical known to man and no fruit orchards were ever planted. Before long people were ill. In 1992 Tammy used her inheritance to organize the community to form Mother’s organized to stop environmental sins. Believing that the lives of children were at stake, Moses organized pickets attended public hearings contacted the press went by bus twice to Washington DC with the community.

These efforts were made to force the government regulators to do their job and protect American children on American soil.

Cromer-Campbell is also a member of NETAC (Air Coalition of Northeast Texas) and is currently working on a documentary about environmental injustice.

Here are some citations to fulfill Tammy's character portrait as a very dedicated person in her commitment to making the Earth clean:

“If I could get one message out to the community, I would take small steps toward change,” Cromer-Campbell said. “Little things like going to the grocery store with your bags and not buying bottled water have a big impact.”

    “I would also like to see the industry become socially responsible by looking at the environmental impact of their manufacturing processes and their end products.”

    “And, of course, recycle!”