Earth First! and “Mud People” present a check to the 1990 Earth Day Committee in St. Louis, Missouri’s Forest Park. Monsanto was the main sponsor of the event.

The April 22 action was the featured story on the evening news of the St. Louis NBC affiliate with a reporter attempting to interview a mud person. An Earth First! “translator” fielded the reporter’s questions in English and then translated to the mud person in mud language; the mud person responded in mud language and then the Earth! First! translator gave the answer to the reporter.

To the delight and fright of children and their parents, the mud people made fun of the corporate sponsor of the event.

NOTE: It was a spectacle even the Yippies! would have approved. In fact, in 1970, twenty years prior to this protest, the Yippies! held a ‘Festival of Life’ in Forest Park. The week-long event drew an estimated 4,000 people who listened to live music amongst other activities. Yippies! (Youth International Party) were a counterculture phenomenon of the 60s and 70s, that opposed the Vietnam War and the dominant culture of the U.S. with humor–using pranks, guerilla theatre, pie throwing and marijuana.

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 This year Global Justice Ecology Project is celebrating our 20th Anniversary.  As part of this year-long celebration, we will be posting photos by co-founder Orin Langelle, Director of Langelle Photography, documenting different aspects and achievements of GJEP over those 20 years, as well as photos from events and activities beginning 30 years ago in 1993 that led to the formation of Global Justice Ecology Project ten years later.