No Fear

July 4, 2011
In this sprawling memoirâcumâpolitical exposé, Coleman-Adebayo, a former senior policy analyst at the EPA, describes her ascendance to the top ranks of the federal agency, and the hostility and harassment that compelled her to speak out against the unfair treatment she received. After spearheading the EPA's involvement in the 1995 World Conference on Women in Beijing, Coleman-Adebayo was selected to run the Gore-Mbeki Commission, a high-profile assignment that aimed to improve the living and working conditions of South Africans in the postapartheid era. The American experts and South African leaders quickly discovered extensive exploitation of South African vanadium mine workers, many of whom were suffering from exposure to the radioactive substance. But when African-American scholar Coleman-Adebayo tried to take action, her efforts were stymied from within the EPA. Eventually, Coleman-Adebayo was removed from her post despite her outstanding record. Alleging the firing was retribution for her complaints, Coleman-Adebayo fought the agency in court, winning her case and spurring the creation of the No FEAR Act, which now protects whistle-blowers within the federal government. The story weaves personal reflection, policy discussions, court transcripts, and legislative maneuverings, making for an engaging if occasionally dry narrative of a public servant's rise and fall and eventual triumph.

July 1, 2011

Coleman-Adebayo's memoir recounts the legal battle culminating in the 2002 No FEAR Act, "the first civil-rights and whistleblower act of the 21st century."

Steeped in the history of the civil-rights and women's movements and blessed with a keen intellect, the author earned degrees from Barnard College, Columbia University and MIT. In 1990, she was on track toward a promising career with the EPA, considered one of the most progressive federal agencies. However, Coleman-Adebayo soon sensed that all was not well. Pay discrepancies ran along racial and gender lines, and white men dominated the ranks of the executives. During a trip to South Africa as a member of the Gore-Mbeki Commission, the author witnessed the "systematic, verifiable, environmentally devastating" effects of vanadium mining, a metal considered strategic by the CIA. She was quickly stymied by her superiors in her efforts at solving the South African environmental issues. Once she reported her belief that "the EPA [was] covering up crimes...being committed by an American multinational corporation against the people of South Africa," to the Washington Post, she became a whistleblower. Workplace retaliation was swift, resulting in her filing a complaint against the EPA. Weaving together her personal records with the transcript of the federal civil trial, in which she prevailed, the author provides an insider view of the legal tactics used at the highest level of government. Coleman-Adebayo also recounts the shenanigans surrounding the subsequent hearings and the strenuous political process involved in the unanimous passage in both houses of Congress of the No FEAR Act.

Though the narrative bogs down in a large cast of characters, this is an inspiring and worthwhile trek through one woman's brave battle against a system favoring the powerful.

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