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About Scott
Scott Parkin (or "Sparki" to his friends) is a grass-roots environmental and peace activist from Houston, Texas. Originally from Dallas, Scott completed his Masters thesis in history, focusing on the origins of the Vietnam War.
A fan of Bob Dylan and the writings of environmental philosopher Daniel Quinn, Scott's interest in social and environmental issues was first sparked at college in the late 80s. The advent of the first Gulf War in 1991 and his experience working at a law firm that provided free legal representation to indigent people in rural Appalachia were also key to Scott's developing social awareness.
Scott is a co-founder of Houston Global Awareness Collective (HGAC), a grassroots social justice group formed in 2001, initially to raise awareness about the destructive impacts of corporate globalisation.
Using "popular education" techniques, such as teach-ins and street theatre, Scott and the other members of HGAC worked to raise awareness of the damaging environmental and social polices of institutions such as the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank. The also organised visits to Houston by human rights activist Jennifer Harbury, food activist Frances Moore Lappe, consumer advocate Ralph Nader and renowned activist and scholar Noam Chomsky.
The ongoing illegal occupation and war in Iraq inspired members of Houston Global Awareness to challenge the giant oil services company Halliburton, headquartered in Houston, and its subsidiary, Kellog Brown and Root (KBR). Halliburton is one of the major corporate beneficiaries of the war in Iraq.
What began in 2003 with small protests outside KBR soon developed into an annual event at Halliburton shareholders meeting, featuring a giant inflatable pig and the Iraq War "cash cow".
Scott was essential in developing Houston Global Awareness' thriving campaign to expose Halliburton's support for the occupation of Iraq. As well as hosting peaceful demonstrations, the group maintained an effective counter-recruitment presence outside Halliburton/KBR, leafleting potential employees with information about Halliburton's involvement in the Iraq war.
"Scott is a stand-up guy. He goes out of his way to help his family and friends and even strangers he has never met. He's very sensitive and compassionate ... Scott would never do anything to intentionally hurt anyone."
- Harbeer Sandhu, friend