In collaboration with the Rural Beacon Initiative, this collection represents the collective knowledge and experiences of environmental justice advocates and allies across the region. 

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The Gulf South has historically sat as a sacrifice zone for legacy pollution from the oil and gas industry. Houston, Texas, now further threatened by climate-caused severe weather, has contended with the cumulative impacts of toxic waste dumps, petrochemical facilities, and displacement from highway construction. In New Orleans, Louisiana the unprecedented destructive Hurricane Katrina in 2005 and the subsequent lack of government response, “Cancer Alley” a stretch of petrochemical facilities that results in air pollution that disproportionately impacts low-income and Black communities, and substantial coastal land loss. This mini-collection spotlights the experiences, cultures, and protests of several Gulf South residents and activists. 

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Union Hill is a community in Buckingham County, Virginia that was settled by formerly enslaved peoples. In 2013, this historically Black community started what would be a 7 year protest against the placement of the Atlantic Coast Pipeline (ACP) in the middle of their neighborhood. Their consistent protest and advocacy for historical preservation status for the community led to the ACP’s cancellation, a major win for the Environmental Justice Movement. Today, Union Hill continues to fight against industry-caused environmental harm, a collective that refuses to yield to continued government and corporate disenfranchisement.

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