Join Us in New Orleans!
At a time when communities need bold leadership more than ever, this conference is where solutions take root.
Register now for an unforgettable week of discovery, collaboration, and action.
2025 Year-End Report
As we close out this year, we’re proud to share how communities, students, and partners across the Gulf South continued rising to meet extraordinary challenges.
Check out our 2025 Year-End Report!
Championing communities from the fencelines to the frontlines since 1992.
Environmental Justice Data Action Portal
Every Zip code reveals a story about
environmental burden.
Find yours.
Founded in 1992, the Deep South Center for Environmental Justice is dedicated to improving the lives of community members of all ages who are harmed by pollution and vulnerable to climate change, through research and policy studies, community and student engagement to impact policy change, and health and safety training for environmental careers.
We are the FIRST Environmental Justice Center in the nation.
We are the FIRST to use GIS mapping to expose environmental racism.
We are the FIRST to bring a Climate Justice Pavilion to the Blue Zone at COP27.
We are the FIRST to develop the EJ Communiversity Model.
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Though Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. wasn't expressly an environmentalist, his words resonate deeply with today's environmental justice movement.
💚 "It really boils down to this: that all life is interrelated. We are all caught in an inescapable network of mutuality, tied ...into a single garment of destiny. Whatever affects one directly, affects all indirectly."
This mirrors a core EJ principle: pollution, climate disruption, and ecological damage in one community ultimately harm everyone, even if the worst burdens fall first on Black, Indigenous, and low-income communities.
⚖️ "Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere. We are caught in an inescapable network of mutuality, tied in a single garment of destiny."
Applied to environmental justice, this frames toxic siting, sacrifice zones, and climate vulnerability in frontline neighborhoods not as isolated local problems but as part of a broader pattern of structural injustice that destabilizes the whole social and ecological fabric.
"Never, never be afraid to do what's right, especially if the well-being of a person or animal is at stake. Society's punishments are small compared to the wounds we inflict on our soul when we look the other way."
This quote underpins moral arguments for resisting harmful projects, enforcing stronger protections, and standing with communities fighting against pollution and ecological harm.
Further, Dr. King's role in the 1968 Memphis sanitation workers' struggle shows him as a labor and economic justice ally standing with low-wage Black workers against dangerous conditions and institutional neglect. Their fight prefigures modern environmental justice campaigns: unsafe, dirty work, unequal exposure to harm, and a city government that saw Black workers as disposable until collective action forced change.
The Memphis story continues to serve as a template: frontline community members naming their own dignity, insisting that their lives and labor matter, and inviting broader movements to stand alongside them.
#EnvironmentalJustice #MLKDay #MLK #CivilRights #ClimateJustice #FrontlineCommunities #EJMovement #SocialJustice #ClimateAction #JusticeForAll
Though Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. wasn't expressly an environmentalist, his words resonate deeply with today's environmental justice movement.🌱⚖️
"It really boils down to this: that all life is interrelated. We are all caught in an inescapable network of mutuality, ...tied into a single garment of destiny. Whatever affects one directly, affects all indirectly."
This mirrors a core EJ principle: pollution, climate disruption, and ecological damage in one community ultimately harm everyone, even if the worst burdens fall first on Black, Indigenous, and low-income communities.
"Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere. We are caught in an inescapable network of mutuality, tied in a single garment of destiny."
Applied to environmental justice, this frames toxic siting, sacrifice zones, and climate vulnerability in frontline neighborhoods not as isolated local problems but as part of a broader pattern of structural injustice that destabilizes the whole social and ecological fabric.
"Never, never be afraid to do what's right, especially if the well-being of a person or animal is at stake. Society's punishments are small compared to the wounds we inflict on our soul when we look the other way."
This quote underpins moral arguments for resisting harmful projects, enforcing stronger protections, and standing with communities fighting against pollution and ecological harm.
Dr. King's role in the 1968 Memphis sanitation workers' struggle shows him as a labor and economic justice ally standing with low-wage Black workers against dangerous conditions and institutional neglect. Their fight prefigures modern environmental justice campaigns: unsafe, dirty work, unequal exposure to harm, and a city government that saw Black workers as disposable until collective action forced change.
The Memphis story continues to serve as a template: frontline workers naming their own dignity, insisting that their lives and labor matter, and inviting broader movements to stand alongside them.
#EnvironmentalJustice #MLKDay #ClimateJustice #CivilRights #FrontlineCommunities #SocialJustice
Did you know that ONE diesel school bus idling for 1 hour creates as much air pollution as smoking 50 cigarettes? 🚌💨
Furthermore, studies show that replacing diesel school buses with electric buses can reduce children's exposure to harmful pollutants and improve respiratory ...health outcomes.
This is just a glimpse of the statistics we learned today regarding school bus emissions and their potential impacts on public health while attending the unveiling of InspireNOLA's brand new fleet of 42 ZERO EMMISSIONS electric school buses. ⚡
We gathered with students, staff, and local leaders to celebrate this environmental win and heard remarks that we couldn't agree with more:
"This is a monumental step forward for the transportation and education sectors."
"These buses will provide safer, more comfortable rides for students across InspireNOLA's network. This means no more diesel fumes, smoother commutes, and a healthier environment for learning every single day."
We commend InspireNOLA Charter Schools for kicking the (gas)can for good and we hope this shining example inspires other school districts to follow suit! 🌱⚜️
Did you know that ONE diesel school bus idling for 1 hour creates as much air pollution as smoking 50 cigarettes? 🚌💨
Furthermore, studies show that replacing diesel school buses with electric buses can reduce children's exposure to harmful pollutants and improve respiratory ...health outcomes.
This is just a glimpse of the statistics we learned today regarding school bus emissions and their potential impacts on public health while attending the unveiling of InspireNOLA's brand new fleet of 42 ZERO EMMISSIONS electric school buses. ⚡
We gathered with students, staff, and local leaders to celebrate this environmental win and heard remarks that we couldn't agree with more:
"This is a monumental step forward for the transportation and education sectors."
"These buses will provide safer, more comfortable rides for students across InspireNOLA's network. This means no more diesel fumes, smoother commutes, and a healthier environment for learning every single day."
We commend @inspirenola for kicking the [gas] can for good and we hope this shining example inspires other school districts to follow suit! 🌱⚜️
📊 We’re hosting a series of Community Data Forums to ensure impacted neighborhoods are informed about local petrochemical facilities.
Our next stop is East Baton Rouge Parish with our partners, Alsen St Irma Lee Community Village. You’ll hear from Dr. Beverly Wright and Dr. Femi ...Adesanya of DSCEJ about proposed facilities and potential impacts to the health of the communities nearby.
Don't miss this informative community event - it's free and open to the public. Light refreshments will be served:
🗓️ Saturday, January 24, 2026
🕒 11:00 AM
📍 Alsen BREC Gym
601 Old Rafe Meyer Road
Baton Rouge, LA 70807
Note to our neighbors: Forums will take place in several high-impact parishes. Keep a close eye on our page for the next location announcement or DM us if you have specific questions!
📊 We’re hosting a series of Community Data Forums to ensure impacted neighborhoods are informed about local petrochemical facilities.
Our next stop is East Baton Rouge Parish with our partners, Alsen St. Irma Lee Community Village. We’ll hear from Dr. Beverly Wright and Dr. Femi ...Adesanya about proposed facilities and potential impacts to the health of the communities nearby.
Don't miss this informative community event - it's free and open to the public. Light refreshments will be served:
🗓️ Saturday, January 24, 2026
🕒 11:00 AM
📍 Alsen BREC Gym
601 Old Rafe Meyer Road
Baton Rouge, LA 70807
Note to our neighbors: Forums will take place in several high-impact parishes. Keep a close eye on our page for the next location announcement or DM us if you have specific questions!
⏰ This is it! Early bird pricing ends tonight at 11:59 PM. Don't miss your chance to join the conversation, connect with changemakers, and save while you're at it.
See you in March!
Today is the LAST DAY for early conference registration. Let us walk you through the math: Early bird discount = more budget for the stuff that matters (yes, we mean beignets) 💸
Swipe through last year's highlights and tell us you don't want in. 🤩
Register now at ...the link in our bio and see us in New Orleans, March 18 - 22, 2026 ⚜️
☀️ The early bird gets the discount! There are only a couple days left to save on your spot at the 11th Annual HBCU Climate Change Conference.
Lock in your discounted rate before it flies away. 🦅
Register by Friday, January 9, 2026 → 🔗 in bio.
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