Championing communities from the fencelines to the frontlines.
The DSCEJ provides opportunities for communities, decision-makers, and scientific researchers to collaborate on programs and projects that promote the rights of all people to be free from environmental harm as it impacts health, jobs, housing, education, and general quality of life.
We are shaping the future for climate-vulnerable communities to thrive in a healthy and just environment.
The Deep South Center for Environmental Justice (DSCEJ) was founded by Dr. Beverly Wright in 1992 in collaboration with community environmental groups and other universities within the Southern region to advance environmental justice. Since this time, the Center has become a powerful resource for environmental justice research, education, as well as health and safety training for environmental careers.
A Message from our Founder & Executive Director
In the early 90s, I was contacted by a group of concerned community members in Louisiana who lived in close proximity to industrial facilities and were experiencing a variety of health issues and other concerns. They asked if I could help them organize and present their concerns to the U.S. Commission on Civil Rights at an Environmental Equity hearing.
I visited the community, which was located in a place we now call Cancer Alley, listened to their stories and bore witness to their concerns.
I said yes to their request for help and I have never looked back.
I founded the Deep South Center for Environmental Justice in 1992 to serve communities like this one. Since that initial ask, we have continued to say yes to communities within the Gulf South and throughout the nation when they’ve asked for assistance in demanding environmental justice. For 33 years, DSCEJ has grown from a small but mighty handful of staff members that worked tirelessly to provide help to EJ communities, to a globally-recognized organization that has impacted thousands of people all over the world.
The Center provides opportunities for communities, scientific researchers, and decision-makers to collaborate on projects that promote the rights of all people to be free from environmental harm as it impacts health, jobs, housing, education, and quality of life. Our work is centered on education, research, community and student engagement, as well as health and safety training for environmental careers. We strive every day to build the capacities of community-based organizations to advance environmental justice and equitable climate solutions.
We invite any person with the honor and responsibility of holding public office to meet with us to learn about the achievements we have made and to see first-hand the challenges our communities face here in the Gulf South. Once you come and witness these challenges for yourself, it is hard to deny that they exist.
This is not the life I’d imagined or planned for myself after earning my PhD in Sociology. In the quest to carve out a career for yourself, sometimes you find a calling instead. I entered the world of environmental justice in response to a community’s outcry for help. Today, there is no shortage of similar groups of concerned citizens asking for help when they realize their fundamental right to live in a healthy environment and have equal access to the decision-making process that affects that environment has been violated.
DSCEJ’s commitment to environmental justice has remained constant during the terms of five presidents and their administrations, dozens of environmental statutes and policies, as well as community victories and setbacks. We have known the hope of promises made, the joy of promises kept and the bitterness of promises broken.
The mission of DSCEJ remains constant and our response to overburdened environmental justice communities will remain the same, especially in uncertain times:
Yes, we see you. Yes, we will listen to you. Yes, we believe you. Yes, we will help you.
Center Highlights
Empowering Cancer Alley Communities Through Data & Transparency
In 2023, DSCEJ released The More Things Change, the More They Remain the Same, updating its landmark mapping of toxic pollution in Louisiana’s Cancer Alley and highlighting that Black communities continue to face disproportionate risks. Building on its Communiversity Model, DSCEJ launched the Toxins Harm Health campaign and website, which has reached over 2.6 million people. Complementing these efforts, the Environmental Justice Data Action Portal (EJ DAP) provides accessible, ZIP-code–level data on chemicals, demographics, and health indicators. Together, these initiatives translate complex science into actionable evidence, enabling residents, advocates, and policymakers to track pollution, assess health risks, and demand accountability.
Water Justice Program
Launched in 2021, DSCEJ’s Water Justice Program builds community capacity to advance equitable stormwater and flood management in Black, climate-vulnerable neighborhoods. Through the Water Justice Training Institute, funded in part by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, 19 community-based organizations (and counting) have completed intensive training, gaining both technical expertise and organizing skills to shape local flood policy. In June 2025, DSCEJ held a Water Justice Convening in New Orleans attended by community leaders from across the Gulf South who are driving solutions to the interconnected issues of flooding and water contamination. The convening created space for us to honor the immeasurable value of water and celebrate dedicated community leaders who have honed advocacy skills through previous years in our training. Together, these efforts are strengthening grassroots advocacy and embedding racial equity into flood planning across the Gulf Coast.
Power to the People
In 2024, DSCEJ launched the Power to the People Coalition to help communities understand transmission planning, renewable energy, and climate-ready housing. Through workshops and trainings, including the Staying Power: Generating Resilient Communities series in 2025, approximately 40 CBOs from 13 states learned strategies for home fortification, energy efficiency, and advocacy.
The coalition provides tools such as policy guides and educational materials to support community-led projects and funding opportunities. Campaigns like People Over Pollution further amplify these efforts. This project is funded by the David and Lucile Packard Foundation, Erol Foundation, and U.S. Energy Foundation.
Louisiana Gulf Coast Grantmaking Project
Launched in October 2024, the Louisiana Gulf Coast Grantmaking Project (LGCGP) empowers environmental justice community-based organizations across the Gulf South by providing $1.82 million in competitive regrants to approximately 24 selected organizations. Awards ranging from $50,000 to $100,000 will support efforts addressing water quality, pollution, watershed protection, and climate change mitigation.
To ensure grantees are well-prepared, 31 CBOs have received over 40 hours of technical assistance, including expert-led trainings, information sessions, and one-on-one support. Through these combined resources, LGCGP strengthens local capacity to tackle pressing environmental challenges and advance justice-focused solutions. This program is funded by the EPA.
Every Zip Code Tells a Story. What's Yours?
To put data directly into community hands, DSCEJ launched the Environmental Justice Data Action Portal (EJ DAP) in November 2024. Designed to empower communities and policymakers alike, the EJ DAP is a user-friendly platform offering ZIP-code queries and data on 150+ chemicals alongside demographic and health indicators.
This tool allows our Citizen Scientists to translate complex science into accessible evidence that residents, advocates, and policymakers can use to identify pollution sources, document health risk, and demand accountability. This project was made possible by a grant from the Windward Fund.
Center Highlights
HBCU Environmental & Climate Justice Corps Summer Internship
Launched in 2022 and supported by the Waverley Street Foundation, the HBCU Environmental Justice and Climate Corps Summer Internship engages HBCU students in experiential learning that strengthens both their academic development and the resilience of Gulf Coast partner communities.
Our interns work alongside community-based organizations in cities including Pensacola, Mobile, Gulfport, New Orleans, and Baton Rouge, where they research local environmental justice concerns, co-designed research-to-action projects, and advanced community priorities. The program provides stipends and mentorship while grounding students in the intersection of climate change, systemic racism, and community survival, ensuring they emerge as both advocates and scholars prepared to carry forward the fight for environmental justice.
Our JOY is our strength!
The 10th Anniversary HBCU Climate Change Conference, co-convened in New Orleans by DSCEJ and the Bullard Center at Texas Southern University, brought together 481 HBCU students, faculty, researchers, and community leaders from March 5–9, 2025. Centered on the theme “The Unjust Costs of Climate Change,” the conference created space to reflect on progress while strategizing for the future of climate resilience.
Sessions spanned climate science, adaptation, energy justice, green jobs, and just transition, bridging academic expertise with the lived experiences of communities on the frontlines of climate change. The conference also engaged local high school students through interactive climate science workshops, ensuring that younger generations are inspired and equipped to join the movement. Together, these gatherings strengthen the role of HBCUs as hubs for climate justice leadership and innovation
Environmental Justice Storytellers Internship Project
Through the Environmental Justice Digital Storytellers Internship, funded by a $1.25 million, five-year grant from the National Academies of Science, Engineering, and Medicine (NASEM), DSCEJ equips Gulf Coast high school students to become climate journalists and digital media creators. Since its inception, students have partnered with community-based organizations to document the lived experiences of frontline communities disproportionately impacted by pollution and climate change.
Over the nine month long internship, students participate in workshops on environmental justice, climate science, and digital storytelling, culminating in presentations of their films at a public event. By blending technical training with hands-on community engagement, the program cultivates the next generation of leaders who can powerfully amplify the voices of communities most at risk.
Center Highlights
A Time for Righteous Investment
In 2021, President Biden established the Justice40 Initiative, a whole-of-government effort to ensure that Federal agencies work with states and local communities to deliver at least 40 percent of the overall benefits from Federal investments in climate and clean energy to disadvantaged communities.
DSCEJ and partner organization, the Bullard Center for Environmental and Climate Justice at Texas Southern University, launched an Activating Justice40 Community Engagement Project to build the capacity of communities through education and training.
Breathing Data, Demanding Change: Community-Led Air Quality Solutions
In 2024, DSCEJ advanced its shift from mapping to monitoring by installing five community air monitors across St. John the Baptist Parish, providing residents with real-time data on pollutants like PM2.5 and VOCs to strengthen advocacy and enforcement efforts. These findings informed national policy milestones, including EPA’s new hazardous emissions standards, and guided local action during DSCEJ’s December Data Deep-Dive Day and the relaunch of the Pathway to Community Recovery campaign.
In 2025, DSCEJ partnered with the Environmental Defense Fund to host an AirPen Training, equipping community members with cutting-edge tools and hands-on skills to track air pollution and understand its health risks. Together, these initiatives empower residents with both data and training to hold polluters accountable and advocate for safer, healthier environments.
Community Investment Recovery Center
DSCEJ launched the CIRC (Community Investment Recovery Center) to provide direct services to community-based organizations (CBOs) and Tribal communities through capacity building, technical assistance, and training.
Our service area spans 13 states and 73 Tribes. Our goal is to assist 250 CBOs in applying for $50-100 million in grants over a 5-year period. We are committed to strengthening community resilience and environmental justice.
NBEJN
Uniting Communities to Confront Environmental Injustice and Shape a Sustainable Future
Since its relaunch in 2020, NBEJN has deepened its national network and amplified the voices of Black communities on the frontlines of environmental justice. Key efforts include launching the Environmental Justice Memory Quilt, hosting national events on climate grief and Carbon Dioxide Waste Injection, and mobilizing members in an Earth Day march against pollution in Chester, PA.
With $175,000 in new grant funding and a new regional engagement model, NBEJN is strengthening grassroots connections and advancing equitable access to federal EJ investments.
By the Numbers
years of evidence based research, advocacy, student engagement and community empowerment
in subawards to be distributed by DSCEJ to approximately 24 CBOs through the LGCGP.
new grant funding secured by NBEJN from Mosaic and Tides Mosaic to support member engagement and equitable distribution of federal EJ investments.
applications received for 2024 Worker Training Program — the highest ever.
attendees at the HBCU 10th Anniversary Climate Change Conference in New Orleans.
attendees engaged through national CCS teach-in and climate grief webinar.
community-based organizations trained and supported nationwide.
college and graduate students engaged through our various offerings
average job placement rate for graduates of the Worker Training Program.
public forums, hearings, and marches supporting frontline EJ campaigns.
tribes served through the Community Investment Recovery Center (CIRC)
states served through the Community Investment Recovery Center (CIRC)
GRANTS & FUNDING
Thank you for making a difference.
Communities on the frontlines of pollution and environmental injustice are often the least heard, but are the most affected. At DSCEJ, we fight for environmental justice by partnering with local leaders and community stakeholders, challenging harmful policies, and ensuring every person, regardless of race, income, or ZIP code, has the right to clean air, safe water, and a healthy future.
The support of our funders and donors powers this work. We thank you for your commitment to environmental justice.
Interested in Partnering With Us?
DSCEJ is dedicated to creating a more equitable and sustainable future for all. By partnering with us, funders can directly support initiatives that lead to cleaner air and water, healthier communities, and increased access to green spaces for those most impacted by environmental injustice. Your investment will help us amplify the voices of frontline communities and drive meaningful, lasting change.
Please reach out to:
Michelle Wales, MPA
Director of Development & Grants Management
michellew@dscej.org