HBCU-CBO Gulf Equity Consoritum
The HBCU-CBO Gulf Coast Equity Consortium is designed by Dr. Beverly Wright, Executive Director and Founder of the Deep South Center for Environmental Justice and Dr. Robert Bullard, Distinguished Professor of Urban Planning and Environmental Policy at Texas Southern University.
The goal of the Consortium is to improve the health and lives of children and families in the Gulf Coast Region.
Project Overview
We expect that the work of the HBCU-CBO Gulf Coast Equity Consortium Project will be transformative and will be guided by the nexus of three basic principles forming the foundation for our work.
PRINCIPLE 1
People must speak for themselves.
The first is a mainstay of Environmental Justice work. “People must speak for themselves.” This project is designed to listen to community concerns first and then provide education and training on identified issues preparing community residents to have voice on critical issues.
PRINCIPLE 2
Communiversity
The second guiding principle involves the establishment of equitable partnership with communities; “The Community University Partnership Model”. One such model, “Communiversity” developed by the Deep South Center for Environmental Justice sets guidelines and processes for ensuring an equal voice in the project among community members and researchers.
PRINCIPLE 3
Community-Based Participatory Research
The third guiding principle employs the use of the “Community-Based Participatory Research Model.” This model sets parameters to ensure that the overall project is community-driven and that community-members are substantively involved in the research undertaken. Much care will be taken to remain true to these principles to safeguard the integrity of the project.
Why it matters
We believe that by working with communities in this way – with academics respecting community input –communities can be strengthened.
Ultimately, communities will increase their voices and build their capacity to respond to issues that affect the health and well-being of their children and families. This project is designed with the aim of leaving each community better off than where they were at the start of the project. This means each community will have increased in their capacity to organize, advocate for solutions to the challenges they face concerning environmental health, economic prosperity and social justice issues.
Our Partner Organizations
Gulf Coast Partner Community-Based Organizations:
- Achieving Community Tasks Successfully, Houston, TX
- Clean Healthy Educated Safe and Sustainable (CHESS), Mobile, AL
- Sankofa CDC, New Orleans, LA
- Education, Economics, Environmental Climate, and Health Organization (EEECHO), Gulfport, MS
- Unity in the Family Ministry, Pensacola, FL
Gulf Coast Partner Historically Black Colleges and Universities:
- Alabama A & M University
- Dillard University
- Florida A & M University
- Jackson State University
- Texas Southern University
- Tennessee State University
Funded by:
