The 4th of July has always represented many things to many people. As we celebrated, reflecting on the holiday’s history and its evolving significance in our nation was important. Holidays like this have developed multiple meanings, from American liberation to slavery liberation. In addition to the historical and cultural implications, these celebrations also presented a […]
Today, let us pause and honor the indomitable spirit of Emelda Jones West, a revered figure hailing from Convent, Louisiana. Emelda was, above all, a devoted mother, grandmother, sister, aunt, and community leader. Married to Melvin West in 1945, she was blessed with seven children: Yolanda, Harrison, Kevin Paul, Glenn, Charmaine, Sebastian, and Terrance. For […]
Air Products wants to build a hydrogen and ammonia plant in Burnside, Louisiana, on the former Orange Grove Plantation once owned by John Burnside who by 1860 enslaved over 750 people on his sugar plantations in the town named after him. Records recently obtained from the Louisiana Division of Archeology show that Air Products […]
In 2018 Sharon Lavigne was just an every-day special education teacher at St. James High School who was tired of the foul odors in her St. James Parish neighborhood when she decided to make the leap to environmental justice advocate. When my daughter told me that a $1.2 billion plant might be built two miles […]
For two years Tulane University's First Amendment Law Clinic, providing representation for the group, has argued that the town's bond requirement was a violation of the First Amendment.
On Wednesday, Louisiana's 19th Judicial District Court vacated the air permits issued to Formosa Plastics for its proposed petrochemical complex in St. James Parish. The move is a reversal of the Louisiana Department of Environmental Quality's decision to issue the permits and a win for local activists working against environmental racism throughout the region.
Over a thousand people joined together from Texas, Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama, Florida, and Puerto Rico on Saturday, June 4 for the Gulf Gathering for Climate Justice and Joy in Baton Rouge to hear stories from communities fighting against the oil and gas industry as well as take part in workshops centered around identifying strategies to […]
Rise St. James President Sharon Lavigne, winner of the 2020 Goldman Prize, recently wrote a poignant letter to President Joe Biden requesting an in-person meeting this week. She talked frankly about what a home means, not just in terms of brick and mortar, but of the toil and sacrifice that goes into creating it and […]
The Louisiana Department of Natural Resources (LDNR) released a decision on September 7th to officially reconsider a coastal-use permit (CUP) application for a grain terminal in Wallace, Louisiana. The decision is signed by Thomas F. Harris, secretary of the Department of Natural Resources. The decision comes as a success to the applicants for reconsideration […]
A press conference was held August 23rd in Wallace by the community organization, Stop the Wallace Grain Elevator, voicing opposition and demands in response to a proposed grain terminal in Wallace, Louisiana. Representatives from the Center for Constitutional Rights, Tulane Environmental Law Clinic, RISE St. James, and Louisiana Bucket Brigade were in attendance. The grain […]
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