Deep South Center for Environmental Justice

The Deep South Center for Environmental Justice is dedicated to improving the lives of children and families harmed by pollution and vulnerable to climate change in the Gulf Coast Region through research, education, community and student engagement for policy change, as well as health and safety training for environmental careers. Shaping the future for children and families in the Gulf Coast Region 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.

The DSCEJ 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 a general quality of life. A major goal of the Center continues to be the development of leaders in communities of color along the Mississippi River Chemical Corridor and the broader Gulf Coast Region that are disproportionately harmed by pollution and vulnerable to climate change.

The Deep South Center for Environmental Justice was formerly affiliated with Xavier University and Dillard University, two historically Black universities in New Orleans, Louisiana. Recently, the Center’s leadership restructured the organization to be a fully independent, nonprofit entity in order to rise to the unique challenges of climate change facing communities of color and poor communities in the South. The Center continues to maintain and grow collaborative relationships with HBCUs in Louisiana and around the country.

Since its inception, the DSCEJ has garnered numerous grants to support innovative projects in the areas of research, education, capacity-building, public advocacy, and training designed for communities, workers, as well as K-12 and college students to achieve environmental justice.