Deep South Center For Environmental Justice

Founded in 1992 by Dr. Beverly Wright, our organization has been at the forefront of advancing environmental justice for over three decades. We empower marginalized communities along the Mississippi River Chemical Corridor and Gulf Coast Region through research, education, and health and safety training programs. Our innovative Communiversity Model fosters equitable partnerships between communities and academic institutions, ensuring grassroots voices shape policy and research agendas. With a proven track record of training thousands of workers for environmental careers and achieving 85% job placement, we combine rigorous certification programs with life skills development. As pioneers of the first Environmental Justice Center in the U.S., we continue to lead national initiatives like the HBCU Climate Change Consortium while maintaining collaborative relationships with 31 Historically Black Colleges and Universities.

Our work addresses systemic inequities through capacity-building projects, disaster response frameworks, and water justice training that have withstood hurricanes, oil spills, and pandemics. We maintain our status as a trusted authority through transparent partnerships with government agencies, philanthropies, and academic institutions while upholding our founding principle: communities most affected by environmental harm must lead the solutions.