Clean Air

West End Revitalization Association (WERA) promotes positive measurable change in communities of color, in the pursuit of climate and environmental justice, led by people of color with lived experience, through collaboration with community members, stakeholders, and all levels of public leadership.

WERA was founded in 1995 to protect the historically Black and Indigenous communities of West End and White Level in Mebane, NC from targeted destruction resulting from the NCDOT 119-Bypass/Overpass construction project. We work to support communities of color in Alamance, Orange, and Durham Counties and beyond through climate and environmental protection, popular education, and community leadership.
Our strategy for accomplishing our mission includes advocating for access to basic public amenities and equitable infrastructure for impacted communities, empowering people to address institutional racism that fosters social inequity, advocating for a just transition to renewable energy, using the WERA Community Owned and Managed Research (COMR) model to implement positive change, and increasing community involvement in impactful legislation at local, state, and federal levels. We are a BIPOC-led (Black, Indigenous, people of color) organization that believes in equity and the inclusion and humanity of all marginalized people. WERA’s work is grounded in Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, federal public health statutes, and The Principles of Environmental Justice.

The West Atlanta Watershed Alliance began as an effort to stop discriminatory wastewater treatment practices in West Atlanta. Today WAWA exists to protect greenspace and water quality in the West Atlanta watershed basins of Proctor, Utoy and Sandy Creek. WAWA also educates residents about environmental justice issues in the Georgia community.

The mission of the Tallahassee Food Network, Inc. is to grow community-based food systems that will provide healthy, affordable food for all. TFNI’s vision is an educated world that has access to food that is healthy, green, fair, accessible, and affordable.

THE IMANI GROUP, INC. collaborates with agencies, colleges/ universities, businesses and faith organizations to develop and implement holistic programs that heal the scars of society. Its key areas of focus are community building, grassroots organizing, criminal justice reform, environmental justice and youth leadership development.

Texas Environmental Justice Advocacy Services (t.e.j.a.s.) is dedicated to providing community members with the tools necessary to create sustainable, environmentally healthy communities by educating individuals on health concerns and implications arising from environmental pollution, empowering individuals with an understanding of applicable environmental laws and regulations and promoting their enforcement, and offering community building skills and resources for effective community action and greater public participation.

The mission of Sowing Justice is to utilize Environmental Justice principles to increase civic engagement beyond voting with organizing tools and resources. We provide resources and tools to empower engagement and implement local, state, and federal policies that foster healthy and safe communities where people live, learn, work, worship, and recreate. Our resources and tools foster high information civilly engaged communities that seek transparency and accountability of decision-making processes. Our vision is to use citizen science and voter registration to increase civic engagement to address environmental racism and injustice and to increase advocacy to support policies that create a legacy of clean air, water, and soil right now and for generations to come.

The mission of the Southeast CARE Coalition is to fulfill an information void and to generate action regarding environmental and public health concerns.

South Bronx Unite works to achieve environmental, health, and social justice in the Mott Haven – Port Morris section of the South Bronx through community organizing, advocacy, and research. We envision a South Bronx where everyone is thriving because we have: equal access to clean air and nutritious food; truly affordable and quality housing; good health care; jobs with livable wages; justice in public safety and policing; resources to nurture arts and culture; people’s centers; open green spaces; good schools with adequate resources; and community-led decisions for public policy.

Our mission is to bring attention to the community led solutions in resistance to chemical exposures, environmental toxins, environmental racism and ecological destruction- all of which negatively impact the health and well-being of fenceline communities.

PODER (People Organized in Defense of Earth and Her Resources) is a women led, people of color grassroots social justice organization formed in 1991 to increase the participation of residents of East Austin in decisions related to the economic development and environmental protection of our communities. Our mission is to redefine environmental issues as social and economic justice issues, and collectively set our own agenda to address these concerns as basic human rights. We seek to empower our communities through education, advocacy and action.

People for Community Recovery was founded in 1979 by Hazel Johnson, known as the mother of the environmental justice movement. PCR’s mission is to enhance the quality of life of residents affected by environmental pollution.  PCR educates the public, advocates for policy and program changes and coordinates services on issues of the environment, education, health, housing, safety, and economic equity.

North Carolina Environmental Justice Network (NCEJN) is a grassroots, people of color-led coalition of community organizations and their supporters who work with low income communities and people of color on issues of climate, environmental, racial, and social injustice.

The NC Climate Justice Collective cultivates a multi-racial, intergenerational grassroots movement ecosystem to address the root causes of climate change. Using popular education and cultural organizing, we ignite social transformation. We center all our work in the leadership of youth, Black, Indigenous and people of color, women, low wealth people, and LGBTQI+ people to create strategic alignment. We are bringing an end to fracked gas infrastructure, coal ash pollution, industrial agriculture and forest destruction while planting the seeds of a life-sustaining, regenerative society.

The National Black Environmental Justice Network (NBEJN) was founded in 1999 to address environmental and health disparities in Black American communities. Formed by Black activists from across the U.S., the NBEJN created a national action plan to combat these issues. Relaunched in 2020, following the murder of George Floyd, NBEJN provides a dedicated space for Black Environmental Justice leaders, organizations, and communities. Focused on youth engagement, raising awareness of pollution’s health impacts, and challenging discriminatory environmental policies, NBEJN continues to grow as a vital network addressing environmental, racial, and economic justice for Black communities globally.

The New Jersey Environmental Justice Alliance (NJEJA) is an alliance of New Jersey-based organizations and individuals committed to working together to create healthy, sustainable, and just communities by eliminating environmental injustices in low-income and communities of color. Together, we support and work with communities through local, state, and national policy development, targeted campaigns and organizing, education, advocacy, training and workforce development, and technical assistance focused on critical environmental justice issues.

NJEJA is not only geographically diverse but is also the only statewide environmental organization in New Jersey that has a majority of people of color in its membership and leadership. This diversity is one of NJEJA’s most important assets and allows us to bring a unique perspective to issues that is otherwise often absent in mainstream environmental policy discussions within New Jersey and the nation.

The Land Loss Prevention Project (LLPP) is a non-profit public interest organization providing comprehensive legal services and technical support to North Carolina’s financially distressed and limited resource farmers and landowners seeking to preserve their farms, homes, land and rural livelihoods. The LLPP protects vulnerable landowners from land loss and environmental degradation through legal representation and outreach statewide and empowers farmers to access business resources including credit in a timely manner.

Kingdom Living Temple is a faith-based organization that addresses climate change, economic development and environmental justice issues. Its work takes place in communities in South Carolina, nationally and globally.

Jesus People Against Pollution is a non-profit, faith-based environmental and climate justice organization formed in January 1992. It exists to obtain environmental justice for residents of Columbia, MS who have been exposed to more than 175 toxic chemicals. JPAP is pursuing long-term, sustainable environmental primary health care services, better housing in a cleaner and greener environment, equal and just compensation for all the damages and environmental degradation that have occurred in this community.

Established in 1990, the Indigenous Environmental Network was formed by community-based American Indian, Alaska Natives and First Nations of Canada, including youth, women, elders and traditional indigenous societies, to address environmental, economic, climate, energy and food justice issues in North America. IEN uses the frame of INDIGENOUS RISING recognizing Indigenous Peoples rising for systemic change that involves challenging humanity to re-evaluate its relationship to the sacredness of Mother Earth and Father Sky. This involves taking action towards Just Transition and Indigenous-based Green New Deal policies and building the cultural, spiritual, social, economic and political POWER of Native Nations/Indigenous Peoples under the principles of Self-Determination, Free, Prior and Informed Consent and implementation of Treaty Rights and the UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples.

The mission of The Harambee House/CFEJ is to provide relevant and timely training in the areas of environmental protection, ecological sustainability, and community education to ensure that all citizens live in and maintain healthy cities and neighborhoods.

Wisconsin Green Muslims, a statewide grassroots environmental justice group formed in 2005, intends to educate the Muslim community and the public about the Islamic environmental justice teachings, to apply these teachings in daily life and to contribute to coalitions and collaborations working toward a just, healthy, peaceful and sustainable future.

** Celebrating 20 Years (in 2025)… Connecting Faith, Environmental Justice, Sustainability, and Healing through Education and Service **

Wisconsin Green Muslims is a nonprofit program hosted by the Center for Community Stewardship (Fiscal Sponsor), a 501(c)3 nonprofit.

The Deep South Center for Environmental Justice (DSCEJ) works to advance environmental justice and sustainable development in vulnerable communities, particularly those in the Gulf Coast region. Through education, training, community engagement, and research, DSCEJ empowers individuals and communities to address environmental inequities and build resilience against environmental hazards. The organization is dedicated to fostering equity and ensuring that marginalized communities have a voice in shaping environmental policies and solutions.

Duwamish River Community Coalition monitors the cleanup of the Duwamish River in Seattle, Washington. Beyond monitoring the cleanup of the Duwamish River, DRCC elevates the voices of those impacted by the Duwamish River pollution and other environmental injustices for a clean, healthy, equitable environment for people and wildlife. We promote place-keeping and prioritize community capacity and resilience.

The Environmental Justice Health Alliance for Chemical Policy Reform (EJHA) is a national collective of grassroots Environmental and Economic Justice groups located throughout the United States. Along with our partners, we support a diverse movement towards safe chemicals and a pollution-free economy that leaves no community or worker behind. EJHA organizes direct engagement in industry reform strategies by grassroots organizations in frontline communities to promote just outcomes. EJHA hosts a network and policy platform engaging organizations and individuals in advocacy for communities that are disproportionately impacted by toxic chemicals, from legacy contaminated sites, from ongoing exposure to polluting facilities, and from toxic chemicals in consumer products. The EJHA network model features leadership of, by, and for local Environmental Justice groups with participation and support by additional allied groups.

The mission of the Green Door Initiative is to ensure that everyone is environmentally literate and capable of promoting and living a sustainable lifestyle. The work of Green Door Initiative is grounded in securing environmental justice for vulnerable Detroit residents who are entitled to equal environmental protection under the law. Green Door Initiative works passionately for clean air, safe drinking water and access to green jobs, and are developing youth leadership in environmental advocacy.

GreenLatinos is an active community of Latino/a/x leaders, emboldened by the power and wisdom of our culture, united to demand equity and dismantle racism, resourced to win our environmental, conservation, and climate justice battles, and driven to secure our political, economic, cultural, and environmental liberation. Our vision is a healthy and equitable society where communities of color are liberated from disproportionate environmental burdens, free to breathe fresh air, drink pure water, access clean transportation, and enjoy majestic public lands, oceans, and waters.

The Alaska Community Action on Toxics (ACAT) is a statewide environmental health and justice research and advocacy organization. ACAT believes everyone has a right to clean air and water and toxic-free foods. Driven by a core belief in environmental justice, ACAT empowers communities to eliminate exposure to toxic chemicals through collaborative research, shared science, education, organizing, and advocacy. ACAT works to eliminate the production and release of harmful chemicals by industry and military sources; ensure the public right-to-know; achieve policies based on the precautionary principle; and support the rights of Indigenous peoples.

Working in collaboration with grassroots communities, policy makers and researchers, CEED conducts research and provides community education on important energy, environment, and development issues – so that all members of society may effectively participate in public decision-making.

The Community In-Power & Development Association, Inc. empowers residents in low-income communities in Port Arthur, Texas to take action against neighboring chemical manufacturers, refineries and incinerator facilities. CIDA also works to transform dilapidated and underserved areas into desirable communities that have a strong economic base.

The mission of the Connecticut Coalition for Environmental Justice is to protect the health and welfare of urban centers by supporting efforts to reduce fossil power emissions in a responsible manner.