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.
