The South Ward Environmental Alliance (SWEA) is a coalition of residents and community-based organizations committed to advancing environmental justice in Newark’s South Ward. SWEA’s mission is to build healthy, vibrant neighborhoods by ensuring residents are informed, empowered, and engaged in decisions that affect their health and environment. Through advocacy, education, and community-driven research, SWEA works to reduce pollution, promote sustainability, and strengthen resident leadership. Rooted in the belief that every person, regardless of race, neighborhood, or income, deserves access to a clean and safe community, SWEA unites partners and residents under one vision: One Ward | United for Environmental Justice.
Clean Water
Focus Area: Clean Water
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Michigan Green Muslims
Mackinaw, Michigan
Michigan Green Muslims, a volunteer grassroots environmental justice group formed in 2024, 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.
The Environmental Health Coalition
National City, California
The Environmental Health Coalition works to confront the unjust consequences of toxic pollution, discriminatory land use, and climate change in the San Diego/Tijuana region. Founded in 1980, EHC organizes and advocates through leadership development and community organizing.
Just Transition Alliance
San Diego, California
The Just Transition Alliance builds alignment at the intersection of environmental and economic justice and labor, so that frontline workers and fenceline communities can organize just transition pathways away from dangerous, extractive systems and towards local, healthy and regenerative economies.
https://nacla.org/panama-belem-grassroots-demands-real-just-transition/
https://ejagainstplastics.org/worker-community-solidarity-in-the-struggle-for-a-zero-waste-future/
Little Village Environmental Justice Organization
Chicago, Illinois
The mission of LVEJO is to organize with our community to accomplish environmental justice in Little Village and achieve the self-determination of immigrant, low-income, and working-class families. The vision of LVEJO is to build a sustainable community that promotes the healthy development of youth and families, provides economic justice, and practices participatory democracy and self-determination.
Los Jardines
Albuquerque,, New Mexico
The purpose of Los Jardines InstituteTM (The Gardens Institute) is to build and support healthy and sustainable communities and workplaces. It does this by creating opportunities that promote multigenerational learning, sharing and movement building.
Recycle and Reinvest
Nashville, Tennessee
Based in Nashville, TN, Recycle And Reinvest empowers justice-impacted youth and underserved communities through educational and art-based programs focused on sustainability. By offering job readiness opportunities, the organization helps cultivate future leaders dedicated to environmental and social change.
Seven Directions of Service
Mebane, North Carolina
7 Directions of Service (7DS) is an Indigenous-led organization rooted in environmental justice and grassroots power, operating on the ancestral homelands of the Occaneechi-Saponi in rural North Carolina.
Our mission is to protect Sacred Places, advocate for the legal recognition of Rights of Nature, and establish a land, language, and cultural center grounded in traditional Yesah teachings. Through educational and cultural programming, community projects and civic engagement, 7DS is an essential force of coalition-building and cultural shift towards environmental justice and Indigenous visions of the future.
We are committed to serving as a powerful voice for the lands, waters, and the interconnected more-than-human world.
Kentuckians for the Commonwealth
Lexington, Kentucky
KFTC is a community of people inspired by a vision of a thriving society where people are free from oppression and where racial, economic and environmental justice exists for all. Guided by Black, Indigenous, People of Color, and others directly impacted by oppression, KFTC organizes Kentuckians to dismantle racism, reimagine democracy, and transform the future of our Commonwealth.
https://www.democracydocket.com/cases/kentucky-voter-purge-challenge/
West End Revitalization Association
Mebane, North Carolina
The West End Revitalization Association works to improve the quality of life for low income and minority residents in Mebane, North Carolina. It was founded in 1994 and is the first and only community development organization in Alamance County.
https://www.selc.org/news/were-teaming-up-to-fight-federal-attacks-on-clean-transportation/
West Atlanta Watershed Alliance
Atlanta, Georgia
The West Atlanta Watershed Alliance, founded to fight discriminatory wastewater practices, now works to protect greenspace and water quality in West Atlanta’s watershed basins and educate residents on environmental justice issues.
https://atlanta.capitalbnews.org/wawa-community-spotlight/
https://news.gatech.edu/features/2025/04/students-build-outdoor-classroom-serve-community-and-nature
The Tallahassee Food Network, Inc.
Tallahassee, Florida
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.
Graniteville, South Carolina
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)
Houston, Texas
Texas Environmental Justice Advocacy Services (t.e.j.a.s.) empowers communities to build sustainable, healthy environments through education on pollution impacts, environmental laws, and community action tools to promote public participation and enforcement.
https://www.houstoniamag.com/news-and-city-life/2025/04/texas-environmental-justice-tejas-founders
Sowing Justice
Memphis, Tennessee
Sowing Justice uses Environmental Justice principles, citizen science, and voter registration to foster civic engagement beyond voting, empowering communities to advocate for policies that ensure clean air, water, and soil, and to hold decision-making processes transparent and accountable.
https://www.yesmagazine.org/environment/2023/03/17/environmental-racism-memphis
Southeast Care Coalition
Newport News, Virginia
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
Bronx, New York
South Bronx United advances environmental, health, and social justice in Mott Haven-Port Morris through community organizing, advocacy, and research, working toward a thriving South Bronx with clean air, affordable housing, quality healthcare, living-wage jobs, and community-led decisions.
https://www.nytimes.com/2025/02/02/nyregion/congestion-pricing-air.html
RISE for Environmental Justice
Kansas City, Kansas
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.
https://www.kmuw.org/2025-03-31/city-of-wichita-cuts-community-greenhouse-gas-reduction-goals
PODER – Austin
Austin, Texas
PODER (People Organized in Defense of Earth and Her Resources) is a women-led people of color grassroots organization in East Austin working sincere 1991 to advance environmental, social, and economic justice through community education, advocacy and action.
https://www.wbur.org/onpoint/2025/05/01/transformation-austin-texas-tech-red-state-liberal
https://www.bizjournals.com/austin/news/2024/04/10/susana-almanza-austin-poder.html
People For Community Recovery
Chicago, Illinois
People for Community Recovery (PCR), founded in 1979 by Hazel Johnson, the mother of the environmental justice movement, works to enhance quality of life for pollution-impacted residents through education, advocacy, and programs addressing environment, health, housing, and economic equity.
https://chicago.suntimes.com/environment/2025/03/07/hazel-johnson-environmental-justice-chicago-trump-epa-cheryl-johnson-altgeld-gardens
https://grist.org/cities/chicago-law-would-change-where-polluting-companies-operate/
North Carolina Environmental Justice Network
Raleigh, North Carolina
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.
https://www.wxii12.com/article/buc-ees-opposition-groups-present-environmental-impact-report/64896668
https://ncnewsline.com/2024/12/09/coalition-demands-excessive-heat-protection-for-laborers/
North Carolina Climate Justice Collective
Durham, North Carolina
NC Climate Justice Collective (NCCJC) works with frontline communities to build grassroots power and movement infrastructure for a just transition to a regenerative economy where all people and the planet can thrive.
https://www.newsobserver.com/opinion/article271593212.html
National Black Environmental Justice Network
New Orleans, Louisiana
The National Black Environmental Justice Network (NBEJN), founded in 1999 and relaunched in 2020, unites Black EJ leaders and organizations to address environmental and health disparities, engage youth, challenge discriminatory policies, and advance environmental, racial, and economic justice for Black communities worldwide.
New Jersey Environmental Justice Alliance
Newark, New Jersey
The New Jersey Environmental Justice Alliance 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 technical assistance focused on critical environmental justice issues.
https://www.nj.com/essex/2025/02/construction-can-start-on-power-plant-in-one-of-njs-most-polluted-cities-regulators-say.html
Land Loss Prevention Project
Durham, North Carolina
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.
https://disasterphilanthropy.org/resources/hurricane-florence-land-loss-prevention-project/
Kingdom Living Temple Send
Florence, South Carolina
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
Columbia, Mississippi
Jesus People Against Pollution (JPAP), a faith-based environmental justice organization founded in 1992, advocates for Columbia, MS residents exposed to toxic chemicals, pursuing sustainable healthcare, better housing, environmental restoration, and just compensation.
Indigenous Environmental Network
Bemidji, Minnesota
The Indigenous Environmental Network (IEN), established in 1990 by Indigenous communities across North America, advances environmental, climate, energy, and food justice through Indigenous-led action, advocating for systemic change, Just Transition, and Indigenous-based Green New Deal policies rooted in self-determination, treaty rights, and the UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples.
https://lptv.org/indigenous-environmental-network-celebrates-roots-shoots-seeds-in-bemidji/
Harambee House
Savannah, Georgia
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.
https://www.nwf.org/Magazines/National-Wildlife/2021/Oct-Nov/Conservation/Air-Pollution
https://www.epa.gov/ports-initiative/savannah-community-port-collaboration-pilot-project
Wisconsin Green Muslims
Madison, Wisconsin
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.
Wisconsin Green Muslims is a nonprofit program hosted by the Center for Community Stewardship (Fiscal Sponsor), a 501(c)3 nonprofit.
Alaska Community Action on Toxics
Anchorage, AK
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.
Alternatives for Community and Environment (ACE)
Boston, MA
Alternatives for Community & Environment, Inc. (ACE) is a pioneering environmental justice nonprofit organization rooted in Roxbury, Massachusetts. Since its founding over 25 years ago, ACE has worked alongside local residents to address and dismantle systemic injustices impacting communities of color and low-income neighborhoods through advocacy, organizing, and legal campaigns. ACE champions the rights of frontline communities, empowering residents to build healthier, more sustainable neighborhoods. Their areas of expertise are community organizing, economic and environmental justice, public transit and youth empowerment. ACE’s vision is a Roxbury where every family thrives economically and socially contributing to a community that values self-determination and collective well-being.
Duwamish River Community Coalition
Renton, WA
Duwamish River Community Coalition monitors the cleanup of the Duwamish River in Seattle, Washington. DRCC also serves as a voice for the community in response to environmental, social and economic impacts of pollution.
Flint Rising
Flint, MI
Flint Rising works to provide accurate information and resources about the Flint Water Crisis. The organization is led by the residents of Flint, Michigan and partners with grassroots groups, volunteers, the labor movement and other allies to fight for justice.
https://earthjustice.org/press/2023/egle-epa-retreat-from-civil-rights-agreement-with-flint-groups
https://www.governing.com/infrastructure/why-is-there-still-lead-in-americas-water
Go! Austin/Vamos! Austin
Austin, TX
Go! Austin/Vamos! Austin uses community organizing to improve equitable access to healthy lifestyles by engaging and developing community leaders who identify, initiate, and lead efforts to reduce barriers to healthy living and increase stability in their neighborhoods and schools. GAVA provides opportunities for residents to engage and take ownership of efforts for their built environment, health promotion, economic development and anti-displacement.
Green Latinos
South Whittier, CA
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.
https://citylimits.org/the-campaign-to-debunk-climate-lies-in-latino-communities/