What's Happening Now?

New Orleans, LA

Standing Up on River Road: Activism in South Louisiana

2018: Pastor Joseph of Mt. Triumph Baptist Church, wearing gas mask. Rise for Cancer Alley Rally. Ella McIntire, photographer.

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  1. New Orleans, LA
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    The New Orleans chapter is currently online only. Explore the project tiles on the New Orleans page to see and hear their stories.

The Problem

South Louisiana’s petrochemical corridor, along the Mississippi River from Baton Rouge to New Orleans, disproportionately affects Native and Black communities, causing high cancer rates, devaluation of property, and displacement of neighborhoods.

The Roots

Environmental racism in Louisiana stems from 18th-century European and U.S. colonization of Native land and development of plantations using the labor of enslaved people. After the Civil War, African Americans established Black-owned freetowns along the River. In the 20th century, as plants replaced plantations, state and industry targeted sites adjacent to historic Black communities, demolishing home values. Similarly, local government destroyed Black families’ wealth in New Orleans by building the Gordon Plaza subdivision atop a toxic landfill.

The Solutions

The Louisiana Bucket Brigade advocates for a moratorium on petrochemical expansion and construction in Louisiana. Gordon Plaza residents demand fully funded relocation of homeowners by the City of New Orleans.

2019: The Landscape of Community Resistance on the Mississippi River with historian Leon A. Waters. Courtesy of UNO Public History students. Filmed by Ella McIntire, Daniel Lamplugh, and Owen Wagner.
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2017: Bayou Bridge Pipeline: Stories of Defending Water & Culture (trailer). Courtesy of Louisiana Bucket Brigade.
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2019: That Place Was Home, Iris Carter, Women of Cancer Alley series. By Iris Carter. Courtesy of Louisiana Bucket Brigade.
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2019: No Gardens, Eve Butler, Women of Cancer Alley series. Courtesy of Louisiana Bucket Brigade.
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2019: History of Gordon Plaza. Courtesy of August Darbonne with UNO Public History students.
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2019: Oral History with Shannon Rainey, Gordon Plaza. Courtesy of UNO Public History Students. Filmed by Daniel Lamplugh.
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2019: Endangered Cemeteries of South Louisiana. Courtesy of Ella McIntire. Photographed and filmed by Ella McIntire and Elizabeth Williams.
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2012: “Petrochemical Landscape,” Kate Orff, Orff/Misrach, ​Petrochemical America. Courtesy of Kate Orff.
Additional Media

Our Point of View

Many of south Louisiana’s residents face environmental injustice, a reality rooted in colonialism, the legacies of slavery and segregation, and the intrusion of petrochemical industries. Some of us have experienced these toxic histories, while others gained new perspectives on the landscape we travel every day. Many of us were raised in south Louisiana but we all reside in this vibrant, diverse community and call it home. Support our neighbors in their fight against environmental racism by contacting Louisiana’s elected officials and sharing these stories on social media.

University of New Orleans

The Louisiana Bucket Brigade collaborates with communities living near petrochemical plants to end pollution and hasten the transition from fossil fuels. Our core partner now is in St. James, where global forces threaten a historic Black community with devastating petrochemical construction and pollution. Throughout Louisiana, brave people stand up to polluters and our own government, offering a different vision than one that sacrifices our state to a destructive industry. We proudly stand with RISE St. James and other communities throughout Louisiana.

The Louisiana Bucket Brigade

Contributors

University Partners

University of New Orleans

Faculty Project Director
Mary Niall Mitchell

Project Assistant
Justine D'Ooge

Students
Leila Blackbird
August Darbonne
Lones Gagnard III
Vickie LaCoste
Daniel Lamplugh
Shelby Loyacano
Ella McIntire
Katheryn O’Dwyer
Jenidza Rivera
Katie Vest
Elizabeth Williams

Community Partners

The Louisiana Bucket Brigade

Genevieve M. Butler
Anne Rolfes

Hidden History

Leon A. Waters

New Orleans People's Assembly

Angela Kinlaw
Shannon Rainey
Marilyn Amar