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The New York–based organization’s Humanities in Place program aims to support designers who are preserving and building more just communities.

NPR features The Descendants Project

The Descendants Project celebrate victory in the courts.

A Louisiana state court judge ruled a 1990 zoning ordinance null and void, granting a resounding victory to an organization that advocates for descendants of enslaved people. The Descendants Project filed a lawsuit to prevent construction of a massive grain elevator that threatened the health and heritage of Wallace, a historic Black community in the heart of Cancer Alley.

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We are taking our fight to save our community to the world. Please follow The Descendants Project's Facebook page to see updates on their visit to the United Nations in Geneva. 
The founders of The Descendants Project Jo Banner and Joy Banner testified before the UN Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination. 
They demand a moratorium on toxic industry in their community which is nicknamed "Cancer Alley".

"Big Oil's Last Lifeline" is a three-part documentary series sounding the alarm on the petrochemical industry’s impact on Black, Brown, and Indigenous communities. There are environmental and climate injustices happening all over the planet, but particularly along the Gulf Coast of the Mississippi River and the Ohio River Valley. These injustices have strategically targeted low-income communities where the majority of black and brown U.S. citizens call home.
This series is produced by Hip Hop Caucus' Think 100% FILMS and Majestic 9 Productions.

The National Trust for Historic Preservation protects significant places representing our diverse cultural experience.

Read the full statement in the link.

President and Chief Executive Officer National Urban League, to Christopher James who wants to build the Greenfield Grain Terminal close to the Whitney Plantation.

Big Victory in our efforts to stop grain elevator!
Here's some thoughts on what happened at the Edgard Courthouse today from co-founder, Joy Banner, of The Descendants Project.

“We thank the Court for ruling that the Greenfield site in Wallace be returned to residential zoning, which will prevent the continued development of environmentally devastating projects like the proposed Greenfield Terminal. We are hopeful this ruling puts an end to the illegal 30-year-old rezoning ordinance that categorized the historic St. John the Baptist Parish in Louisiana as an industrial area. Judge Snowdy and the 40th District Court have soundly rejected the notion that the rich history of this region and the environment and health of our community should be disregarded in favor of corporate greed.

This area, recently recognized by the National Trust for Historic Preservation as one of America’s 11 Most Endangered Places due to the proposed influx of toxic industry, is home to many descendants of enslaved people from the nearby Whitney and Evergreen Plantations. Its survival as an agrarian landscape for over 300 years stands as a testament to its significance and resilience.

But now, Greenfield Louisiana LLC, a company from Denver, wants to erase this vital history by building what would be one of the world’s largest grain elevators — the Greenfield Terminal — in the heart of this historic area. This towering structure, as tall as the Louisiana Superdome, would cause serious environmental harm, potentially disturb archaeological remains and burial grounds, and become a gateway for further industrialization by the oil and gas industry.
We are urging the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers to deny the permit for the Greenfield Terminal, and respect the rich history and culture of this region.

Your signature can make a difference. Stand with us to prevent this toxic industrial development, safeguard Louisiana’s shared heritage, and protect its future. Sign and share the petition today to show decision-makers that we won’t stand idly by and let industrial expansion steamroll our communities.