Fighting for a Level Playing Field: EJ in the South with Chandra Taylor-Sawyer of the SELC

What does it take to confront generations of environmental racism and win?

In this episode, Senior Attorney Chandra Taylor-Sawyer of the Southern Environmental Law Center (SELC) pulls back the curtain on what it really means to fight for environmental justice in the U.S. South. From zoning decisions that quietly turn Black neighborhoods into dumping grounds, to federal rollbacks that threaten the very civil rights tools that communities rely on, Chandra explains how injustice is built and how organized communities can dismantle it. She shares her journey from North Carolina to national leadership, the creation of SELC’s Environmental Justice Initiative, and the urgent battles unfolding right now to protect civil rights regulations, defend bedrock environmental laws, and challenge discriminatory permitting practices. Chandra also highlights SELC’s groundbreaking storytelling project, “Plantations to Pollution,” which traces how historic disinvestment shapes present-day environmental harms and how communities are rising to demand a different future.

This episode is both a warning and a rallying cry. Even as federal protections are dismantled and civil rights enforcement is weakened, communities still have powerful tools - public comments, citizen lawsuits, organizing, data collection, and collective pressure - to fight for the healthy, thriving environments that they deserve.

If you care about justice anywhere, but particulatly in the South, this conversation will inspire you, ground you in the realities of the struggle, and remind you that change happens when communities refuse to be silent.

Resources:
Southern Environmental Law Center Website: https://www.selc.org/
Plantations to Pollution Project: https://plantationstopollution.selc.org/

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