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The Descendants Project has released the following statement in support of the National Urban League (NUL) and NUL President and CEO Marc H. Morial urging the EPA to launch a civil rights investigation into the proposed development of Greenfield’s proposed grain elevator terminal in Wallace, Louisiana.

“The desecration of sacred land, Wallace’s rich history, and our vibrant Black descendant community with the proposed development of Greenfield’s grain elevator is a civil rights violation. We are Wallace’s past and present, and we are fighting every day to ensure its future. We need the EPA to join us in this fight for justice and preservation.

“The Descendants Project appreciates Marc H. Morial and the National Urban League encouraging the EPA to launch a formal investigation into Denver-based Greenfield’s grain elevator terminal. We support their request and urge EPA administrator Michael Regan to protect our Black descendant community’s past, present, and future.”

Within the National Urban League’s formal letter to EPA administrator Michael S. Regan, Morial writes that, “It is our view that this terminal and the potential damage to both the air, water, and quality of life in those areas of St. John the Baptist Parish, which is a historic African American community, violates the civil rights and environmental laws of the nation… Without your intervention, grave and permanent harm will come to the Black communities of St. John the Baptist Parish.”

The National Urban League request follows the recent news of EPA finding strong evidence that state agencies have left Black residents living throughout the Chemical Corridor in St. John Parish disproportionately exposed to harmful pollutants  and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers rejecting the cultural resources survey submitted on behalf of Greenfield

The Descendants Project was founded to preserve and protect the health, land, and lives of the Black descendant community located in Louisiana’s Cancer Alley. Through advocacy, resources, engaging the descendant community and creating strategies for a safe and sustainable economy, The Descendants Project works to obtain the cultural, emotional, environmental and economic justice for the community’s ultimate liberation. Visit thedescendantsproject.org for more information.