Lavonya Jones

At the Partnership for Southern Equity (PSE), we are committed to furthering environmental justice in the American South by leading with race.

From Atlanta to Brunswick, our Black and Brown communities in the South are on the frontline of the climate crisis: coastal flooding, toxic waste sites, and poor resilience planning place communities of color at high-risk of disaster. PSE operates with the principle that we have to be transparent about current and historical harms in order to envision what the future should really look like. Even as we reimagine a new energy future, communities have immediate, pressing needs for health and climate resilience.

It’s also Black and Brown communities that hold the answers for a just future. At PSE, we foster the agency of our communities to realize their own power and mobilize it. In line with Energy Democracy principles of decentralized, local solutions, we root our work in relationships. It’s the people-to-people connections that sustain our organizing for the long haul.  We meet in-person with our neighbors to offer popular education on the energy system, and develop projects on-the-ground for community resilience hubs at Historically Black Colleges and Universities. Additionally, PSE leverages institutional expertise to amplify community voices in advocating for utility justice, energy efficiency, and solar for all in Georgia.

Underlying all of this work, is a collective narrative that “Equity is a Way not a Word.” We must acknowledge the diverse needs and visions for climate and energy justice that exist across racial diaspora, as well as geography and class. When we lead with this knowledge, we’re able to support a safer, more resilient future for everyone.