Black Collective Memory as Economic Development Practice: Resistance and Renaissance in Louisiana's River Parishes

Louisiana's River Parishes are located between New Orleans and Baton Rouge along the Mississippi River and is also known as Cancer Alley, due to the high density of petrochemical refineries. For decades, with a recent surge in the last few years, activists have been spurring economic development professionals and policy makers to imagine new futures that prioritize public and planetary health. This project seeks to encapsulate these new futures through interviews of residents and archival work to learn from our ancestral history in the region.

Ultimately, this research endeavor highlighted the work of two environmental justice organizations, Rise St. James and The Descendants Project, based in the River Parishes of South Louisiana, a region known infamously as Cancer Alley. The project highlighted how these organizations have leveraged Black collective memory as an asset, a technology, and a lens to shape economic development in the region. Key findings include that Black collective memory differs amongst stakeholders and that these organizations are charting a path towards building sustainable futures for us all by rooting this Black collective memory in Black solidarity.

Led by: Trace Allen (MCP / MBA '24)

Geography: River Parishes of South Louisiana