Texas Environmental Justice, Energy and Democracy Coalition (TEJED) is an alliance fighting for communities’ right to clean land and water across the state. Founded in 2022, the coalition of 22 organizations challenges polluting entities and holds regulatory agencies accountable. TEJED is preparing to launch Enough is Enough, a statewide campaign focused on the issue of cumulative emissions. “In places considered sacrifice zones, communities are burdened by multiple sources of pollution,” Dr. Tane Ward, TEJED’s lead facilitator, says. He explains that frontline communities – which are disproportionately low-income – often experience multiple burdens from different pollutants, but their impacts are not assessed as an aggregate. “While regulatory agencies focus on a single source when giving a permit to that area, we want the focus to be on the impacted community.” From fracking in Arlington and flaring in the Eagle Ford Shale to the coal plant in Fort Bend County, the alliance takes a holistic view of the threats to the environment, public health, and safety in Texas.
TEJED members at its 2023 Fall retreat. Photo: courtesy of the organization.
The coalition, which is led by an advisory council of four members, is diverse and fully bilingual, working in both Spanish and English. “Our mission is rooted in values of equity, community culture, and transparency,” Ward says. As well as bringing together members for campaigns, TEJED fosters cooperation among a “big tent” of environmental organizers: “We try to build a sense of unity amongst people who are organizing for environmental justice.” This includes bimonthly planning meetings, surveying organizers to understand which skills they require mentorship or assistance with, and a yearly in-person event that combines workshops, theater, music, games, and ceremony. “We take the cultural work pretty seriously,” Ward says. “We really are focused on building a culture where people feel welcome, whoever they are.”