Sharon Lavigne
{{Short description|American environmental activist (born 1950)}}
{{Infobox person|image=File:Sharon_Lavigne_253629.jpg}}
Sharon Lavigne (born May 1950) is an American environmental justice activist in Louisiana focused on combating petrochemical complexes in Cancer Alley.{{Cite web|date=2020-01-27|title=The Fight for Life in Death Alley: Testimony from Sharon Lavigne, St. James, Louisiana|url=https://kairoscenter.org/the-fight-for-life-in-death-alley-sharon-lavigne-testimony/|access-date=2020-12-20|website=Kairos|language=en}} She is the 2022 recipient of the Laetare Medal, the highest honor for American Catholics, a 2021 recipient of the Goldman Environmental Prize and was named to 2024's TIME 100 and 2023's TIME Climate 100.
Activism
Lavigne, who is from St. James Parish, Louisiana which is at the center of the alley, has testified before Congress, and runs a faith-based organization, RISE St. James, focused on preventing expansion and worsening petrochemical plant pollution in the area.{{Cite web|title=The Plastics Giant and the Making of an Environmental Justice Warrior|url=https://www.desmogblog.com/2020/01/07/formosa-sunshine-plastics-sharon-lavigne-environmental-justice|access-date=2020-12-20|website=DeSmog|date=7 January 2020|language=en}}{{Cite web|date=2020-02-11|title=One Woman's Fight for Clean Air in Louisiana's Cancer Alley|url=https://www.sierraclub.org/sierra/one-woman-s-fight-for-clean-air-louisiana-s-cancer-alley|access-date=2020-12-20|website=Sierra Club|language=en}}{{Cite web|date=2019-05-08|title=Cancer Alley Rises Up|url=https://earthjustice.org/features/cancer-alley-rises-up|access-date=2020-12-20|website=Earthjustice|language=en}}
Lavigne is also a collaborator on the Coalition Against Death Alley, a regional environmental justice group. She is also a plaintiff in White Hat v. Landry, an environmental justice case, focused on changes in Louisiana Oil and Gas law.{{Cite web|title=Sharon Lavigne|url=https://ccrjustice.org/node/7944|access-date=2020-12-20|website=Center for Constitutional Rights|language=en}}
Lavigne is focused in part on defending the cultural heritage of the African American community.{{Cite web|date=2020-10-30|title=Sharon Lavigne's fighting faith on the bayou|url=https://www.ncronline.org/news/earthbeat/sharon-lavignes-fighting-faith-bayou|access-date=2020-12-20|website=National Catholic Reporter|language=en}} In 2019, she organized the community against a new Formosa Plastics Corp factory that would have disrupted a slave grave in the community. In December 2020, the plant's process was stalled by court ruling.{{Cite web|date=2020-12-01|title=Court rulings stall controversial plastics factory in Louisiana|url=https://www.ncronline.org/news/earthbeat/court-rulings-stall-controversial-plastics-factory-louisiana|access-date=2020-12-20|website=National Catholic Reporter|language=en}} She had previously help stall similar projects from Wanhua Chemical Group and South Louisiana Methanol.
Lavigne was awarded the Goldman Environmental Prize in 2021.{{cite web |title=Introducing the 2021 Goldman Environmental Prize Winners |url=https://www.goldmanprize.org/blog/2021-goldman-environmental-prize-winners/ |website=Goldman Environmental Prize |access-date=June 15, 2021 |date=June 15, 2021}}{{cite news |last1=Lakhani |first1=Nina |title=Cancer Alley campaigner wins Goldman prize for environmental defenders |url=https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2021/jun/15/sharon-lavigne-goldman-prize-cancer-alley-campaigner |access-date=June 15, 2021 |work=The Guardian |date=June 15, 2021}} She was named the 2022 recipient of the University of Notre Dame's Laetare Medal on March 27, 2022.{{Cite web |last=Gates |first=Carrie |title=Environmental activist Sharon Lavigne to receive Notre Dame's 2022 Laetare Medal |url=https://news.nd.edu/news/environmental-activist-sharon-lavigne-to-receive-notre-dames-2022-laetare-medal/ |access-date=2022-03-28 |website=Notre Dame News |date=27 March 2022 |language=en}} The same year, RISE, Earthjustice, Louisiana Bucket Brigade, and other plaintiffs won a lawsuit against Formosa that argued the potential air pollution of the proposed plant would violate federal standards.{{Cite web |date=2022-09-14 |title=Louisiana Court Vacates Air Permits for Formosa's Massive Petrochemical Complex in Cancer Alley |url=https://earthjustice.org/news/press/2022/louisiana-court-vacates-air-permits-for-formosas-massive-petrochemical-complex-in-cancer-alley |access-date=2022-11-01 |website=Earthjustice |language=en}}
Personal life
Lavigne is a retired special education teacher. Her father was a sugarcane farmer in the area, and her mother a homemaker. Her family participated in civil rights actions in the area during the civil rights movement.
She is also a Black Catholic, a parishioner at St. James Catholic Church in St. James, Louisiana.
References
{{Reflist}}
{{Louisiana Center for Women in Government and Business Hall of Fame}}
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Category:Environmental justice in the United States
Category:People from St. James Parish, Louisiana
Category:American climate activists
Category:African-American Catholics
Category:Goldman Environmental Prize awardees
Category:Activists from Louisiana
Category:American women environmentalists
Category:American environmentalists
Category:Roman Catholic activists