Historically Black Cancer Alley town splits over a planned grain terminal in Louisiana
WALLACE, Louisiana — Sisters Jo and Dr. Joy Banner live just a few miles from where their ancestors were enslaved more than 200 years ago in St. John the Baptist Parish, Louisiana. Their neat Creole cottage café in the small riverside town of Wallace is just yards from the land their great-grandparents purchased more than a century ago.
It’s a historic area that the sisters want to keep free from the heavy industry across the Mississippi River.
“We have all these little pockets of free cities around these plantation cane fields. It’s such an amazing story of perseverance and how we were able to be financially independent and economically smart,” Joy Banner said.
Today, miles of sugar cane border homes on Wallace’s west side. To the east, two plantations tell the story of former slaves: one has more than a dozen slave quarters, the other a monument to a slave rebellion.
Directly across the Mississippi River, refineries and other heavy industry stand in the way, giving the people of Wallace a clear picture of what the Banners are fighting against by taking over their side of the river. Together, they have formed a nonprofit called The Descendants Project to preserve the culture of Louisiana’s black residents. Its immediate goal is to prevent a proposed 222-acre (89.8-hectare) grain export facility from being built within 300 feet (91 meters) of the Banners’ property and near several historic sites.
“It would essentially pave the way for the entire West Bank area that has no heavy industry to just become industrialized,” Jo Banner said. “We have a lot of heritage and that will be decimated if we get these factories.”
Their feelings echo that of the residents who live in other cities along Louisiana’s Cancer Alley, an 85-mile (135-kilometer) corridor that runs along the Mississippi River between New Orleans and Baton Rouge. It is lined with industrial plants that spew out toxic chemicals, including known carcinogens.
The Descendants’ Project has been in conflict with Greenfield Louisiana LLC, the company proposing the grain terminal, and the local parish council of St. John the Baptist for nearly two years. They want to prevent the grain export facility from being built in Greenfield Wallace.
The facility would receive and export grain byproducts via trucks, trains and barges. While some city residents support the project, the Banners and other neighbors fear it will erode historic monuments and pollute the area.
“We already have problems with the industry across the river,” said Gail Zeringue, whose family bought their property from her husband in the late 1800s. “Adding a grain elevator on top of that is just piling it on.”
The parish council recently rezoned nearly 1,300 acres (526 hectares) of commercial and residential property to heavy industrial. Another tract along a residential zone was rezoned to light industrial. All of the parcels are owned by the Port of Louisiana and leased to Greenfield Louisiana LLC.
The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers found that the grain facility could adversely impact several historic properties in and around Wallace, including the Evergreen, Oak Alley and Whitney plantations. The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services said the terminal could complement the “many existing manufacturing industries and other existing sources of environmental impact for the parish community of St. John the Baptist.”
After nearly two years, Greenfield is still waiting for the permitting process to be completed.
“It seems to me that the Army Corps wants to make sure that everyone is heard,” said Lynda Van Davis, attorney and chief external affairs officer for Greenfield Louisiana. “Before we did anything, we talked to the community first, and so our system is safer and greener.”
The facility will be used for transportation and there will be no chemicals or manufacturing on site, which Greenfield representatives said sets them apart. They also plan on multiple dust extraction systems to minimize emissions.
They are aware of Wallace’s historical significance, Van Davis said.
“We’ve had tests done. We’ve made sure that there are no remains of previous slaves buried in the area,” Van Davis said. “In the event that we find remains or maybe some artifacts, we would stop and make sure that the appropriate people come in and preserve any artifacts that are found.”
Greenfield specifically said the State Historic Preservation Office would step in. The Amistad Research Center, the Louisiana Civil Rights Museum and the state parks system are also potential partners in helping decide what to do with any artifacts or remains that might be discovered.
Some neighbors are more concerned about Wallace’s future than its past. They worry that the town’s prosperity depends on the facility’s approval. Wallace doesn’t even have a gas station, and school enrollment is declining.
“The only changes I’ve seen in my community are people leaving. We have absolutely nothing in our West Bank,” said Willa Gordon, a lifelong resident.
“It automatically meant to me that there would be jobs in my community and there would be economic development and growth, so I was very excited. I’m disappointed that years later it still hasn’t happened,” said Nicole Dumas.
Greenfield plans to create more than 1,000 new jobs during construction and 370 permanent positions once the site opens. The company has also pledged to host local job fairs, training and certification programs.
St. John the Baptist Parish council members Virgie Johnson and Lennix Madere Jr., the elected officials representing Wallace, declined to comment on the proposed development. Both voted in favor of the zoning change.
The tug of war between past and present is similar throughout the country, with small, historic black towns are disappearing due to gentrification, industry or lack of resources.
Through their nonprofit organization, the Banners hope to create a network of historic communities and economic opportunities. They recently moved a plantation home where their ancestors once lived to their property in hopes of having it designated as a historic marker and having no industrial buildings built on their land.
“We do what we can to protect and conserve them, but it is vital that we keep these plants out,” said Jo Banner.