North Carolina Environmental Justice Network (NCEJN)

Advocacy

The North Carolina Environmental Justice Network adopts policy positions based on environmental justice principles from the 1991 People of Color Environmental Leadership Summit. The group defines “environmental racism” as the systemic targeting of Black and racial minority communities with pollution and exclusion from decision-making. NCEJN promotes solidarity with the Wet’suwet’en Nation against pipelines, affirming “the Wet’suwet’en people’s sovereignty and authority over their unceded territory for future generations.” NCEJN also connects its work to global struggles, opposing “apartheid, colonialism, and imperialism” in Palestine. ¹

Activists from NCEJN and residents protested the Mebane City Council’s approval of a Buc-ee’s gas station in North Carolina, aiming to halt construction due to its location, while calling for opposition to “environmental racism” and claiming harm to public health and wealth. NCEJN commissioned the 34-page report “Buc-ee’s Burden,” authored by journalists Lewis Raven Wallace and Sue Sturgis, which asserted that such facilities contribute to air pollution, offer low wages, and rely on public highways. ^{2 3}

In July 2025, NCEJN was one of over 600 nonprofits and non-governmental organizations (NGOs) to sign a letter opposing a ruling by the House Homeland Security Committee in June 2025 demanding the financial records of over 200 NGOs accused of assisting the Biden Administration in settling migrants into the United States. ^{4 5} Committee Chairman Mark Green (R-TN) and Subcommittee Chairman Josh Brecheen (R-OK) commented in a letter sent to the NGOs in question claiming the Committee was “deeply concerned that NGOs that receive U.S. taxpayer dollars benefitted from the border crisis created by the Biden Administration, and stand ready to do so under future Democrat administrations.” ⁵ The letter signed by over 600 NGOs and non-profits claimed the Committee’s ruling targets “civic organizations that have provided services under valid federal contracts that were authorized and appropriated by Congress…[t]his effort appears to be an attempt to weaponize Congressional power and create the appearance of wrongdoing against those who the signers believe disagree with their political agenda.” ⁴

Financials

In 2023, the North Carolina Environmental Justice Network reported revenue of $810,145, with expenses of $735,847, resulting in net income of $74,298 and net assets of $1,425,947. Contributions totaled $807,319 or 99.7 percent of revenue. Program services and other income sources were minimal. Expenses included executive compensation of $216,066 or 29.4 percent and other salaries and wages of $229,532 or 31.2 percent, bringing compensation costs to over 60 percent of the budget. ⁶

In 2023, the organization received large grants from left-leaning foundations. The Z Smith Reynolds Foundation provided the NCEJN $150,000 for general operating support. ⁷ The United States Energy Foundation granted the organization $75,000 to “support education and outreach to build a clean energy future.” ⁸

Leadership

As of August 2025, Chris Lamont Brown is the director of research and education for the North Carolina Environmental Justice Network. ⁹ Brown, an environmental scientist, seeks to “collaborate with low-income and/or BIPOC communities to fight back against environmental injustices that may target them.” ¹⁰

As of August 2025, Rania Masri is the director of organizing and policy for the North Carolina Environmental Justice Network. ⁹ Masri previously directed the Southern Peace Research and Education Center at the Institute for Southern Studies, while teaching environmental sciences, justice, and communications at universities in Lebanon. Her activism since 1993 has emphasized left-leaning causes such as anti-war and anti-sanctions efforts against Iraq and Afghanistan, advocacy for Palestinian nationalism, and environmental justice campaigning on water and food sovereignty, pollution, land rights, and broader civil and voting rights. ¹¹

As of August 2025, Ajamu Dillahunt-Holloway and Peter Gilbert were co-chairs of NCEJN. ⁹