Democracy Green outlines disaster response and clean-water work; opens local center in Marion

Professor La'Meshia Whittington presented Democracy Green’s history and work to the Marion City Council, describing the group's origin in 2006 after a Hurricane Katrina conversation and its evolution into disaster response and environmental advocacy. She said Democracy Green coordinated roughly 250 water and land rescues during Hurricane Florence, provided 2,500–3,000 hot meals per day for two weeks in a separate response, and later advocated for state disaster recovery funding that helped create North Carolina’s Office of Recovery and Resiliency.

Whittington also described Democracy Green’s work on PFAS contamination in the Cape Fear River basin, hosting the state’s first community town hall on PFAS and conducting research on PFAS removal that she said is incorporated into state clinic guidelines. She highlighted that Democracy Green helped the Town of Ivanhoe secure a $13.2 million investment for its first community water system and assisted Maysville with a new water treatment plant. Whittington said Democracy Green was awarded $20 million to replace lead pipes in 500 households in Brunswick County but acknowledged that the grant is currently in litigation. She closed by announcing the Democracy Green Center, located at 355 E Court Street in Marion, and thanked the Mayor and Council for the community welcome.