{{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.<ref name=":0">{{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}}</ref><ref name=":2"/> 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.<ref name=":0" /><ref name=":2" /><ref name=":1">{{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}}</ref><ref name="sierraclub.org">{{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}}</ref><ref>{{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}}</ref>
Lavigne is also a collaborator on the Coalition Against Death Alley, a regional environmental justice group.<ref name=":1" /> She is also a plaintiff in ''White Hat v. Landry'', an environmental justice case, focused on changes in Louisiana Oil and Gas law.<ref>{{Cite web|title=Sharon Lavigne|url=https://ccrjustice.org/node/7944|access-date=2020-12-20|website=Center for Constitutional Rights|language=en}}</ref>
Lavigne is focused in part on defending the cultural heritage of the African American community.<ref name=":2">{{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}}</ref> In 2019, she organized the community against a new Formosa Plastics Corp factory that would have disrupted a slave grave in the community.<ref name=":2" /><ref name=":1" /><ref name="sierraclub.org"/> In December 2020, the plant's process was stalled by court ruling.<ref>{{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}}</ref> She had previously help stall similar projects from Wanhua Chemical Group and South Louisiana Methanol.
Lavigne was awarded the Goldman Environmental Prize in 2021.<ref name="goldman-15june2021">{{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}}</ref><ref name="guardian-15jun2021">{{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}}</ref> She was named the 2022 recipient of the University of Notre Dame's Laetare Medal on March 27, 2022.<ref>{{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}}</ref> 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.<ref>{{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}}</ref> That court decision was later reversed on appeal in 2024.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Dryfoos |first=Delaney |date=2024-02-08 |title=Formosa Plastics gets air permits back, but a few hurdles remain |url=https://thelensnola.org/2024/02/08/formosa-plastics-gets-air-permits-back-but-a-few-hurdles-remain/ |access-date=2025-08-26 |website=The Lens |language=en-US}}</ref>
== Personal life == Lavigne is a retired special education teacher.<ref name=":1" /> Her father was a sugarcane farmer in the area, and her mother a homemaker.<ref name=":1" /> Her family participated in civil rights actions in the area during the civil rights movement.<ref name=":1" />
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}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Lavigne, Sharon}} Category:Environmental justice in the United States Category:People from St. James Parish, Louisiana Category:American climate activists Category:African-American Catholics Category:Living people Category:Goldman Environmental Prize awardees Category:Activists from Louisiana Category:American women environmentalists Category:American environmentalists Category:1950 births Category:Roman Catholic activists Category:21st-century American women Category:Laetare Medal recipients