We organize for Environmental Justice
We the people won back our Right to Breathe from 150 years of oil refining in South Philadelphia. Now, we organize for Environmental Justice and Housing Justice in Grays Ferry.
History Of Philly Thrive
Philly Thrive was formed in October 2015 in response to plans corporations had to expand the South Philly oil refinery. A group of young climate change activists new to Philly started knocking on doors of homes closest to the refinery to ask neighbors what they thought about the expansion plan. Life-long Black residents responded with stories about the refinery’s explosions blowing out grocery store windows, about everyone on their block who passed away from cancer, and about the stress of raising children with asthma. Those conversations led to the formation of Philly Thrive with a goal of uniting Philadelphians for our Right to Breathe and supporting the communities targeted by this environmental racism to be recognized as leaders of Philly’s climate & environmental justice movement.
Our Vision For The Future
From our beginning, Thrivers (as we call ourselves) came together around three broad demands critical to the future we know is possible: (1) Health & Safety Over Profit, (2) No Fossil Fuel Expansion, and (3) A Green Economy for All. Through our campaigns, we select a specific issue that we believe is a winnable building block towards our vision. “Lay one brick everyday and you end up building a house,” our ancestor Irene Russell was known to say. We started out organizing for our Right to Breathe, and now we’ve set our sights on winning the Right to Thrive for all Philadelphians. We see safe, healthy housing for all; we see support & recognition for long-term Philly residents who made this “a city of neighborhoods;” and we see the uprooting of environmental racism during the redevelopment of the former refinery land.
Who We Are
Philly Thrive is a multi-racial, cross-class, intergenerational organization rooted in the communities most impacted by the legacy of the South Philly oil refinery. We are a basebuilding, membership organization that believes in the power of nonviolent direct action to achieve environmental justice. For us, the environment is where we live, work, and play; it is the air we breathe and the place we call home. Therefore, every issue from gun violence to women’s rights can be traced back to how our environment is being managed.
More About UsOur Programs
All Programs-
Right To Thrive Campaign
Our Right to Thrive Campaign contests for justice in the redevelopment of the 1300-acre refinery site, the largest redevelopment in Philadelphia's history. After we won closure of the refinery in 2020, Philly Thrive members immediately got to work building a campaign that would pursue healing and repair as the land is put to new use.
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Housing Justice Campaign
In just 5 years, the Black population of Grays Ferry dropped from 71% to just 33%. Our neighbors are being forced out of their homes, and we're not having it. Launched in 2023, Philly Thrive's housing campaign contests for safe, affordable, stable housing for all!
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Community Support Programs
We stand on the shoulders of movement organizations throughout history who recognized the diffculty of building people power when so many people are struggling to survive. Our community support programs work to address residents' immediate needs for food, healing, and community, while also inviting people to join us in campaigning for change.
