GS2A spans the Gulf South and Appalachia. Shaped by the Gulf of Mexico and the Appalachian Mountains, these regions share a long history of extraction and exploitation alongside deep traditions of resistance, culture, and care. For generations, these lands and waters have fueled national economies while frontline communities have borne the costs of extraction.

Across rural, urban, coastal, and inland communities, resistance has always been rooted in place. Indigenous stewardship, Black freedom traditions, and multiracial organizing legacies continue to shape the regions. From grassroots groups and unions to faith communities, student organizations, Mardi Gras krewes, sewing circles, and cultural collectives, our people have long organized to survive and build.

GS2A works because it is rooted in those relationships. Frontline leaders have always been architects of survival and resistance in the South. GS2A invests in that leadership by creating space to align strategy, share resources, and move together at the scale the climate crisis demands.

Following Hurricane Ida in 2021, GS2A convened more than 150 frontline leaders to articulate a shared regional vision for climate action called #WeChooseNow. This vision affirms the urgency of community led solutions and regional power building. It advances Global Climate Reparations by centering those most harmed by extraction as decision makers, solution builders, and stewards of public resources.