Poblete, JoAnna <br/><br/>
Love and care in 2021: Women-led community activism towards oil refining on St. Croix, US Virgin Islands 

 -  2022.<br/>							 
<br/><br/> 90 
<br/><br/> From 1966 to 2012, oil companies operated a massive refinery on the Island of St. Croix, United States Virgin Islands (USVI). Over time, this fossil fuel industry has impacted the local community, particularly low-income families of color, as well as the marine environment and air and water quality, due to their close proximities to the facility. This essay will discuss the community activism led by women leaders of St. Croix when the refinery restarted in 2021. After providing a brief background about St. Croix and the refinery’s history on island, this article will detail the 2021 social mobilization efforts which included a lawsuit, a community petition, townhall meetings, a community environmental and health survey, as well as collaboration with national advocacy groups. These endeavors culminated in the shutdown of the plant just over 4 months after its reopening. This essay will connect community activism on St. Croix with women-led environmental justice activism in the petrochemical corridor of Louisiana to highlight the central role of women, love, and care in these processes. This work will also discuss potential paths for future decolonization, including suggestions for imaginative kinship-based policies and practices, as well as socio-environmental rights for local, regional, and global coalitions for environmental and social justice and equity.