It’s not every day that a broad coalition of political leaders, environmentalists, community activists and ordinary citizens band together to wage a huge fight against powerful oil companies.

But it’s happening in Memphis. And it’s refreshing to witness.

In this fight, Black people and white people are on the same side. So are local politicians who don’t always agree on matters of public policy. And relentless reporting from a local news website forced us all to start paying attention to arguably the most important environmental story in Greater Memphis in decades.

For several months, Byhalia Pipeline and its partners, mainly Houston-based Plains All-American Pipeline and Valero oil refinery, have been steadily plodding toward construction of the nearly 50-mile Byhalia Connection pipeline.

Once completed, or perhaps I should say if completed, the pipeline would carry crude oil from the mammoth Valero refinery in southwest Memphis to a facility in Marshall County, Mississippi. The oil would travel through the predominately African American communities of Westwood, Boxtown and Whitehaven before entering DeSoto County and winding up in Marshall County near the town of Byhalia.

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The companies have already reached agreement with dozens of property owners to gain the necessary easements for the pipeline. Others, however, have balked. And Plains and Byhalia Pipeline are seeking a land grab through eminent domain – a process normally reserved for governments and public entities for the benefit of the broader public.

I first learned of this brewing controversy from MLK50: Justice Through Journalism, which fulfills one of the primary roles of public service journalism – to afflict the comfortable and comfort the afflicted.

Before long, other news organizations, including The Daily Memphian, sensed a good story in the making and started reporting developments as they happened.

Then I heard from a friend, Ward Archer, president of the environmental group Protect Our Aquifer, which works to safeguard the pristine drinking water underneath the city of Memphis. Protect Our Aquifer, the Sierra Club and other environmental groups strongly oppose the pipeline because of the potential for oil leaks into the aquifer.

But the pipeline companies have resorted to public relations to win support for the project. They hired former Shelby County Commissioner Deidre Malone, owner of the Carter Malone Group, to help spread a positive message about the benefits of the pipeline to lower income neighborhoods.

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In December, Plains announced local grants totaling $1 million to organizations that serve residents in the proposed pipeline’s path. Among the agencies targeted for grants were Feed The Needy, Helping Hands, Memphis City Library Foundation, the Mid-South Food Bank, the proposed Ida B. Wells statue project and Regional One Health.

In Mississippi, Plains targeted grants to the Byhalia Arts Council, the Marshall County Public Library System, Brown Baptist Church and the Coldwater River Nature Conservancy.

The website touting the Byhalia Connection project describes it as more than just a pipeline. “Our goal is to be good neighbors within the communities along our route. The Byhalia Connection Pipeline will help boost the economy and bring tax revenue for critical services like public safety, public schools and road improvements.”

But a lot of people aren’t buying it. And political leaders are now voicing concerns about the project. The Memphis City Council is scheduled to vote Tuesday, Feb. 23, on a resolution opposing the pipeline. The County Commission has delayed until March a plan to sell county-owned land for the project. And members of the Shelby County Schools board last year objected to an easement request on vacant school property for the pipeline.

U.S. Rep. Steve Cohen of Memphis also got involved. He wrote to the Army Corps of Engineers asking that a permit for the project be delayed. But the Corps approved the permit while insisting it was not endorsing the pipeline.

The dispute has even produced a mini-family feud between City Council member Edmund Ford Sr. and his son, Shelby County Commissioner Edmund Ford Jr.

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The elder Ford is among those on the council sponsoring the resolution opposing the pipeline, implying it could turn into another Flint, Michigan, water crisis. His son, on the other hand, was one of two commissioners who sponsored a resolution allowing the sale of land for the pipeline.

Ford Jr. objected when the commission delayed a decision on the property sale. He also criticized pipeline opponents, accusing them of hijacking the county resolution and saying they need to take civics lessons.

So here we are. Big oil companies with money to throw around versus local residents, local politicians, local environmentalists and even some in the local media. In many ways, it is a David versus Goliath fight.

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But the primary opposition to the pipeline hinges on the age-old issues around environmental racism. Why is it always the poor and minority communities that are stuck with potentially hazardous environmental projects? And why do big companies feel they can just drag a few dollars through certain communities and that entitles them to get anything they want?

This is not a blanket indictment against Plains, Byhalia or Valero. Until the day comes when we no longer have to rely on fossil fuels, all of us need what these companies provide – gasoline to drive and jet fuel to fly.

But I am thrilled that residents in Boxtown and Westwood, along with some across the state line in DeSoto County, are speaking up and taking their fight to political leaders and the courts. And I am equally happy that local media have started to give this story the attention it deserves.

So, let the public debate continue.