What We Do

Our Work

Five Pillars of Justice

An integrated, community-led approach to the interconnected crises facing South Dallas and frontline communities everywhere.

Our Approach

Justice Is Not Single-Issue

Southern Sector Rising operates across five interconnected pillars because the challenges facing frontline communities are never simple, and the solutions must not be either.

Environmental injustice does not exist in isolation. Toxic dumps appear in Black neighborhoods because of racist zoning. Zoning reflects economic disinvestment. Disinvestment is maintained by political exclusion. Political exclusion is reinforced by inadequate education and lack of resources.

Our five pillars — Environmental Justice, Climate Resilience, Food Sovereignty, Labor & Economic Justice, and Community HUBs — address these challenges as the integrated system they are. This is not charity. This is structural change, led by the people who know what is needed most.

Our Framework

Five Pillars of Justice

Each pillar represents a domain where frontline communities face systemic harm — and where community-led organizing can create lasting change.

01Pillar One

Environmental Justice

Challenging the racist zoning and land-use decisions that concentrate pollution, waste facilities, and industrial hazards in Black and Brown communities.

Led the three-year campaign to remove Shingle Mountain — 200,000+ tons of toxic construction debris dumped next to a Black neighborhood in South Dallas
Monthly Environmental Justice Tours that educate hundreds of residents, students, and advocates each year
Policy advocacy and testimony before city, county, and state environmental agencies
Legal support and documentation of illegal dumping, zoning violations, and permitting abuses
Coalition building with EJ organizations across Texas and nationally

02Pillar Two

Climate Resilience

Ensuring that frontline communities are not only protected from climate harm but empowered to shape the climate policies that affect their lives.

International climate delegation representation — including UN climate negotiations in Nairobi, Kenya and Rome, Italy
Community climate education workshops and resilience planning
Connecting Dallas frontline neighborhoods to national and international climate justice networks
Advocating for equitable green infrastructure investment in underserved communities
Training community members as climate advocates and spokespeople

03Pillar Three

Food Sovereignty

Building community power over food systems — because healthy food access is an environmental justice issue, and food deserts are not accidents.

Community gardens and urban agriculture programs in South Dallas food deserts
Food access partnerships with local growers, co-ops, and faith institutions
Education on food sovereignty, soil health, and sustainable growing practices
Advocacy for equitable grocery access and against predatory food environments
Youth agriculture programs connecting young people to the land and to food justice

04Pillar Four

Labor & Economic Justice

Fighting for fair wages, safe working conditions, and economic opportunity for workers in the communities we serve.

Worker advocacy and support for organizing campaigns
Economic development programs rooted in community ownership
Coalition-building with labor unions and worker centers across the Dallas area
Advocacy against wage theft, unsafe conditions, and exploitation of immigrant workers
Connecting environmental and labor justice — clean environment and dignified work go together

05Pillar Five

Community HUBs

Creating physical and organizational spaces where community members can gather, organize, access resources, and build collective power.

Community resource centers providing information, referrals, and direct mutual aid
Regular community meetings and town halls for frontline residents
Mutual aid networks for emergencies, health crises, and day-to-day needs
Space for grassroots organizing, training, and leadership development
Connections to legal, health, environmental, and social service resources

Current Focus

Active Projects

Three campaigns at the heart of our current work — each rooted in a specific community need and connected to our broader mission.

Environmental JusticeActive

Park for Floral Farms

Transforming a toxic site into community green space

South Dallas, TX

For years, the Floral Farms neighborhood in South Dallas was home to Shingle Mountain — a 30-foot, 200,000+ ton pile of toxic construction shingles dumped illegally next to a Black residential community.

After three years of organizing, legal battles, and relentless community pressure, Shingle Mountain was fully removed in 2022. The site is now remediated. But the community's vision does not end there.

Southern Sector Rising is advocating with the City of Dallas and Dallas County to transform the remediated site into a public park — green space that Floral Farms residents have long been denied. This park would be a living symbol of community power: a mountain of harm turned into a place of healing.

200,000+Tons removed

2022Victory year

3 yearsCampaign length

Proposed Park for Shingle Mountain

Sandbranch community — water access project

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Clean WaterOngoing

Sandbranch Water Project

Clean water for a freedmen's community still off the grid

South Dallas, TX

Sandbranch is an unincorporated community in Dallas County with an 87% Black population — descendants of freed enslaved people who built this community generations ago. Despite being just outside a major American city, Sandbranch still lacks connection to the municipal water system.

Residents have been hauling water or relying on wells that do not meet safe drinking water standards. This is not a rural backwater problem — it is a product of deliberate disinvestment in a Black community that the county has long ignored.

Southern Sector Rising delivers clean water to Sandbranch on an ongoing basis and is a leading advocate for permanent infrastructure investment. We are not just delivering water — we are demanding that Dallas County fulfill its obligation to these residents.

87%Black residents

OngoingWater deliveries

1Community that should not be forgotten

EducationMonthly

Environmental Justice Tours

See environmental racism in Dallas — firsthand

South Dallas, TX

Knowing is the first step. Southern Sector Rising leads monthly Environmental Justice Tours through South Dallas and surrounding areas, giving participants a firsthand look at the environmental conditions facing frontline communities.

Tours visit sites of illegal dumping, industrial facilities located next to residential neighborhoods, areas with limited green space, and communities still fighting for clean water and air. Tour participants include students, researchers, faith communities, policymakers, and concerned citizens.

These tours are not just educational — they are organizing tools. Many of our most dedicated volunteers and partners first connected with SSR through an EJ Tour. We are building an informed, activated public one tour at a time.

MonthlyTour frequency

HundredsParticipants educated

All welcomeOpen to public

Beyond Dallas

Our Reach Is Global

Environmental justice is a global fight. Southern Sector Rising has taken the voices of Dallas frontline communities to international stages — including UN climate negotiations in Nairobi, Kenya and Rome, Italy.

We connect local struggles to international frameworks, bring global perspective back to our communities, and build bridges across the climate justice movement from South Dallas to the world.

Kenya — UN Climate Delegation

Rome, Italy — Climate Summit

150+ Allied Organizations Worldwide

SSR international delegation — Taproot Earth climate justice convening, Kenya

In the Field

Photo Gallery

From Kenya to Rome to the streets of South Dallas — moments from SSR’s work around the world.

SSR Kenya delegation

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Your contribution — whether time, money, or advocacy — directly fuels frontline community organizing across Dallas and beyond.

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