WHO WE ARE
Camp 1 Rootz is a Black-led sustainable development organizing collective rooted in Mississippi and committed to building the collective power and self-determination of people of Afrikan descent.
Founded in 2010 and grounded in the Black radical and Mississippi freedom movement traditions. Camp 1 Rootz traces its organizing lineage to the Mississippi freedom movement and particularly the organizing traditions associated with SNCC. Through the mentorship of Baba Curtis Muhammad and the movement traditions represented by organizers including Ella Baker, Hollis Watkins and Bob Moses, we inherit an approach to organizing centered on ordinary people’s capacity to lead themselves.
Camp 1 Rootz organizes alongside young people, families, working-class communities, educators, community workers, and local leaders to build the relationships, leadership, institutions, and resources necessary for communities to govern themselves.
Our work is rooted in a fundamental belief: our communities already possess the knowledge, skills, resources, culture, and leadership necessary to build the futures we deserve.
We practice the world we seek to create. Camp 1 Rootz operates through collective leadership and responsibility, with a Planning Council that uses consensus-based decision-making. These principles inform both how we govern our organization and how we organize alongside communities.
CAMP 1 ROOTZ mission...
Camp 1 Rootz organizes poor and working-class Black communities in Mississippi to build collective power, self-determination, and sustainable development through popular education, bottom-up organizing, civic engagement and leadership development. Rooted in the tradition of the Mississippi Freedom Movement, we are a multi-generational organization who aims to address systemic poverty, housing instability, environmental racism, gender-based violence, and health disparities.
The People
 Sanovia MuhammadYoga Instructor / Nurse Mama Sanovia is a retired registered nurse with 18 years of experience as a camp coordinator. She is a 500-hour certified yoga instructor. She is a mother of six, a grandmother of 7, a performance artist, and a published author and poet. Mama Sanovia’s passion is children and women, and she is dedicated to leaving a legacy for them! |  Calandra DavisCalandra is a Black queer feminist organizer from rural Mississippi. Rooted in the Black radical tradition, she is committed to building sustainable communities through bottom-up organizing. As a birth assistant and student midwife, Calandra brings an ancestral, pleasure-centered approach to birth, honoring traditional midwives and the wisdom and power of birthing people. Through her work with Camp 1 Rootz, she connects land, health, liberation, and pleasure with everyday people for liberation. |  Ishmael MuhammadCamp Counselor / Activities Coordinator Ishmael has over 20 years of camp counseling experience and 15 years in camp activity coordination. He worked as an organizer for Hurricane Katrina relief for three years and supported immediate relief following the 2010 earthquake in Haiti. Ishmael is a licensed attorney and Know Your Rights advocate. |
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 AmerahI’m Amerah, a social worker and advocate for women and girls. I am a vital voice in the Camp leadership. I started as a camper and now I help with our youth organizing in Port Gibson and West Jackson. I use my professional social work background to lead our social media presence, inform our grassroots door-knocking, advise our violence interruption committee, and develop our gender-based violence program. As a proud bi-sexual woman, I'm passionate about creating safe spaces to heal and transform |  Atiba FreerMama Atiba has worked in education for nearly fifty years. She came to camping through the Council of Independent Black Institutions (CB). She is the founder of Kindezi Consulting. She has previously worked with the Malcolm X Grassroots Movement and New African Scouts, not only educating our children but preparing our children politically. Mama Atiba is committed to having our own land to train children to live in unison with nature and each other through a consensus based governing structure. |  ZindzhiMy name is Zindzhi and I am a youth organizer & social media manager for our camp. Dedicated to community wellness, as much as my own, I find great fulfillment in extending guidance and healing our youth of color. Walking alongside children as they navigate the obstacles of camp life and beyond, and grow through them, has always been a beautiful experience! My commitment to the safety, care, joy, and growth of campers comes from the understanding that our youth are our future. Providing guidance |
 Aziza YoungAziza is community gardener, advocate for the elderly, a poet, and a mother of 3, who has tirelessly fought to give her a children a life full of joy and security in spite of facing many obstacles and years of abuse. She’s currently incarcerated in Raymond, MS but has continued her organizing and advocacy work inside the cages. She is a pillar of our gender-justice work, reminding us that survivors should not be criminalized. |  Kenyatta FlemingKenyatta has been involved with camp since its founding in 2010, where he’s served as a counselor. His interests include agriculture, health, and entrepreneurship. He’s committed to sharing knowledge and helping the community become as independent and self-sufficient as possible. Kenyatta’s background is in education and entrepreneurship, including developing a global grocery that serves Afrikan people at home and abroad. |
A Deeper Look Into Our Work
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Annual cooperative ran youth sustainability camp reaching over 400 youth in the last decade.
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Year round organizing work in West Jackson and Claiborne County that focuses on collectively owning our own water system, sustainable skills, conflict mediation, and democratic decision-making alongside elders and adult community members.
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Camp 1 Rootz models collective leadership through consensus-based decision- making within our Planning Council and incorporates democratic governance and cooperative practices throughout our organizing and camp spaces.
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Camp 1 Rootz works toward community-controlled housing models that place residents at the center of decisions about land, housing development, affordability, maintenance, and long-term stewardship.
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Early on we learned that chronic illness affects every household in our organizing footprint, whether through direct experience, caregiving, or the loss of loved ones. Camp 1 Rootz is working to develop wellness clinics and community-based health initiatives that respond to the realities of chronic illness through accessible, culturally grounded, preventive, and relationship-centered care.
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Black mothers and birthing people continue to face profound health disparities and preventable harm in Mississippi. Camp 1 Rootz supports Black maternal health through community birth assistance, midwifery, relationship-based care, and the strengthening of community birth networks.
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Camp 1 Rootz advances food sovereignty through regenerative gardening and community-based food production. Regenerative gardening strengthens soil, restores ecological relationships, develops practical skills, supports healthier diets, and reconnects people to land and ancestral knowledge
