Our Community
Camp 1 Rootz serves the rural Mississippi county
of Claiborne and the West Jackson, MS community in Hinds County. The group
operates with a nine-member planning council and more than 30 volunteers
throughout the United States, Jamaica, St. Croix and Belize.
Port Gibson, MS
Black people comprise 90% of the population, with the majority living in poverty. Port Gibson is host to a rich history of community resilience and resistance—from those who refused to be chased out by racists and supremacists to those who organized armed resistance through the Deacons for Defense, to those who created independent political resistance through the development of the Mississippi Freedom Democratic Party.
The intersection of race, class and gender in Port Gibson and Claiborne County make this a model area for fostering sustainable development and self-determination.
West Jackson, MS
West Jackson is part of a majority-Black capital city—82% of Jackson residents are Black—shaped by generations of disinvestment and aging infrastructure. Jackson’s water crisis has exposed how environmental injustice and racial inequity directly affect community health and stability. Camp 1 Rootz’s environmental justice work seeks to move beyond dependency toward self-determination. Developing community-controlled water systems alongside land restoration, food sovereignty, and regenerative development gives residents greater power over the resources essential to life, health, and community resilience.