Our History and Vision:

One Mississippi (OM) is dedicated to the well-being of the people, land, water, and wildlife of the Mississippi River watershed. The River itself has the power to create an atmosphere where people can live fulfilling and healthy lives. Still, histories of injustice have dammed the full liberating potential of the River. Our commitment to equity and justice is rooted in our understanding of the history, patterns, and practices of colonialism, racism, and oppression that define the mainstream U.S. American environmental and conservation movement.  Here are some of the ways these patterns and practices have played out over time and continue to operate, along with a vision to change this legacy:

1. Indigenous Peoples were and continue to be displaced from their ancestral lands along the Mississippi River. Indigenous Peoples’ relationships to nature and their deep understanding and knowledge of living in a community in ecosystems have not been respected and valued. In the future, we envision a River system where Indigenous peoples' land sovereignty and traditional knowledge are acknowledged and valued. 

2. Marginalized communities, including Black people who have been displaced from land and denied access to that land, bear the brunt of environmental degradation and a changing climate. This places them on the front lines of impacts that include flooding, pollution, unsafe drinking water, poor health outcomes, and economic inequality. Additionally, these communities often do not receive the federal, state, or local government support to fight these injustices they deserve. In the future, we envision a River system that does not burden marginalized communities, where the gifts of the River and the burdens are shared equitably, along with resources to combat these injustices. 

3. In addition to the environmental injustices mentioned above, parks and green spaces have not been accessible to all due to historical segregation. Furthermore, racist land use and ownership policies have drastically reduced the amount of Black-owned farmland. Black, Indigenous, and People of Color (BIPOC) communities continue to feel unwelcome in mainstream white-centering conservation spaces, have not been included in important conservation decisions, and face barriers to accessing resources. In the future, we envision a system where racist land use policies are extinct, reparations are made to acknowledge the harm of those systems, and land access and ownership are equitable. 

4. We recognize that injustice harms not only people, but also the environment, as people and the environment are inextricably connected and interdependent. The same systems and historical patterns that have harmed people also harm the health of the River. For example, the Mississippi River has been engineered to be highly channelized and is cut off from 90% of its original floodplains. Wetlands are drained, and water pollution and sediment are more quickly delivered downstream, flooding impacts are more severe, and wildlife and plants suffer from a lack of natural habitat. In the future, we envision a River system that is healthy, connected, and valued as an ecosystem that people, communities, and wildlife depend on. 

But injustice isn’t just about understanding the past. The stories of the people are also the stories of the Mississippi River, and we can’t care for the River without addressing histories that have impacted the health and quality of life for all the people who are sustained by it. If we fail to address the history and ongoing practice and patterns of oppression, we cannot do our best work. In alignment with our organization’s mission, we have the responsibility to better represent, reflect, and include all the communities that have a relationship with the River and who deserve a voice in river policy, restoration, and engagement work. When we center those who have been most impacted by environmental and climate crises, we will be able to provide better conservation outcomes, innovation, and solutions that truly work for everyone and leave no one behind. 

Our Role:

We appreciate that equity and justice work is a journey and not a destination. The problems are large, and our contributions to solutions will be imperfect and incomplete. However, we recommit every day to this work and lean into our values as a learning organization. In both our outreach and policy work, One Mississippi acts as an artery and has unique roles to play in furthering equity and justice. We are: 

1. Convenor: We convene diverse groups to engage in dialogue about equity and justice. We aspire to convene spaces that inspire and are a model for our member organizations. Member Map

2. Connector: We connect, and we cultivate a shared sense of identity for our national  Network by tying together issues across the watershed, connecting partners with each other, and valuing relationships built on trust and belonging. We aspire to serve as a connector around water issues, breaking through silos with cross-cutting topics such as social, agriculture, public health, and housing issues. Our Work 

3. Amplifier: Though we do not engage in hyper-local work as the artery organization, we amplify local issues. All of our River communities are different, but as a Network, we aspire to align on messaging around equity and justice issues impacting River communities to make our voices louder. We aspire to give up power/resources and “pass the mic” to local organizations where we can. YouTube, Facebook, Instagram

4. Learner:  Our equity and justice work will never be complete. We are students, and we share our learnings with our members and the larger conservation sector. We aspire to be a model for what an authentic and humble equity and justice journey looks like as we work toward more equitable outcomes. Environmental Justice Storymap

5. Hub: We continue to serve as a hub for equity and justice resources, technical assistance, and training. We aspire to have more shared responsibility in populating the Anti-Racism Resource Hub and providing assistance and training. 

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