The southeastern region of the United States had more polluting facilities than anywhere in the United States of America. It's one of the poorest regions in the United States and suffers the greatest number of climate- and weather-related impacts in the country. The south is also the last funded region by philanthropic organizations in the country. Nonetheless, some of the most successful and impactful work around issues are being performed daily in the South.

One of the things that are slowing down the momentum of our movements and limiting our success in various issue areas is that our work is often operating in a silo, segregated, or segmenting. The Justice First Tour aims to build solidarity in the South by issuing the call for justice first. This solidarity still provides an umbrella under which all of us can work. It is time that we move toward working for environmental justice, earth justice, economic justice, climate justice, creation care justice, social justice, racial justice, gender justice, etc. If we commit to posting and attaining justice in all our issue areas for all of our communities and constituents, we will have attained victory, justice, and equity for us all.

Every successful movement had an umbrella under which everyone can work. A classic example is the civil rights movement in the South. People work together in solidarity because of their faith, commitment to nonviolence, living in integrated communities, having access to lunch counters, attending any school or college, for forbidden positions of power, and simply having the right to vote. We believe that the Justice First Tour can be the beginning of accomplishing that same solidarity in the South. The southeastern region of the United States had more polluting facilities than anywhere in the United States of America. It's one of the poorest regions in the United States and suffers the greatest number of climate- and weather-related impacts in the country. The south is also the last funded region by philanthropic organizations in the country. Nonetheless, some of the most successful and impactful work around issues are being performed daily in the South.