Logo for Downwinders at Risk featuring three raised fists of different skin tones holding red inhalers on the left, with the words “Downwinders at risk” on the right — “Downwinders” in bold gray and “at risk” in red script.
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OUR MISSION AND HISTORY

Generations of Change, Fueled By Community

For decades, Downwinders at Risk has been powered by one unshakeable belief: real change starts from the ground up.

Our history is a testament to the power of community, telling the story of neighbors standing together to demand clean air and environmental justice. This legacy of people-powered advocacy is who we are.

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Our mission

We believe everyone has the right to a healthy community. Downwinders at Risk mobilizes North Texas communities to fight for clean air and environmental justice through grassroots organizing, education, and advocacy.

Our commitment

We are committed to a future where a child’s zip code does not determine their health. We stand with residents, providing the tools to become powerful advocates for their own communities. We will not stop fighting until every family in North Texas can breathe clean air, free from the threat of industrial pollution.

OUR HISTORY

A legacy of community-powered change

For decades, frontline communities have borne the brunt of pollution, climate change, and environmental neglect. We exist to change that.

Founded in 1994, Downwinders at Risk grew out of grassroots resistance to environmental harm and harms to public health. What began as a local effort has evolved into a powerful movement for justice that spans neighborhoods, cities, and generations.

Through organizing, education, advocacy, and legal action, we are moving to secure cleaner air and stronger protections for our city.
Today, we remain committed to the same principle that sparked our founding: Environmental justice is civil right.

1994

David and Goliath

A group of determined residents in Midlothian, tired of the toxic air from a cluster of nearby cement plants, came together to form Downwinders at Risk. They waged a 13-year campaign to stop the burning of toxic waste at the largest cement plant in the nation (TXI-Martin-Marietta), and accelerated the modernization of all three Midlothian cement plants. This marked the beginning of a meaningful reduction in air pollution emitted because of the new pollution controls installed and an organized, persistent fight for environmental justice in North Texas.

1994

David and Goliath

A group of determined residents in Midlothian, tired of the toxic air from a cluster of nearby cement plants, came together to form Downwinders at Risk. They waged a 13-year campaign to stop the burning of toxic waste at the largest cement plant in the nation (TXI-Martin-Marietta), and accelerated the modernization of all three Midlothian cement plants. This marked the beginning of a meaningful reduction in air pollution emitted because of the new pollution controls installed and an organized, persistent fight for environmental justice in North Texas.