Environmental Justice: Marsha Jackson and Shingle Mountain
In partnership with The Texas Observer
Thousands of tons of roofing shingle waste remains in view from Marsha Jackson’s property in Dallas. (Deep Indigo Collective for The Texas Observer)
Deep Indigo Collective is thrilled to see the publishing of our first visual storytelling partnership. Our introductory coverage supported reporting by The Texas Observer on disproportionate exposure of Black and Latinx neighborhoods to pollutants in southern Dallas and the effort to remove Shingle Mountain.
Sept. 14, 2020: Our nonprofit was established with a conviction for visual storytelling’s ability to inform audiences of critical issues. The nonprofit is a proponent of photojournalism as an essential instrument in communicating the climate crisis and environmental threats of all kinds. Looking at the challenges facing life on Earth and the troubles in the local news industry, the Collective launched a model supporting environmental reporting in communities across the United States. These partnerships are created for under-resourced newsrooms seeking to enhance reporting with exclusive and original photography and videography. We are hopeful that, piece-by-piece, alternative methods of generating local coverage will provide greater access to crucial reporting for news-vulnerable audiences.
As a startup news organization, it was a privilege for us to partner with The Observer on a story drawing attention to environmental justice concerns in Dallas. Reporter Amal Ahmed centered the piece on the experience of resident Marsha Jackson, who is living with a immense, illegal roofing shingle dump within yards of her home, and the concentration of industrial pollution around Black and Latinx neighborhoods in southern Dallas. Deep Indigo created a collection of photographs illustrating the magnitude of Shingle Mountain and its proximity to Jackson and her neighbors, in addition to images chronicling the juxtaposition of industry and the Joppa neighborhood.
Below, we’ve included the photo spread with our coverage from The Observer’s September/October 2020 issue, as well as coverage outtakes that didn’t make the print or online editions. Be sure to read the alarming reporting by Amal. Please feel free to reach out to us directly if you or your news organization are interested in receiving help with visual coverage for any upcoming environmental story.
(Rights to these images belong to Deep Indigo Collective. Please contact the nonprofit to license this content.)
Courtesy The Texas Observer
Thousands of tons of roofing shingle waste remains in view from Choate Road in Dallas. (Deep Indigo Collective for The Texas Observer)
Marsha Jackson walks her dog, Prince, while wearing a mask and long sleeves to avoid contact with airborne fiberglass from Shingle Mountain outside her home in Dallas. (Deep Indigo Collective for The Texas Observer)
Thousands of tons of roofing shingle waste remains at Shingle Mountain in Dallas. (Deep Indigo Collective for The Texas Observer)
Simon Fernandez, while wearing a mask to protect against airborne fiber glass, herds his sheep and goats after their grazing near thousands of tons of roofing shingle waste at Shingle Mountain in Dallas. (Deep Indigo Collective for The Texas Observer)
Sheep and goats graze near thousands of tons of roofing shingle waste at Shingle Mountain in Dallas. (Deep Indigo Collective for The Texas Observer)
Jackson believes Shingle Mountain has contributed to her experiencing headaches and skin and lung irritation. (Deep Indigo Collective for The Texas Observer)