Communities of Color Campaign to Green the Block

Headed by Barack Obama, the nation's first black President, who appointed Lisa Jackson as the first African-American ever to head the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, the Obama administration is offering funding and support to these communities to help solve their environmental problems, create jobs and train workers to fill them.

Members of President Obama's Cabinet and the community engagement campaign Green the Block met in Washington August 4 to discuss ways to ensure that opportunities from the new green economy are available to a broad cross-section of people.

In response to the President's call to service through the United We Serve campaign, Green the Block issued a call to action for green community service projects in underserved communities on September 11, the National Day of Service and Remembrance.

Cabinet members EPA Administrator Jackson, Housing and Urban Development Secretary Shaun Donovan, and Department of Energy Under Secretary Kristina Johnson attended the event at the White House.

Phaedra Ellis-Lamkins introduces the Green the Block campaign, flanked by, from left, DOE Under Secretary Kristina Johnson, EPA Administrator Lisa Jackson, Reverend Lennox Yearwood, Jr., HUD Secretary Shaun Donovan. August 4, 2009. (Photo courtesy Green for All)

They were joined by Reverend Lennox Yearwood, Jr., president of the Hip Hop Caucus; Phaedra Ellis-Lamkins, CEO of the nonprofit Green For All; and leaders of the new Green the Block campaign.

Convened by Green For All and the Hip Hop Caucus, Green the Block encourages education, legislative advocacy, private-sector development and youth activism, and is supported by a coalition of partners, including 25 of the 42 members of the Congressional Black Caucus.

"Green the Block is a movement to build a clean-energy economy where everyone has a chance to succeed," said Ellis-Lamkins. "That starts with making sure that those who are often left out and left behind – low-income people and communities of color – have a voice and a presence in this movement. These communities also need a fair share of the economic, social and environmental benefits this transition is creating."

"Administrator Jackson, who grew up in New Orleans' 9th Ward, understands the environmental challenges faced by individuals and families in vulnerable communities across the country," said Ellis-Lamkins.

"In case after case, the things that make good environmental sense also make good economic sense. When we put that environmental green on the block, we also put a lot more of that economic green on the block," Jackson said.

Jackson announced more than $61 million to accelerate the cleanup of polluted development sites known as brownfields - all but $13 million from the EPA Brownfields program is funded by the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act.

"And that's just a fraction of what we've invested in cleanups and energy efficiency projects in our communities," Jackson said.

More than $6.8 million of that funding will be invested to train workers to clean up brownfields sites, which may be contaminated by hazardous chemicals or pollutants, turning these rundown areas to revitalized, productive properties.

Secretary Donovan said HUD is working to weatherize multi-family housing across the country and keep those jobs in impacted communities. “The transition to clean energy and the benefits from it should extend to every corner of the country and penetrate communities that have long been passed over whenever waves of economic innovation are developing,” he said.

The Department of Energy has given more than $8 billion for weatherization projects in local communities and for incentives to use clean energy, said Johnson. This work involves installing new energy efficient windows and doors, updating insulation, and encouraging state and local governments to use more fuel efficient vehicles and renewable forms of energy.

Speaking to the National Association of Black Journalists, NABJ, on Friday, Jackson said, "Poison in the ground means poison in the economy. A weak environment means a weak consumer base. And unhealthy air means an unhealthy atmosphere for investments."

"The recovery act is not only helping train individuals for good jobs in their communities, it's helping them rebuild a lasting foundation for prosperity. With new skills in environmental clean up, these workers will begin restoring their communities into better places for businesses to invest and create jobs," said Jackson.

Jackson told the NABJ of her visit to West Philadelphia High School where students are working on an innovative hybrid car.

"The vast majority of students at West Philly – almost 100 percent – are black. Many of them come from disadvantaged, underserved neighborhoods. The hybrid car they're building has outperformed models built by university teams and private companies," Jackson said.

"These high school students from the inner city are taking their car to compete against other hybrid vehicles from around the world in the Progressive Automotive X Prize competition," she said. "The top prize there is $10 million."

"Our young people are embracing the green economy, not just as consumers, but also as innovators and entrepreneurs, Jackson said.

There is a new emphasis on encouraging not just job training but entrepreneurship in traditionally underserved communities.

In the coming months as brownfields are cleaned up and America moves towards a clean-energy economy, Green the Block plans to launch an effort to educate people about the opportunities available in the emerging economy through job training, entrepreneurship, and increased energy efficiency through infrastructure development.

Reverend Yearwood says the transition from fossil fuels to clean energy is "rich with opportunities for all Americans, and everyone should have a chance to participate."

"Clean-energy investments will create more job opportunities than spending on fossil fuels, like oil, natural gas and coal," Yearwood said. "The building of a clean-energy economy in the United States can serve to create new pathways out of poverty for the 78 million people in this country who are presently poor or near poor."

Copyright Environment News Service, ENS, 2009. All rights reserved.