Celebrating Black Excellence in Sustainability: Community Advocacy

Dee Jones, is the CEO of Jump Ahead L3C, an environmentalist, activist, universal change agent, member of the West Grand Committee and NAACP Environmental Justice Committee. As an advocate for the environment, he has been intentional about educating People of Color about the intersection between health, livelihoods, and policy. His journey in environmental work began when he created his company, Jump Ahead L3C, and worked alongside the company Junk King and 10 youth whom he mentored about learning how to improve environmental conditions. Dee mentioned that he wants to live a legacy as “a globally recognized leader for innovation, sustainability, and renewable energy- helping countries develop better technology and jobs, and to make the world a better place for all”. Specifically, Dee wants the Black community to know that he cared about future generations so that today’s youth can live in a cleaner and safer environment than ever before.

Dee’s vision is to see more eco-friendly homes, apartments, and businesses all powered by renewable energy and sustainable technology (solar or geothermal) and a dramatic reduction in carbon emissions. He values authentic partnerships and educating others about how to advance a community focused on reducing pollution and investing in innovative and sustainable technology, infrastructure and capacity building. Dee is most proud of his work in creating an innovative program for youth on education and the environment and working to increase representation for African Americans in the Grand Rapids climate movement. Overall, Dee is happy to be a part of a larger coalition of nonprofit organizations doing the work to elevate everyone in the community and educate People of Color in the areas of climate change, sustainability and renewable energy.

Eleanor Moreno, Cook Arts Center Director with Grandville Avenue Arts & Humanities, is proud to call the Roosevelt Park Neighborhood her home and works to create space to call out opportunities to do things differently wherever she is. Instead of simply being comfortable with our current system, Eleanor encourages individuals to think about their long-term impact on people and our Earth. Beyond this, Eleanor is intentional about examining how communities can be included in processes to be able to share their gifts and talents with the larger, collective community. Their vision of the future of sustainability would center community always. She stated, “We need to value lived experience in the same way we value CEO’s or any other type of ‘professional’. We have talked so much about sustaining the Earth and fixing the Earth and doing better for the Earth but the Earth will be here once you and I move on, so how do we look at building a relationship to each other?”

Eleanor is proud of being in community and finding creative ways to involve others. She notes that individuals simply want to be asked to join, learn and contribute, but that organizations and leaders often make it hard or make excuses for others to be included and welcomed in all spaces. Another barrier Eleanor highlighted is white privilege. Eleanor explained that people who lead are “commonly ignorant to the day-to-day struggle of the people they serve” and that they must be willing to listen to the people they serve to lead in a way that truly benefits the community. Eleanor wants their legacy to be that she encouraged organizations to better serve the communities they serve or call home. She has a vision for organizations to work directly with the community they serve, build relationships with those neighbors and let the same neighbors guide those businesses and organizations. Community must have a voice, and these entities should belong to community. 

Andrew Oppong, works with the Christian Reformed Church in the Office of Social Justice as a Justice Mobilization Specialist focused on Creation Care and Climate Change and co-leads their Climate Witness Project initiative. This is an initiative designed to walk with congregations and individuals as they learn about the realities of climate change, become equipped to be better stewards of Earth’s resources and find their policy voice to advocate for those most affected by climate change. Andrew notes that they also provide free comprehensive energy audits and assessments to places of worship, solar opportunities for churches, and aim to educate their constituents to realize the benefits of renewable energy. Andrew’s vision for the future of sustainability prioritizes environmental justice and equity, among other aspirations such as advancing an accelerated deployment of clean and renewable energy and reaching net-zero in our energy sector. In the journey to reach widespread sustainability, we must center those and invest in communities and neighborhoods most impacted by the climate crisis- both BIPOC and under-resourced communities. 

Andrew said he is “particularly proud of the work we have done and continue to do in organizing and mobilizing hundreds of our constituents and other people of faith to find their voice and engage their elected officials in advocating for common-sense climate policy”. In order to realize our collective vision of sustainability, there must be an overhaul in both infrastructure and policy to pave the way. When asked about the legacy that Andrew wants to be known for he said, “As a member of an impacted community myself, if I could leave a legacy, it would be that I empowered and encouraged more BIPOC leaders and champions in this work. In terms of bringing others into this journey, I believe I will continue to emphasize the point that a vision for the future rooted in sustainability and equity benefits everyone; from the small business owner to the Indigenous community, we all have a stake in this. I would also add that though this is very challenging work, as James Baldwin aptly put, ‘Not everything that is faced can be changed. But nothing can be changed until it is faced.’ Let’s come together to face and embrace a better and more sustainable future for all”.

Synia Gant-Jordan,Co-Founder of Legacy & Love LLC., a collaborator with the African American Community Task Force and a community advocate in the sustainability space, owns her salon, Samaria J’s, and works as a real estate agent with Legacy Homes GR. She takes a position to lift up the voices of the Black community that go unheard, unrecognized, and unfelt and recognizes the negative social and economic impact that her community experiences and has experienced historically. Synia speaks of the importance of this work, as acknowledges that advocating and centering community has been passed down from family members before her – notably her grandmother Synia Duke-McBride whom she is named after. Much like her grandmother, Synia wants her legacy to be that she created space to serve communities for generations to come and make it “known that we are here with a purpose and that Black lives carry just as much value as any others. We have contributed to the many spaces and places that non-Black people own & occupy”.

Engaging in discussion around social justice issues, working together as a collective community to contribute to health and prosperity outcomes are two things Synia hopes to see for the future of sustainability. She sees a future where data collection is driven by community members and that data shows better outcomes for underserved communities and that neighbors have agency to be a part of the change, in policy and practice, that they want to see. Synia highlights the importance of a movement for health and environmental justice that are led by those most impacted by COVID-19 and climate change. She examines the connection between the melanin in her skin and the power that she has and is able to emit, and how renewable energy that can power our homes and workplaces is made possible by the sun.     

Synia looks forward to having more conversations around how in the environmental field, policies and decisions are made so that some are set up for success while others are set up systemically for failure and that the narrative and opportunities are beginning to shift to be accessible for everyone. She believes that through unity efforts, everyone has a role to play to make positive change in our neighborhoods, families and communities, especially in the health and environmental sectors. Synia is proud of how the community has developed in the past two years specifically through the work of the Grand Rapids’ Community Collaboration on Climate Change (C4). Through this collaboration, resources and measures have been put in place so that we can make sure that climate and environmental justice are centered throughout the process and that education and resources are accessible for all.

Beyond that, Synia is proud of the economic development and trust building that she advances in her community, as well as her role as a business owner. Synia has been a business owner for 22 years and gave new life to her business’ building when it was going to be torn down. Through intentional and incremental development, Synia believes she will play an important role in building up the community and sharing knowledge and opportunities along the way. There are many barriers and challenges that the community faces from access to capital and healthcare, unjust policies and zoning, language barriers, and other issues rooted in racism that Synia mentioned. She is hopeful that through a collective sharing of resources, education, and organizing, we can begin to remove some of these barriers and systemic issues while acknowledging historical oppression and wrongdoings in the process. Synia hopes to leave a legacy of created spaces where community can come together and celebrate and looks forward to a future where renewable energy can be used to help eliminate the energy burden for under-resourced families. Synia says that she is one of her ancestors wildest dreams!

Kareem Scales, Administrator of Operations and Youth Advisor for Greater Grand Rapids NAACP, enjoys educating and enhancing awareness in Black and Brown communities about how individuals can benefit from incorporating sustainability practices into their everyday lives- financial, health and environmental impact. His goal is to serve as a change agent, or connector/translator, between organizations, legislators, business owners, and community members on the current state of environmental justice, climate change, and sustainability.

Kareem has recognized that historically, Black, Brown and other under-resourced communities have not been at the table when it comes to sustainability for various reasons. His vision for the future of sustainability is to “create a world where all people have access and capacity to benefit from successful sustainable practices regardless of their current financial situation”. He mentioned that too often both small business owners and community members have had to compromise to focus their energy on short term needs, but the benefits of sustainability can be accessible and empowering for individuals to be able to lead more healthy lives. 

When asked about something that Kareem is proud of that we could collectively celebrate he responded, “I think proud is an understatement. I prefer to use words like blessed and highly favored. I am most thankful to be in a position where I can help empower others in the community with resources that may not traditionally be available and accessible. I am proud to be a Black man who can work as a ‘resource broker’ between corporate America and the community.” Although Kareem believes that barriers are a part of the process of working in the sustainability and eco-social justice field, some of the largest challenges have come from the idea of “the loneliness in onlyness”. Kareem said that when you are the only person at the table who looks like you and comes from your background, it can be internally challenging to stay focused on the larger vision and speak on behalf of not only yourself but with your community in mind who has not historically had a seat at these tables. He explains that “Staying rooted in your beliefs while being willing to learn and compromise can sometimes be a tough balance.”

When looking to the future, Kareem wants to be remembered as a fearless leader, a change agent, and a disruptor and he looks forward to bringing others along on the journey by “serving as a model of what it means to be dedicated to the transformational advancement of all people who come from communities that have been historically underserved”.

Lynn Todman, Vice President of Health Equity with Spectrum Health Lakeland, is responsible for leading efforts to address health equity in the Spectrum Health Lakeland service area. Her impact has been primarily in the field of health equity – helping to highlight health disparities in the community and working to develop interventions that aim to narrow these disparities. Her vision for the future of sustainability and eco-social justice is that there would be no unfair, unjust, or avoidable difference in the health of different groups of people.

Lynn is proud of Community Grand Rounds, which is an initiative she launched in 2017 to catalyze and increase a local understanding of structural racism and its impact on the health of African American communities. She is also proud of Brave Talks, which emerged out of the Community Grand Rounds initiative as a tool for deepening the understanding of structural racism and enhancing individuals’ and community capacity to constructively talk about and address racism in our community.

The fragility of some people and their unwillingness to acknowledge that racism is real is a significant problem and continues to harm all people regardless of their racial or ethnic identity. Overall, Lynn would like to be remembered for catalyzing conversations and action, which served as the foundation for meaningful change.