Celebrating Black History Month 2024
In Fall 2023, the Oregon Department of Energy was pleased to welcome Lauren Rosenstein to the team as the agency’s first dedicated Community Equity and Inclusion Analyst. Lauren brings a wealth of experience and a commitment to equity and antiracism – she looks forward to listening to community needs and helping identify and remove barriers to accomplish equitable energy and climate goals through building relationships and collaborating across agency programs. This month, Lauren reflects in her own words on Black History Month and what it means for our agency and our work.
February rings in Black History Month. This is a time for reflection, recognition, and celebration of the many contributions of Black and African Americans. We reflect on those who have paved the way for our present. We are grateful for those who committed themselves to the Civil Rights movement throughout the course of United States history and continue the work today.
Black History Month also reminds us to listen to the current calls to action and ask ourselves what else we need to do to reaffirm a path toward equity. What is the direct action we can take in our personal and professional lives to commit to being antiracist? How do we create workplaces that value and create inclusive cultures for Black and African American colleagues? Working within a government structure, I recognize there are hundreds of years of systemic and institutional racism that we have to acknowledge and work through to shift the balance of power. As the journey continues, I am optimistic about the changes I see happening and the evolution of systems – and how we can put them into action at the Oregon Department of Energy (ODOE).
As we move toward a more just future, let’s remember those who made this possible. The list of contributions of Black and African American people in the field of health, economics, education, and the environment is long. I’d like to introduce you to just a handful of people who have led the way in the environmental justice movement, and I encourage you to continue your journey, which you could begin by checking out The National Museum of African American History and Culture.
Dr. Beverly Wright grew up in Louisiana and began researching pollution in the state as people were becoming sick and dying because of the effects of petrochemicals. Dr. Wright’s work connected racial justice and health impacts, which contributed to the launch of the environmental justice movement.
Dr. Tyrone Hayes is a scientist and professor of integrative biology at UC Berkeley, and a 2020 Rodale Institute Organic Pioneer. Dr. Hayes researched the negative impacts of the herbicide atrazine, which led to regulations that help protect drinking water and the health and safety of agricultural and factory workers.
Huey Newton and Bobby Seale created the Black Panther Party to address economic and social issues like job discrimination and evictions for Black and African American people. One of the programs created was the Free Breakfast for Children Program that paved the way for the Free and Reduced Lunch Program that is now established across the United States.
Dr. Warren Washington (born in Portland, Oregon) is a meteorologist who was one of the first people to develop atmospheric computer models that have helped us better understand climate change. The work of Dr. Washington and his team earned the Nobel Peace Prize in 2007 as part of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change.
Hattie Carthan noticed that trees lining her neighborhood in Brooklyn were dying at an alarming rate and so she began replanting them herself. Her grassroots action led to a movement that developed more green spaces in cities through her founding the Neighborhood Tree Corps.
Dr. Robert Bullard is known as the “father of environmental justice.” Dr. Bullard has written numerous books demonstrating the intersectionality of racial justice and climate justice; he has won many awards including the John Muir Award and the Environmental Justice Award; he has been named as one of the world's 100 Most Influential People in Climate Policy; and in 2021 President Biden named him to the White House Environmental Justice Advisory Council.
Through the expertise and continued efforts of people like Dr. Wright, Dr. Hayes, Huey Newton, Bobby Seale, Dr. Washington, Hattie Carthan, Dr. Bullard — and so many other Black and African American scientists, community leaders, and activists — the United States has committed to investing in climate change, clean energy and energy efficiency, clean transit, affordable and sustainable housing, training and workforce development, remediation and reduction of legacy pollution, and the development of critical clean water and wastewater infrastructure.
To make meaningful change, we need leaders at every level of government to take action. One way we are seeing change and action is through the creation of the White House Environmental Justice Advisory Council. On March 30, 2021, Vice President Harris addressed the inaugural meeting of the Council, stating, “The President and I are committed to addressing environmental justice and environmental injustice in everything we do. Because we know we cannot achieve health justice, economic justice, racial justice or educational justice without environmental justice. And we are confident that the work you do as members of this Council will help our administration help Americans across our country. We need your insight, your expertise, your lived experience. We need your ideas and your recommendations. Basically, we need you, period.”
The inequities and injustices in these fields have most directly negatively impacted Black and African American people. The efforts of the Federal government’s initiative, Justice40, are in place to “…help confront decades of underinvestment in disadvantaged communities, and bring critical resources to communities that have been overburdened by legacy pollution and environmental hazards.” As the Biden administration leads this effort, ODOE has been learning and implementing policy and programs on equity and environmental justice through HB 4077, the Environmental Justice Council, our strategic plan, and specific legislatively directed programs such as the Community Renewable Energy Grant Program.
An unprecedented amount of Federal dollars will help ensure that Oregon’s environmental justice communities — and people who have been purposefully excluded from decision-making processes historically and currently — receive benefits. We know that Black and African American communities are disproportionately impacted and so must be centered in environmental, climate, and energy justice. As ODOE's Community Equity and Inclusion Analyst, I look forward to strengthening our community relationships to support an equitable clean energy transition for Oregon.