The Solutions Project Celebrates 5th Annual Black Climate Week From Monday, Feb 17 - Sunday, Feb 23

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This award-winning campaign raises awareness about the climate & societal benefits of Black-led climate solutions

OAKLAND, Calif., Feb. 18, 2025 /PRNewswire/ -- From Monday, Feb 17 through Sunday, Feb 23, The Solutions Project (TSP) is celebrating its 5^th annual Black Climate Week, an award-winning campaign designed to raise awareness about the vital role of Black leaders in combatting the climate crisis.

As the federal government now undermines essential climate policies, The Solutions Project's goal for this year's Black Climate Week is to inspire the general public to recognize the value of Black-led climate solutions, which will continue to grow from the ground up in communities across the country. The campaign already has momentum. Last year, Black Climate Week reached nearly 150 million people with dozens of groups around the country participating. Now, in addition to online participation, nonprofits across the South and in the city of Newark, NJ are hosting events.

"Five years into Black Climate Week, it's powerful to see that more cities, organizations, and movements are uplifting Black leadership in the fight for climate justice" said Gloria Walton, CEO & President of The Solutions Project. "This campaign is more critical than ever—especially as the federal government threatens to cut vital services for workers, seniors, and children, and funding for frontline communities. Black Climate Week isn't just a celebration; it's a call to action. The solutions we need are already here and underway, grounded in communities, rooted in generations of wisdom, resilience, and innovation. Now, let's resource them!"

Climate change is a racial justice issue. It disproportionately impacts Black communities. If the planet warms 2°C, Black people are 40% more likely than other groups to live in places where climate-fueled extreme temperatures will cause more deaths. Sixty-eight percent of Black Americans live within 30 miles of a coal-fired power plant. So it's no wonder a new survey found that 88% of Black voters are concerned about climate change - much higher than the national average.

From 2021–2024, The Solutions Project invested $42 million in grassroots climate organizations, the majority of which are led by women of color who are too often denied philanthropic support for their innovations. During that time, TSP-funded groups secured 53 climate policy and campaign wins that are expected to benefit 106 million people, significantly reduce carbon emissions, and implement over $350 billion in public funding for climate solutions—if they can survive the federal administration's illegal attempts to claw back committed public funds.

"Black Climate Week is about uplifting, investing in, and protecting Black-led climate solutions that not only safeguard our communities but also build a stronger, more just future for everyone. These solutions—like community-owned energy, climate disaster-resilient infrastructure, and affordable green housing—are already transforming lives. But recognition isn't enough. It's time for action and investment at the scale this moment demands. The frontline isn't waiting, and neither should we." said Ena Coleman, The Solutions Project's lead organizer for Black Climate Week. 

Throughout Black Climate Week, The Solutions Project will highlight Black climate leaders and organizations, such as:

• Naomi Davis of Blacks in Green, who works at the intersection of climate and sustainable community development. Naomi is leading the charge to develop "Sustainable Square Miles" in Black communities, first in Chicago's South Side and then across the country. Coined as the gold standard for Black community economic development, Sustainable Square Miles are walk-to-work, walk-to-learn, walk-to-play, walk-to-shop neighborhoods where Black people own the homes and businesses and live a "conservation" lifestyle. The crown jewel of the Chicago Sustainable Square Mile will be Emmett Till's childhood home in West Woodlawn, which Blacks in Green is turning into a zero-emission community theater and museum about the Till-Mobley family and the Great Migration.
  
  
• GASP in Birmingham, Alabama, works to enhance people's health by reducing air pollution, advancing environmental justice, and promoting climate solutions through education, advocacy, and collaboration. In Birmingham, industrial pollution has left a lasting legacy. GASP is starting a Smoke School to empower community members to hold polluters accountable.
  
  
• Black Voters Matter is dedicated to expanding Black voter engagement, fighting voter suppression, and ensuring that marginalized communities have the tools and resources to exercise their fundamental right to vote. As part of Black Climate Week, they will host a virtual postcard party to educate volunteers about climate solutions. In addition to voter engagement, Black Voters Matter organizes around environmental justice issues. Their Block Is Hot initiative was created to support and educate Black communities by raising awareness of three key environmental justice challenges that disproportionately affect them: food insecurity, poor-quality housing, and access to clean drinking water, which is increasingly threatened by rising utility costs.

The Solutions Project also released a video featuring TSP board member Don Cheadle, Brian Jointer of SCOPE LA, Dawn Wells-Clyburn of PUSH Buffalo, Ena Coleman, and Gloria Walton about how Black communities are disproportionately affected by climate change and dirty energy. It also highlights the benefits of Black-led climate solutions, such as lower utility bills, affordable, green housing, climate resilience, and strong climate policies. SCOPE LA is a TSP grantee that's been at the forefront of providing support to Black, Brown, and working-class survivors of the LA wildfires.

Among the events planned for Black Climate Week:

• The City of Newark is hosting a series of events including a book discussion and thrifting workshop.
• The City of Baltimore's Office of Sustainability is promoting Black Climate Week.
• In New Orleans, Black Girl Environmentalist and Hip Hop Caucus are hosting a cocktail mixer and screening the film "Underwater Projects."
• In Charlotte, NC, Sol Nation will host a community clean up in the Historic Westend neighborhood.
• In Birmingham, AL, GASP will host a nature walk and discussion about pollution and environmental justice in Birmingham's Superfund Communities.
• In St. James Parish, LA, RISE St. James will host the 6th Annual Black History Month Celebration & Awards Ceremony.

Media Contact: Carina Daniels
[email protected]
510-847-1617

SOURCE The Solutions Project