The Electric Black Future initiative seeks to address historic disparities in transportation, energy, and technology workforce by helping Black communities in three Georgia cities shape their e-mobility futures.
According to Atlanta media outlet WABE, a partnership of multiple Georgia groups, local governments, and the state department of transportation are working together to bring cleaner transportation to Black communities over the next three years. “The Electric Black Futures project will work with Black communities in Atlanta, Albany and Savannah to develop plans for electrifying transportation,” writes reporter Emily Jones. “The initiative aims to correct past injustices while shifting away from fossil fuel-powered transportation that worsens climate change.”
With $1.4 million in funding from the Department of Energy, the Electric Black Future project will work directly with Black communities to develop e-mobility plans to enhance public transit, electric shuttle, e-bike and e-scooter, and walkability in communities that have historically been left without transit access and exposed to more pollution from gas-powered vehicles. It will also work to address occupational segregation in the clean energy sector, where only 8 percent of workers are Black or African American.
“As we build a future powered by clean transportation, it is imperative that those facing the greatest challenges are prioritized in the planning process. Through deep listening sessions and documentation of community stories and thorough assessment of community needs and dreams, we will harness community input to develop actionable strategies aligned with local, state, and federal e-mobility initiatives, workforce training programs, industry investments, and job opportunities to demand that Black Georgians should be at the heart of their own communities’ innovations,” the Electric Black Future’s website reads.
FULL STORY: New project aims for cleaner, more equitable transportation for Black communities in Georgia
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