Center for American Progress

‘Clean Up To Green Up’: Building a Clean Energy Workforce and a Brighter Future in Detroit
Video

‘Clean Up To Green Up’: Building a Clean Energy Workforce and a Brighter Future in Detroit

The Green Door Initiative is using federal investments from President Joe Biden's Justice40 Initiative and the Inflation Reduction Act to ensure that all people—regardless of race, income, or ZIP code—have access to good jobs and live in safe and healthy communities.

Industrial facilities are most often located in or near Black, Latino, Indigenous, and low-income communities, exposing residents to disproportionately high levels of pollution, public health risks, and hazardous working conditions. Donele Wilkins created the Green Door Initiative after realizing the impact of these inequities in her community in Detroit. This organization aims to revitalize neighborhoods and ensure that everyone is environmentally literate and capable of participating in the clean energy economy—living out and promoting a sustainable lifestyle regardless of ZIP code, income, and race.

The positions of American Progress, and our policy experts, are independent, and the findings and conclusions presented are those of American Progress alone. A full list of supporters is available here. American Progress would like to acknowledge the many generous supporters who make our work possible.

Authors

Margaret Cooney

Campaign Manager

Hannah Malus

Senior Director, Strategy and Operations

Cathleen Kelly

Senior Fellow

Producers

Matthew Gossage

Events Video Producer

Toni Pandolfo

Video Producer, Production

Jeremy Hill

Contractor

Andrew Sonntag

Former Events Video Producer

Hai-Lam Phan

Senior Director, Creative

Team

Domestic Climate

It’s time to build a 100 percent clean future, deliver on environmental justice, and empower workers to compete in the global clean energy economy.

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