Focusing on the future.

DWEJ family and friends rock t-shirts made out of 12 plastic bottles!

Detroit seems to be on the minds of a lot of folks these days.

As the former automobile capital of the U.S., the city has been one of the hardest hit by loss in industry and jobs.  But the Obama administration, community advocates, and industry experts foresee a new type of future descending into town; One that puts people back to work, puts clean manufacturing into play, and revitalizes community development for a secure and sustainable future.

Pull into focus the Detroiters Working For Environmental Justice. DWEJ, a Green For All partner, is a community organization that strives to educate, advocate and organize for cleaner, healthier communities and environments in Southeast Michigan.

Already an established leader in the community, DWEJ has led campaigns to reduce respiratory problems cause by pollution (like asthma), promoted access to quality food, created a green jobs training program, and created other engagement opportunities for communities of color and moderate-income Detroiters.

Detroit’s Future

Noelle Frye, far right, with DWEJ youth.

At the concert in the Palace of Fine Arts, DWEJ rolled through with some of the youth in their green job training program to represent for the 313.

One of them, Noelle Frye, explains the work of DWEJ, “We send awareness on environmental issues, like trying to get toxic polluting factories out of minority communities and shutting down the incinerator.”

A Detroit native, Frye knows the hardship that so many fellow residents are feeling in a city whose unemployment rate is nearly 15%, one of the highest in the country.  Frye puts it best when she says ,“green jobs can really help a lot of people who need jobs. It’s hard times. We’re in recession. “

During the concert, a father and daughter pair came by the Green For All booth. I started talking about the work and potential of green jobs when I noticed the gentleman nodding in agreement and smiling like he had heard it before.

Turns out that I was speaking with John Davidson, city commissioner of Bay City, Michigan. Green jobs seemed to make a lot of sense to him. “Saving jobs, saving the environment, impacts us all on one planet. Let’s do whatever we can do to conserve this planet of ours,“ commented Davidson.

The reach of The Black Eyed Peas clearly goes far. From elected officials to young community advocates who are fighting to keep healthy air and clean streets, the overarching need for clean energy jobs is being heard.

“The Black Eyed Peas have the voice and have everyone’s attention… It’s important to get them involved, so we can get people aware, [get people] to pay attention [to] what we’re saying about environmental issues,” Frye points out.  We couldn’t agree more.