Gwen Pruitt was drafted with Blacks in Green because she had so many skills – she could run catering, run the Green Deal Emporium, make products for the store, grow the backyard garden from seed, decorate with fine art. She paints, sculpts, and inspires neighbors with placemaking experiences, and fixes almost anything that breaks with her 1,000 tools. Back in the day, Gwen rode motorcycles, practiced martial arts, considered pro tennis, and rocked out to the Grateful Dead.
Chicago, IL
In the heart of Chicago’s South Side, Naomi Davis is pioneering the creation of the Sustainable Square Mile – a walk-to-work, walk-to-shop, walk-to-learn, and walk-to-play village where African Americans own the businesses, own the land, and live the ‘conservation lifestyle’. It’s a vision where households produce their own energy, grow their own food, clean their own water, and recycle their own waste. Inspired by the entrepreneurial spirit of her grandmother and Great Migration families who laid the foundation for thriving Black communities across America, Naomi aims to reinvent underserved places today using their 8 Principles of Green-Village-Building and opportunities in the new green economy to increase household income and build community resilience. Through her initiative, Blacks in Green is advancing human rights through affordable utility scale solar and community geothermal energy; green infrastructure balance through gardens, greenways, and reforestation; homeownership through next generation affordable housing; and community wealth-building through heritage tourism. With a $10 million grant from the Biden Administration, she’s championing environmental justice for Black communities across the Midwest.
Learn more: https://www.blacksingreen.org