David Crowley, Milwaukee County Executive
By David Crowley
Milwaukee County Executive
In 2016, 89-year-old Opal Lee set out to walk from Fort Worth, Texas, to Washington D.C. as part of her campaign to make Juneteenth a national holiday. Opal Lee, who’s known as the “grandmother of Juneteenth,” ultimately collected more than 1.5 million signatures. Five years later, Opal was in attendance when President Biden signed legislation declaring Juneteenth a federal holiday.
Opal is a model of activism for me and for my quest to create a healthier, more equitable Milwaukee County. She laid the groundwork for positive change, persevering even when instant results and immediate gratification weren’t realized.
I take great pride and responsibility in my role as the youngest county executive and first Black County executive in Milwaukee County’s history. I have a vision of achieving racial equity, and by doing so, becoming the healthiest county in Wisconsin.
This means fighting environmental racism and championing its opposite, environmental justice. Just as Juneteenth is an acknowledgment that freedom didn’t come on the same day for all Americans, we must acknowledge that Black Americans face even greater environmental injustice, whether this takes the form of lead pipes or polluted air, or urban heat islands in our communities.
A 2022 study found that people of color in Wisconsin are more likely to be exposed to harmful air pollution than white people, creating the third-largest disparity in the country. Black residents specifically are exposed to 67% more pollution than white residents. Our state also has the highest number of lead pipes per 100,000 people. And across the country, Black Americans are 75% more likely to live near facilities that generate hazardous waste.
Instead of settling for these grim realities, we should all be championing environmental justice policies at the state and federal level. This includes electing leaders who support renewable energy standards and stand up to Big Oil CEOs who are lining their pockets while polluting the air and water that Black Americans consume every day.
That’s not who Donald Trump is. When he was president, Trump rolled back dozens of environmental protections and gave away $25 billion in tax breaks to Big Oil. Weeks before being indicted on 34 felony counts, Trump asked Big Oil CEOs for $1 billion in exchange for implementing their agenda. If Trump wins a second term, he’s likely to remove environmental protections and kill clean energy jobs that are directly benefiting communities of color.
On the other hand, President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris understand that low-income communities and communities of color have paid the highest price for our dependence on fossil fuel energy sources. That’s why, in his first week in office, Biden launched the most ambitious environmental justice agenda in history to make sure that everyone, regardless of race, income, or ZIP code, has access to clean air and water.
Last month, I was in attendance when Vice President Harris visited Milwaukee as part of her Economic Opportunity Tour to discuss the Biden-Harris administration’s wins for American economic prosperity. Thanks to President Biden’s clean energy plan, Wisconsin has seen $920 million in investments for clean energy projects and over 1,100 new clean energy jobs. The clean energy plan is putting the United States on a path to seeing more than 9 million clean energy jobs by 2030.
President Biden listens to Black voters and is actively working with Black leaders and Black-led organizations, including recent visits to the Dr. John Bryant Community Center and the Wisconsin Black Chamber of Commerce, where Chairperson/CEO Ruben Hopkins told reporters that the Black business community is better off now than it was four years ago.
At the 2024 State of the Union address, one of First Lady Jill Biden’s guests was Rashawn Spivey, the owner of Hero Plumbing in Milwaukee. Rashawn used investments from the administration’s clean energy plan to replace more than 825 toxic lead pipes, primarily at local daycare centers, to protect kids from lead poisoning. And just last month, Black Voters for Biden-Harris launched in Wisconsin, bringing endorsements from 50 Black elected leaders.
With the clean energy transition, we have the opportunity to create the first inclusive economic boom in our nation’s history. It’s clear that the Biden-Harris administration is capitalizing on this momentum by supporting the creation of a clean energy economy that is producing new job opportunities, fostering small business development, and benefiting all Americans.
As a lifelong Milwaukee resident, I’ve often said that Milwaukee County is a tale of two counties. I’m committed to working actively to change this reality by championing clean energy and environmental justice, on Juneteenth and on the other 364 days of the year.