Poverty, Got it! Lift People out of Poverty, Working on it…
Clark Atlanta University (CAU) is a perfect example of why the Green for All College Ambassador Program is needed at a Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCU's). When it comes to historical success of movements and community organizing, and potential, CAU is on course to being a leading institution in the sustainability effort.
Clark Atlanta University (CAU) is a perfect example of why the Green for All College Ambassador Program is needed at a Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCU's). When it comes to historical success of movements and community organizing, and potential, CAU is on course to being a leading institution in the sustainability effort.
CAU was the first HBCU to receive a LEED certification for an academic building and the Environmental Justice Resource Center is based on campus. The campus has its own radio and television station for outreach and the business department produces many future entrepreneurs and continuously ranks high among other universities. Despite all these tools and resources, there is no real sustainable movement on campus or in the surrounding community.
There are no chartered ‘green’ student organizations. There is no communication among the students on sustainability. The surrounding Vine City community is over 95% African American, the average household income is less than $25,000, and thirty-eight percent live below the poverty line. The community has 2.5 times higher crime rate than the city of Atlanta (Source: city-data.com). In addition, the only local grocery store closed on Christmas Eve, 2009 - creating a vast food desert. The streets flood every time there is a moderate rain.
This community is crying for an inclusive green economy and CAU and our students can bring it.
On a small scale individuals are working diligently to make changes but these efforts have little student body participation or support. Improvement is not something that needs to take place in silos and isolation. My ambassadorship allows me the power to help support these efforts and create a foundation for others to become successful.
Many people told me that improving the current environmental status of my campus should not be my focus right now.
W.E.B Du Bois, who once taught at Atlanta University, said:
“Now is the accepted time, not tomorrow, not some more convenient season. It is today that our best work can be done and not some future day or future year. It is today that we fit ourselves for the greater usefulness of tomorrow. Today is the seed time, now are the hours of work, and tomorrow comes the harvest and the playtime.”
It is hard to start a movement! School courses, work, family and friends, and planning for life after graduation does not leave much time, but we must push forward and educate our fellow students because we have the most to lose and gain in the green economy.
My fellow ambassador Kendell Thomas and I have created a campaign called “Let Your Voice Be Heard” to educate about the emerging Green Economy and bring tangible change to CAU. Our spring campaign will provoke thought. For a continuous thought brings about an action. A continuous action becomes a habit; a continuous habit becomes a lifestyle.
