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Photo courtesy of ir+media
Leaders of the nation's major black churches (L-R) - the Rev. Dr. Earl D. Trent, Jr., the Rev. Dr. Timothy Tee Boddie, the Rev. Jesse V. Bottoms Jr., the Rev. Brian
K. Brown, Bishop Carroll A. Baltimore and Bishop James B. Walker - presented over lOflOO pastors' signatures to Congressional Black Caucus members in sup
port of President Obama's Clean Power Plan.
BY SAVANNAH HARRIS
HOWARD UNIVERSITY
NEWS SERVICE
WASHINGTON
Leaders of the nation's
major black churches -
representing nearly 13 mil
lion African-American
members - presented over
10,000 pastors' signatures
to Congressional Black
Caucus members in sup
port of President Obama's
Clean Power Plan.
The leaders said they
are making the effort to
push forward the bill,
which has a goal to reduce
carbon dioxide emissions
by 32 percent by 2030.
Bishop George Battle,
senior bishop of the A.M.E.
Zion Church; the Rev.
Samuel C. Tolbert Jr., pres
ident of the National
Baptist Convention of
America; and the Rev. Dr.
Timothy Tee Boddie, gen
eral secretary to the
Progressive National
Baptist Convention of
America, were among the
those who presented the
signatures to members of
the Congressional Black
Caucus.
U.S. Rep. Barbara Lee,
who represents Oakland,
Berkeley and other north
ern California cities,
applauded their effort.
"As faith and commu
nity leaders, their commit
ment to protecting and pre
serving our fragile planet is
greatly needed as we work
to address climate change,"
Lee said in a statement.
Lee said the president's
plan and other environ
mental action must have a
positive effect on disadvan
taged communities.
"This is truly an issue
about justice - environ
mental justice, economic
justice and racial justice.
The negative effects of pol
lution and climate change
have disproportionately
affected commurfities of
color," she said.
"As we work to reverse
climate change, we must
all raise our voices together
and ensure that the eco
nomic opportunities creat
ed by the green economy
are open to all."
According to caucus
members, almost 40 per
cent of the 6 million
Americans living close to
coal-fired power plants are
people of color, and they
are disproportionately
African-American.
Pollutants released from
those plants have led to
high rates of asthma and
respiratory issues within
nearby communities.
In the Triad area of
North Carolina, the issue of
air pollution and African
Americans has been raised.
The N.C. NAACP
announced in June that it is
launching a civil rights
investigation into the dis
proportionate public health
hazard that fracking and
coal ash pollution pose to
poor communities and peo
ple of color in Stokes
County.
The NAACP investiga
tion is specifically target
ing environmental racism
in Stokes County, but the
entire state is on notice.
The coal waste contamina
tion and fracking tests in
North Carolina have drawn
nationwide attention and
concern.
According to President
Obama and his supporters,
his plan would decrease
premature deaths from
emissions by nearly 90 per
cent and asthma attacks in
children by 90,000 by
2030.
The Rev. Jesse
Bottoms, vice president of
the National Baptist
Convention, echoed con
cerns about the impact of
pollutants on African
Americans.
"Environmental con
cerns are not abstractions
for African-Americans,"
Bottoms said. "They are
real, and they affect us in
very real ways, particularly
our children and seniors."
According to the White
House, the number of
"Americans with asthma has
more than doubled over the
last 30 years, and severe
droughts, wildfires and the
rising sea level are affect
ing communities nation
wide.
Of the 15 warmest
years recorded, 14 of them
have occurred since 2000,
with the warmest year
being 2014. Children and
the elderly, the sick and the
poor are most at risk from
effects of climate change.
Bishop Carrol
Baltimore of the Global
United Fellowship said,
"No one should have to
live in dirty air that makes
them sick, but it's especial
ly unfair that our least for
tunate and most vulnerable
communities?our chil
dren and those living in
poverty and with lower
incomes?have to suffer
even more than the rest."
Chronicle staff con
tributed to this report.
Community Kitchen receives
grant to help underemployed
SPECIAL TO
THE CHRONICLE
Second Harvest Food
Bank of Northwest North
Carolina is pleased to
announce a $12,000 grant
from the Bank of America
Charitable Foundation for
its Triad Community
Kitchen (TCK) culinary
training program. TCK
empowers the formerly un
or underemployed with
basic cooking skills, plac
ing them in local jobs.
"We are very thankful
for support from funders
like the Bank of America
Charitable Foundation,"
said Jeff Bacon, Executive
Chef and Executive
Director of TCK. "Many of
our students would have no
ability to pay for job train
ing without our scholar
ships. Bank of America's
commitment to local work
force development helps
people get a second chance
and be productive members
of the community."
TCK has graduated 510
people since opening in
2006. As a program of
Second Harvest Food
Bank, TCK students and
?
?
staff "give back" by prepar
ing ready-to-heat meals
that are distributed to emer
gency feeding programs
across the Food Bank's 18
counties.
The program has
recently expanded to
include a full-service,
upscale restaurant in
Winston-Salem called
Providence Restaurant.
TCK Providence Catering,
which launched five years
ago and has a long, suc
cessful track record, has
also grown and moved to
the restaurant site ?the
new Doubletree by Hilton
on University Parkway.
Triad Community
Kitchen (TCK) provides
culinary and life skills
training to unemployed and
underemployed individuals
and works to assist gradu
ates in finding full-time
employment. More than
500 people have graduated
from the program in the
past nine years. The one
year job retention rate is 67
percent, more than double
the national average of
similar programs. To learn
more, visit www.hungem
wnc.org.
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