Do you know where your electricity comes from? Do you know whose land your fuel crosses? Do you know who works in the power plant that supplies your neighborhood? 

Honestly, most people don’t. I didn’t either. 

Our country’s energy system is byzantine, the decision-making non-transparent and undemocratic, the power brokers unknown to the general public. The entire path of energy from extraction to delivery relies on exploitation of the Earth’s natural resources, of workers who toil in the industry, and of Black, Indigenous, Latinx, Asian and Pacific Islander, and other communities of color where power plants, pipelines and substations are placed.

At Race Forward, we consider energy democracy a critical climate solutions strategy and a necessary component of the racial justice movement. In a society with an economic model that depends on the flow of energy, energy exploitation is a natural byproduct of an economic crisis caused by the quest for increased accumulation of capital and exploitation of people. 

To move racial equity forward in the energy sector, it is necessary to divest power from those who have historically been decision-makers and beneficiaries to communities of color, and to identify where there are opportunities to advance racial justice in the narrative, strategies, and climate solutions. 

Access to energy or renewable energy should not be a privilege. It should be a human right, controlled by our communities who depend on it.

On this Earth Day, I invite you to join us with the following actions you can take right now:

• Read our Energy Democracy Report, published in October 2020, highlighting local solutions
• Share our research, recommendations, and solutions with your community and networks
• Watch our Energy Democracy Video, showcasing a convening of 36 leaders of energy democracy initiatives across the U.S. to build their collective power
• Reach out to your representatives to find out how they’re fighting against energy exploitation
• Give today to support our work

Energy democracy paints a vision where communities are planners and decision-makers over how to use and how to generate energy that is local and renewable. It moves away from dependence on investor-owned energy companies, which have profited at the expense of their workers and the environment, toward a future of community governance, worker rights, and practices that replenish our Earth. 

Join me in standing by our communities and the Earth to find a more just energy system. Your support and passion for our work is important and meaningful. Thank you.

In solidarity,

Leah Obias

Director of Policy & Strategy, Race Forward