Public Resource
Poll: Black Detroiters See High Potential for Job Growth in Clean Energy
Morning Consult for WE ACT for Environmental Justice & Environmental Defense Fund

Key findings include:

  • Black Detroit adults (58%) are nearly twice as likely as white Detroit adults (30%) to say they are very concerned about air pollution in their local community. Black Detroiters are also more concerned than white Detroiters about water pollution (56% vs 35%) and climate change (47% vs 37%).
  • Black Detroiters see climate change as a threat to the U.S. economy (84%), Michigan's economy (86%), Detroit's economy (62%). 
  • 66% of Detroit adults say COVID-19 financial relief that included investments in clean energy would contribute ”a lot” + “some” to job growth in the U.S. 59% of Black Detroiters see clean energy jobs as ones "for people with my skillset" and 58% "would want a job in the clean energy sector." 
  • Familiarity with the term “environmental injustice” varies by race/ethnicity among Detroit adults. Black adults in Detroit (44%) are slightly more likely than white adults 37% to say they’re familiar (very + somewhat) with the term “environmental injustice. While 61% of Black Detroit adults view environmental injustice as a major problem in the U.S., only 38% of white adults hold the same view.
  • Black Detroit adults (62%) are significantly more likely than white Detroit adults (47%) to say they experience a lot + some exposure to pollution in their daily lives. White Detroiters are less likely than people of color in Detroit to say that Black communities (30% vs 44%) experience a lot of exposure to pollution. 
  • While majorities of white (56%) and Black (83%) Detroit adults all say that predominantly Black neighborhoods still experience the long-term effects of redlining (definitely + probably), Black adults (53%) in Detroit are significantly more likely than white adults (23%) in Detroit to say Black neighborhoods definitely still experience these effects.