by Irene Maslowski

National Black Business Month was initiated in 2004 by John William Templeton, president and executive editor of the scholarly publishing company, eAccess Corp, and engineering executive, Frederick E. Jordan, who was unable to obtain financing for his San Francisco-based business. Together, they shared a goal to drive policy change affecting African American entrepreneurs, seeking greater equity and inclusion.

The history of Black-owned businesses in the United States harkens back to the 1700s, when free – and even enslaved – African Americans opened small businesses, which then grew significantly after emancipation. The period between 1900-1930 was known as the ‘golden age’ when … Read More >>

by Zack Baliva

One might assume that managing financial matters for an oil field service company is a competitive, high stress, cutthroat affair requiring thick skin, tenacity, and ruthlessness. The job is certainly both demanding and complex, but Ernesto Bautista III is proving that it can be done with poise and integrity. Bautista is the CFO at BJ Energy Solutions (BJE), and he’s focused on more than just dollars and cents.

Bautista is a different kind of CFO at a different kind of oil field services technology company. While BJ Energy Solutions is an oil and gas fracturing service company, … Read More >>

by Hadley Barndollar

The color of New England’s clean energy landscape is starting to crystalize, and it’s not green.

It’s white. 

A chance to build an industry from the ground up, an equitable and just sector that works to correct wrongs of the past, provides a landmark opportunity. But the energy transition is on the move, and many worry history is about to repeat itself. 

People of color are vastly underrepresented in the industry. 

“My biggest concern is, are we going to be left out again?” said Kerry Bowie, executive director of Browning the Green Space.

An inclusive industry that empowers … Read More >>

by Annie Snider and Sean Reilly

Three of the nation’slargest, dirtiest steel millssit on a roughly 20-mile strip along Lake Michigan. Each year, their stacks belch a cocktail of lead, hydrochloric acid and hundreds of tons of other toxins into skies over neighborhoods that are home to tens of thousands of people, many of them Black or Latino.

When they settle to earth, these pollutants canmix into dirt that is tracked into people’s homes orwash into waterways that feed the lake. And it has been that way for more than 100 years, since the first of the mills began smelting … Read More >>

by staff

More than 50 years after scientists first coined the term “hydrogen economy,” the movement to make hydrogen a predominant global fuel source could be gaining traction thanks to research led by one West Virginia University engineer.  

Xingbo Liu, professor in the Department of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering, will help develop new, cutting-edge coatings for the blades of turbines used in large-scale power generation. These protective layers will be able to withstand the extreme heat and corrosion of hydrogen combustion but work with the principles and technologies of existing natural gas turbines, primarily in power plants.  … Read More >>

by Susanna Ray

When Gilbert Campbell graduated from Howard University, he had a burning desire to be an entrepreneur in an industry that fit with his values. He was drawn to solar energy, and in 2009 he and a college friend founded a company that finances and develops solar panels for rooftops and carports.

A reality Campbell had always been aware of quickly grew tangible as he worked: Black and African American communities were suffering the most environmental harm — more often located near landfills, coal mines and industrial plants, for example — yet seemed to be last in line … Read More >>

by Chelsey Cox

On Sunday, June 19, Americans will observe the nation’s youngest federal holiday – Juneteenth, which became officially recognized last year by President Joe Biden. 

Juneteenth came to national prominence in 2020 amid nationwide protests after Minneapolis man George Floyd and Louisville, Kentucky, woman Breonna Taylor were killed during encounters with law enforcement. Both Floyd and Taylor were Black. Their deaths spotlighted ongoing racial inequities in the justice system as well as the legacy of slavery in encounters between Black people and the police.

This month, Alabama Gov. Kay Ivey authorized Juneteenth as a holiday for workers in … Read More >>

by Jillian Smith

Consumers are grappling with record-high gas prices and the trickle-down effect is also hurting businesses.

On top of that, energy costs are also contributing to the decades-high inflation numbers.

Business leaders within the Democratic party are putting more pressure on the president to do something to fix record-high gas prices that are hurting the workforce and cutting into companies’ bottom lines.

Many are blaming the Russian invasion of Ukraine for high gas prices but prices were already on the move beforehand.

Javier Palomarez, president and CEO of the United States Hispanic Business Council, says the inflation … Read More >>

by Derek Major

Several leading organizations in the chemical and affiliated industries have announced their DEI program, the Future of STEM Scholars Initiative (FOSSI). It has raised $17 million to fund more than 350 students attending HBCU schools.

According to a release by the American Chemistry Council, FOSSI supports students from underrepresented communities pursuing studies in a wide range of STEM fields, including mechanical engineering, chemistry, and environmental sciences.

Last year, the program’s first, 151 scholarships were provided to HBCU students. This fall, FOSSI’s program will support 144 more scholarships for HBCU students as part of its goal to … Read More >>

by Amee Raval

California calls itself a leader in solar energy. While that might be true in white, wealthy neighborhoods, it’s not the case for the more than 70% of low-income Californians who rent — and don’t own a roof or a lot where they can install solar panels. 

Renters and low-income families already suffer disproportionately from the effects of climate change and pollution from our dirty-energy economy. Yet we are denied the environmental, air quality, energy security and economic benefits of owning and generating our own clean, reliable, sustainable energy. 

This must change. 

The State Assembly will vote this week … Read More >>