Blacks in Green - BIG™ is a national network for environmental justice and economic development created to close America’s racial health/wealth gap via the new green economy using a whole-system solution for the whole-system problem common to Black communities everywhere. BIG™ has pioneered environmental economic development for the benefit of Black America since 2007— a 501c3 non-profit tackling
pollution and poverty to close America’s racial health/wealth gap via the new green economy and transform Black communities into oases of resilience against the climate crisis. We’re building economies in energy, horticulture, housing, tourism, and waste via our Sustainable Square Mile™ system. Our Sustainable Square Mile System™ implements the 8 Principles of Green-Village-Building™ to cultivate walk-to-work, walk-to-shop, walk-to-learn, walk-to-play villages where African American neighbors own the businesses, own the land, and live the conservation lifestyle. By building economies in energy, horticulture, housing, tourism, and waste in a walkable village, BIG works to increase household income and resilience against the harms of the climate crisis for practitioners in their pilot village of West Woodlawn, Chicago and beyond.
