Soulardarity

Soulardarity Building community power in Highland Park with community-owned solar streetlights

Does your life expectancy have a dependence on your zip code?" -MaxIn the summer of 1995, Chicago experienced an unthink...
06/10/2026

Does your life expectancy have a dependence on your zip code?" -Max

In the summer of 1995, Chicago experienced an unthinkable disaster, when extremely high humidity and a layer of heat-retaining pollution drove the heat index up to more than 126 degrees. Cooked: Survival by Zip Code tells the story of this tragic heatwave, the most traumatic in U.S. history, in which 739 citizens died over the course of just a single week, most of them poor, elderly, and African American. When peeled away from the shocking headlines the story reveals the less newsworthy but long-term crisis of pernicious poverty, economic, and social isolation and racism. Cooked is a story about life, death, and the politics of crisis in an American city that asks the question: Was this a one-time tragedy, or an appalling trend?

Grab your tickets early, and invite as MANY people as you can to fill the seats to support Soulardarity and the important work we do by showcasing the cooked screening. You DO NOT want to miss out on this!

CLICK THE “GET TICKETS” LINK BELOW TO GET YOUR TICKETS!
Get Tickets
https://secure.qgiv.com/for/qjfjqe/event/1009254/

06/09/2026

June 27 @ 1:00 pm – 4:00 pm
Get your popcorn, grab your friends and family, and join Soulardarity in raising money for the fight for energy justice WHILE taking in an incredible documentary.
In the summer of 1995, Chicago experienced an unthinkable disaster, when extremely high humidity and a layer of heat-retaining pollution drove the heat index up to more than 126 degrees. Cooked: Survival by Zip Code tells the story of this tragic heatwave, the most traumatic in U.S. history, in which 739 citizens died over the course of just a single week, most of them poor, elderly, and African American. When peeled away from the shocking headlines the story reveals the less newsworthy but long-term crisis of pernicious poverty, economic, and social isolation and racism. Cooked is a story about life, death, and the politics of crisis in an American city that asks the question: Was this a one-time tragedy, or an appalling trend?
Grab your tickets early, and invite as MANY people as you can to fill the seats to support Soulardarity and the important work we do!
Held at The Planet Ant Theater at 2320 Caniff Ave, Hamtramck, MI 48212 from 1PM – 4PM on Saturday, June 27th. We would love to see AS MANY of you & your friends as possible. Even if you’re not able to make the screening, you can still sponsor tickets. Thank you for supporting Soulardarity!
CLICK THE “GET TICKETS” LINK BELOW TO GET YOUR TICKETS!
Get Tickets

Cooked Screening Fundraiser

https://secure.qgiv.com/for/qjfjqe/event/1009254/

06/04/2026

Greetings community!

We hosted our first Whole Homes, Whole Communitiy (WHWC) Workshop! Residents were able to walk away with vital information from experts on property tax help, how to spot contractor scams, how to prep your home for summer, and DIY resilency to beat the heat this summer! Plus - new connections, a great lunch, and awesome giveaways!

Thank you to ALL who came out and don’t miss your chance to join in on amazing events like this one by going to soulardarity.org/events!”

Greetings community! We hosted our first Whole Homes, Whole Communitiy (WHWC) Workshop! Residents were able to walk away...
06/04/2026

Greetings community!

We hosted our first Whole Homes, Whole Communitiy (WHWC) Workshop! Residents were able to walk away with vital information from experts on property tax help, how to spot contractor scams, how to prep your home for summer, and DIY resilency to beat the heat this summer! Plus - new connections, a great lunch, and awesome giveaways!

Thank you to ALL who came out and don’t miss your chance to join in on amazing events like this one by going to soulardarity.org/events!”

COOKED”Screening FundraiserJune 27 @ 1:00 pm – 4:00 pmHeld at The Planet Ant Theater at 2320 Caniff Ave, Hamtramck, MI 4...
06/03/2026

COOKED”

Screening Fundraiser
June 27 @ 1:00 pm – 4:00 pm
Held at The Planet Ant Theater at 2320 Caniff Ave, Hamtramck, MI 48212 from 1PM – 4PM on Saturday, June 27th. We would love to see AS MANY of you & your friends as possible. Even if you’re not able to make the screening, you can still sponsor tickets. Thank you for supporting Soulardarity!

In the summer of 1995, Chicago experienced an unthinkable disaster, when extremely high humidity and a layer of heat-retaining pollution drove the heat index up to more than 126 degrees. Cooked: Survival by Zip Code tells the story of this tragic heatwave, the most traumatic in U.S. history, in which 739 citizens died over the course of just a single week, most of them poor, elderly, and African American. When peeled away from the shocking headlines the story reveals the less newsworthy but long-term crisis of pernicious poverty, economic, and social isolation and racism. Cooked is a story about life, death, and the politics of crisis in an American city that asks the question: Was this a one-time tragedy, or an appalling trend?

Grab your tickets early, and invite as MANY people as you can to fill the seats to support Soulardarity and the important work we do! Get your popcorn, grab your friends and family, and join Soulardarity in raising money for the fight for energy justice WHILE taking in an incredible documentary.

CLICK THE LINK IN OUR BIO TO GET YOUR TICKETS!

06/02/2026

Greetings community! Just stopping by to share a little snippet from a couple of years ago when we teamed up with the brilliant team to hit the streets asking our community “Do You know DTE”!?

Fun fact: Shimekia(Soul ED) and the Soulardarity team were one of the first organizations to bring public awareness to DTE’s antics and bravely fought back against DTE’s rate hikes and other injustices brought on by DTE.

05/29/2026

Flash Back Friday!

Greetings community! I’m stopping by really quickly to share a quick snippet of the HP parade the soul team participated in last week!

“Rain or shine, it was our HONOR to march in the Highland Park Parade this weekend! Thanks to all who came out to support as we continue to DUNK ON DTE! 🏀” -Max

Greetings community! This past Friday, we had one of our most invigorating and inspiring meetings to date! Deepest grati...
05/18/2026

Greetings community!

This past Friday, we had one of our most invigorating and inspiring meetings to date! Deepest gratitude to all who came out to support Soulardarity Quarterly meeting, and allowing us to hold space as you learn more about the impact the Soul team has continued to make upon our community.

Come join, and collaborate with us and be a part of our movement to enrich our community by way of solar and social justice/education. Email [email protected] to learn how you can join!”

A HUGE, shout out to those of you who signed up at our meeting to be Soulardarity Members/ volunteers/ and fellows! Welcome! 😎🙏🏾💡💚🌍✊🏽

Greetings community! I wanted to share a Flash back to when our very own ED Shimekia Nichols was invited to speak as a g...
05/18/2026

Greetings community! I wanted to share a Flash back to when our very own ED Shimekia Nichols was invited to speak as a guest panelist at the Rachel Catalyst Network's 2026 Spring Meeting Panel.

Shimekia was not only a Speaker, but was also an Award Recipient which included the honor of sitting with true energy warriors Marnese Jackson, Director of Midwest Decarbonization Coalition and Briana Dubose, Director of Ecoworks, moderated by Shreya Durvasula, Catalyst Program Director, Rachel’s Network.
This all took place in front of an Audience of 30+ women environmental funders and advocates from across the country, some of them were even unfamiliar with Detroit.

Early last week I sat with Shimekia to collect information, quotes, and even personal take-a-ways on her experience during the panel discussion/ luncheon. Here’s what Shimekia has shared with us:

“ I had an incredible time participating in the Rachel Catalyst Network Panel! It was an honor to engage with such a dynamic group of leaders and visionaries.

We dove deep into some powerful topics, and I wanted to share a few of the prompts that guided our conversation:

- Prompt 1: Intro- Soulardarity was born out of crisis when 1,000+ residential streetlights were repossesd unannounced to the community. That moment forced a question: What does energy sovereignty actually look like? Who has power.

“We don’t just fight energy injustice — we build the alternatives.”

Our work sits at the intersection of:
* Community-owned solar + infrastructure
* Energy democracy + policy intervention
* Leadership development in Black and frontline communities
Today, we’re installing off-grid solar streetlights with Free wifi access, organizing in DTE Energy rate cases, and training residents to challenge systems that were never designed for us.

- Prompt 2: High Utility Rates — Impact on People & Bills

Michigan residents aren’t just paying high rates — they’re paying for a system that fails them repeatedly.
We see:
* Households choosing between lights and food
* Paying for outages, shutoffs, and unreliable service
Soulardarity's efforts reduces dependence on the grid entirely. We teach that "Energy burden isn’t accidental or from the neglect of rayepayers— it’s designed. And we’re redesigning it.”

- Prompt 3: Biggest Challenge Right Now

Challenge: Misalignment between funding, policy timelines, and community urgency

We’re expected to:
* Build infrastructure
* Fight policy battles
* Develop leaders
…on restricted, short-term funding

“The biggest barrier isn’t imagination — it’s capital that trusts communities to lead.”

The energy and insights shared during this panel were truly inspiring. I am looking forward to continuing these important conversations and building in safe spaces!

12/01/2025

Because I know that the future relies on solar energy for everyone. by Sincere the Youngest member in Soulardarity.

This is the season to give to energy democracy. Soulardarity is neighbors organizing for community-owned solar, standing up to DTE’s rate hikes, and keeping our elders, kids, and blocks safe and lit. Give today at soulardarity.org/donate—because when we give, we shine together, we win together, and we build the energy future our people deserve.

Give today at soulardarity.org/donate

Address

Highland Park, MI

Telephone

+13133491063

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