Decades of discriminatory housing policies have created an environmental health crisis for Black communities across America, where energy inequity intersects with serious medical consequences.
Industrial facilities, highways and utility plants are more likely to be located near Black communities, exposing residents to higher pollution levels while providing limited economic benefit. These environmental hazards contribute to poor air quality, serious health problems and negative climate impacts that other neighborhoods avoid.
Black families often live closer to sources of pollution, including fossil fuel plants and waste facilities. Residential segregation, discriminatory lending and chronic underinvestment in Black neighborhoods created layered disadvantages that intersect with energy systems in multiple damaging ways.
The health toll is measurable and severe. Cleaner environments would reduce health disparities linked to asthma, cardiovascular disease and other pollution-related conditions that disproportionately affect these communities. When Black households face impossible choices between paying utility bills and affording food or medical care, the cycle of health inequity deepens.
Aging infrastructure compounds the problem, failing more frequently in low-income and historically marginalized neighborhoods while creating elevated safety concerns. Without modernization, residents endure conditions that more privileged areas would never tolerate.
Energy equity extends beyond fairness to become vital for community health. When Black households secure affordable, reliable energy, they spend less on utility bills and more on essentials like healthcare. The connection is clear: addressing energy disparities means addressing the pollution exposure and economic stress that fuel persistent health inequities in Black communities across the nation.
See: “Energy equity reveals 5 troubling gaps for Black families” (February 1, 2026)
