U.S. Department of Energy's Office of Economic Impact and Diversity hosted a Black History Month observance ceremony Feb. 14.
The ceremony recognized "the many contributions and achievements of Black Americans in the energy sector and departmentwide," according to a Feb. 17 news release. Secretary of Energy Jennifer Granholm highlighted the work of Dr. Samuel P. Massie Jr., who was one of chemists who worked on the Manhattan Project, yet faced "far worse conditions than his white colleagues."
"We have to sit with that legacy," Granholm said in the release. "Reckon with it. And grow beyond it. Then as now, we need the best and brightest. We need a scientific community that looks like America. And we need them not only on the same floor, but at the same table."
During the same event, DOE Office of Economic Impact and Diversity Director Shalanda H. Baker discussed DOE's need to be intentional about ending discrimination in the energy sector by ensuring all people of color and low-income communities are included and considered in the nation's energy transition, the release reported.
"As a department it is our goal to place Black, Indigenous, people of color and low-income communities at the core of our energy transition," Baker said in the release. "It is our goal to continue to build on the history of those who have come before us to continue the fight to tackle the climate crisis — we are all in this together."
