Michelle Jones

An injustice to one neighbor is an injustice to an entire community.

When I joined Soulardarity, I was driven to take action due to my own disappointment over the utility company, DTE Energy, and its devastating impact on my family. My neighborhood of Highland Park in Detroit, MI has suffered incredibly high energy bills and the loss of basic services as the impacts of climate change and exploitative corporate control grow more severe. In 2011, DTE Energy repossessed over 1000 streetlights from Highland Park, leaving people in the dark.

Working with the Soulardarity team, I began to understand that the community didn’t have to accept the status quo. I began making phone calls to invite people to public hearings and actions, and was heartened by residents who were called to join the fight after hearing how badly neighbors had been impacted.

Through Soulardarity, I see mutual aid in action: neighbors who choose to support one another by organizing for a different energy future. A people-driven alternative is possible: we’ve installed solar-powered street lights to keep us safe, built relationships with local businesses to build community wealth, and have organized to build more tools for local clean energy.

A brighter future is achievable when community comes together to affirm energy as a human right. We have the power to make sure energy is available, accessible, and affordable to all people.