During the 2022 ESSENCE Festival of Culture, the ESSENCE Tech Summit audience was treated to a conversation presented by Ford that explored how the sale, production and ownership of electric vehicles stand to impact the Black community.
Joined by Federal Affairs Director Dr. Nadia Anderson and Mental Health Clinician Tenesha Winfrey, EVHybridNoire Co-Founder Dr. Shelley Francis kicked off the conversation by talking a little about the overall impact that the new mobility option is having and will continue to have on Black communities, both economically and environmentally.
“The transportation landscape looks really different today than it’s ever looked,” she said. “We’ve seen transformational investments from the federal government, as well as auto manufacturers to really help increase the sale and production of electric vehicles. So, what that also means is that there are going to be more job opportunities with the production of clean, electric vehicles and it’s also going to mean less pollution. African-American communities are disproportionately impacted by transportation emissions, so that’s a very important conversation for our community.”
The ladies went on to share their personal experiences with electric vehicles including the costs, ease of usage and refueling process. The panel also discussed how Black and Brown communities can better prepare for the shift that’s happening policy-wise and industry-wise with regard to electric vehicles and how those changes relate to socioeconomic issues like transportation equity, environmental justice, economic progress and overall mobility.
Check out the video above to hear the conversation in full. For more of everything you missed at the 2022 ESSENCE Festival of Culture, visit our official video content hub HERE.