It’s been our experience as staff in the Office of Economic Impact and Diversity that if you speak with anyone with ties to South Carolina the connections to their home state remains deep. Last month, our Deputy Director of Energy Justice, Shalanda H. Baker, joined Secretary Jennifer M. Granholm for a visit to the Palmetto state to see firsthand how South Carolina is essential to a clean, inclusive energy future.

Perhaps it’s the state’s wealth of Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs), which formed the cornerstone of our recent visit to the state. From Claflin University, founded in 1869, to South Carolina State University, which houses the nation’s first and only HBCU nuclear engineering program, South Carolina has an impressive list of storied higher education institutions dedicated to Black Americans.

Like Secretary Granholm said while visiting South Carolina State University, “HBCUs have long cultivated great scientific minds – and we owe many of our scientific and technological advancements to graduates of HBCUs and other minority serving institutions.”

During our travels in South Carolina, we were honored to be accompanied by Majority Whip U.S. Congressman James E. Clyburn, (SC-6). An alumnus of South Carolina State University, Whip Clyburn not only served as a guide for our visit but as a vocal advocate for making the necessary investments to embrace South Carolina as a leader of the equitable clean energy transition.

With Whip Clyburn we met with students, HBCU leaders and trusted energy justice advocates to underscore their collective importance in a clean energy transition that includes all communities, but centers BIPOC (Black, Indigenous, and people of color) and low-income communities first.

HBCU and Energy Justice Leadership

Nuclear engineer students led our first stop at South Carolina State University. It’s not an exaggeration to say that much of the boldness of the climate movement stems from Gen Z and their Millennial generational siblings.  As we walked the halls of South Carolina State University’s Department of Civil and Mechanical Engineering Technology and Nuclear Engineering, we couldn’t help but marvel at the leadership of Black scholars who fought to establish this program, which is to date the only nuclear engineering program at an HBCU.

We heard from students conducting cutting-edge research, who have bright futures ahead of themselves to achieve their ambitious goals. Their work inspired our team and left an impression on Secretary Granholm who tasked these young minds with continuing their research to make critical advances toward our clean energy future.

South Carolina State University is a beautiful campus, with students and faculty each equally excited to show visitors what their school offers. At the State Room, which is part of the University’s Presidential suite, we engaged with President of South Carolina State University Alexander Conyers and HBCU leaders from across the state.
 
DOE had the privilege of meeting with prominent members of HBCU leadership within South Carolina who lent us their expertise for just over an hour. We discussed collaboration opportunities within science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM), securing competitive research funding, and our collective role in the clean energy transition.

“While the climate crisis depends on the entire breadth of America’s diverse talent in STEM right now, we’re falling short.” -- Secretary Jennifer M. Granholm

Black Americans make up 11% of the country’s workforce but hold just 9% of all STEM jobs and about 8% of renewable energy jobs. Similarly, Black students completing undergraduate studies and those working towards advanced degrees are underrepresented in STEM fields.

As a leader in STEM, DOE is planning to be part of the solution to this longstanding issue. That means ensuring HBCUs and other Minority Serving Institutions have access to DOE funding while attracting more diverse candidates to our national labs and program offices to ensure that the DOE team resembles the diversity of America. The Department has started this critical work through the Clean Energy Corps, which will add more than 1,000 new hires to DOE for the largest staff expansion since our founding.

DOE’s understanding of these gaps, and their solutions to resolve these disparities, is rooted in the work BIPOC energy justice advocates have known and fought to mitigate for decades.  The Reverend Leo M. Woodberry, a community pillar and long-time climate justice and energy equity advocate, joined us for one of our last stops at a local tea shop. The Reverend’s work can serve as a model for community-based environmental justice champions across the nation. He recently began a new initiative to combat flooding in South Carolina by planting over 1,000 trees around Britton’s Neck’s low-lying wetlands to help absorb flooding water. The Reverend Woodberry is truly the living embodiment of South Carolina’s promising equitable energy future founded and led by residents.

Whether it be in our discussions with engineering students or local community legends, South Carolina is brimming with minds that DOE looks forward to partnering with to advance into an equitable clean energy future. With HBCUs, minority-serving institutions, and BIPOC communities leading the way, that future is more in sight than ever before.