It’s been 55 years since the passing of Martin Luther King Jr., and climate gentrification has become a new form of Jim Crow. Black communities nationwide are being pushed into uninhabitable flood-prone and extreme heat areas. Nowhere is this felt more than in the 757 area of Virginia, where 757 native and multi-hyphenate celebrity Pharrell Williams is working to revitalize.
A creative director for Louis Vuitton and an award-winning musical producer, Williams has established a yearly multi-million-dollar music festival, Something in the Water, and begun development on the $335 million Atlantic Park project, a wave park and entertainment venue in the 757. His new projects are proving prosperous, but if Williams wants to maximize his 757 impact, he should ensure his investments incorporate innovative environmental justice ideas.
Black residents in the 757 continue to suffer from environmental harm, and sharing profits from these landmark projects in a way that benefits Black residents can create generational impacts. It would also reflect environmental justice — the meaningful inclusion of all people in environmental decision-making regardless of class, race, religion and gender.
The template for this idea is the Environmental Justice Power Purchase Agreement, a framework in which a percentage of profits generated from a renewable energy project are redistributed to community initiatives to benefit underprivileged neighboring communities.
Projects that could be funded under such an agreement include anti-flooding measures such as walls and levees and cooling technologies for residents. While the original structure of the EJ Agreement is for renewable energy projects, it can be applied to other multi-million-dollar projects that develop within or near underprivileged communities. The 2023 Something in the Water Festival had a regional economic impact of $27.7 million. Going forward, allocating project revenues for residents can accomplish much for the region’s underprivileged.
Environmental justice is both an opportunity for community investments and about community say-so about funds. Community dialogues with Black residents and community leaders would highlight how flooding and extreme heat affect their housing and quality of life and help well-meaning “helpers” such as Williams avoid repeating past gentrification mistakes.
Unfortunately, profits from the projects Williams has in development can’t stop the growing climate gentrification in the 757. The worsening climate crisis has led to an increased cost of living and the displacement of Black residents, amplifying climate gentrification in the 757. Virginia Beach is already one of the 15 most gentrified cities in the nation, according to the National Community Reinvestment Coalition, and Norfolk has been facing gentrification accusations for decades. Profit-sharing can work to make gentrification less harmful.
Williams has had massive political and business clout in the 757 as an activist on the issues of police brutality, education and philanthropy. Williams fought for his family and the 757 community after the killing of his cousin Donovon Lynch by police in 2021. As he demanded justice then, he could demand justice for wrongdoings being committed against Black people in the 757 today.
Environmental justice is racial justice. As Williams’ projects continue in the 757, environmental justice must be a focal point. To mitigate climate gentrification of minority communities, Williams can turn to the principles of environmental justice to create dialogue and share the equitable benefits of his investments with all community members.
As an entrepreneur who has created initiatives that enable the growth of the Black community, increasing Black people’s climate resiliency through targeted revenue will improve the overall impact of Williams’ projects. As a 757 native, I look up to Williams. I grew up on his album “The Neptunes Present… Clones,” and I still remember the first time I heard his song “Frontin” as a 12-year-old. Williams brings me hope. I hope his plans can do the same for Black communities across the 757.
Shane J. Lee of Virginia Beach is an environmental justice program coordinator for the Sustain our Future Foundation (SOFF). He is a public voices fellow with the OpEd Project and the Yale Program on Climate Change Communication.