Juneteenth marks the day the final enslaved Black Americans in Texas were told they were free, two years after the Emancipation Proclamation. It’s a celebration of Black liberation, but also a reminder: freedom delayed is freedom denied.
Here in Nevada, that delay shows up in different ways.
It shows up in places like the Historic Westside in Las Vegas, Sun Valley outside Reno, and neighborhoods in Hawthorne and Elko, where Black families face hotter streets and fewer trees because of redlining and decades of disinvestment.
It shows up on utility bills, where many in communities of color are overchargedor stuck with the consequences of bad decisions on monopoly utilities.
And it shows up in the air our kids breathe, on school buses still running dirty diesel routes through neighborhoods. |
That’s why we fight for change — and why we’re proud to say we’re winning real solutions. |
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AB 131 (2023, sponsored by former Assemblymember Leslie Cohen): Created Nevada’s first Urban Forestry Program, helping cool down historically redlined neighborhoods with desert-resilient trees, cleaner air, and shaded sidewalks.These laws are tools of liberation — for the mom trying to keep her 2-bedroom apartment cool, the grandparent fighting for safer, cooler streets, and the student who deserves a cleaner ride to school.
As we reflect on Juneteenth, we commit to continuing this work, not just to honor the past, but to build a future where justice includes clean air, fair utility rates, healthy homes, and public spaces for all of us.
In solidarity, The Nevada Conservation League |
