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By David Thomas

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7th Annual African American Environmental Pioneer Awards, February 16th, 2026.

In recognition of Black History Month, the African American Environmental Pioneer Awards 7th annual event is honoring those in Milwaukee’s African American community working for a better environment. Nominees are chosen by previous honorees and event organizers.  Awardees consist of community leaders ranging in scope from neighborhood to county-wide impact. The ceremony is held during Black History Month to honor the rich cultural history of the African Diaspora, while celebrating our living generations of all ages for their efforts to make the world a better place through environmental stewardship. Awards are given in two categories, to recognize the intergenerational nature of community work, “Pioneers” as well as younger “Rising Stars”.

This year the awards will be held at the Dr. Martin Luther King Community Center, 1531 W Vliet St. Doors will open at 4 p.m. for networking and food, and the program will begin at 5:30 pm. In addition to the awards, the event always includes artistic performances including African drumming, a libation ceremony and the singing of the Black National Anthem.

The program will be broadcast as a live stream. Both online and in-person attendees are asked to RSVP for the event at this link: www.bit.ly/green_pioneers_2026.

Awards will be presented to twelve individuals. The 2024 honorees are:

Pioneer Awards

  • Danell Cross, Metcalf Park Community Bridges
  • Cheri Fuqua, The Middle Ground MKE
  • Mabel Lamb, Sherman Park Community Association
  • Dee McCollum, Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Center
  • Lloyd Seawright, Beach Ambassadors
  • Yvonne McCaskill, Century City Triangle Neighborhood

Rising Star Awardees

  • Jerica Fehr, MKE FreshAir Collective
  • Alana Fisher, Earth Echo
  • Christina Hill, Hawthorne Elementary School
  • Bryan Rogers, Walnut Way Conservation Corp.
  • Ifeoluwapo Tolorunju, Sherman Park Community Association
  • Tylon Moon, Teens Grow Greens

The event has adopted the Ashanti Adinkra symbol “Asase Ye Duru” meaning “The Earth has Weight”, symbolizing the providence and divinity of Mother Earth.

This event is free and open to the public. Participants must register in advance at www.bit.ly/green_pioneers_2026.

The inaugural event in 2020, was held at the Wisconsin Black Historical Society/Museum.  It featured a call to ceremony by drummers from Ko-Thi African Dance Company.  Brenda Coley of Milwaukee Water Commons was the featured speaker and addressed the need for society to be more inclusive in what is known as “the commons”, public spaces and resources that belong to all of us.  At a 2021 “all virtual” event, the keynote was pioneering Harlem poet Dahveed Nelson, a member of the Last Poets, credited for work that led to the emergence of hip-hop. In 2022, a hybrid virtual and in-person event featured Lieutenant Governor Mandella Barnes as the Keynote. In 2023 the keynote was replaced with an intergenerational panel on Climate Justice. In 2024, the AAEPA committee presented a community “Call to Action” and the Milwaukee Environmental Justice Alliance announced their organization.

A web page featuring all the information on this year’s event can be found at this link:
2026 African American Environmental Pioneer Awards.

Generous sponsors allow the group  to hire professional AV support, hire numerous performing artists, and provide food during the networking hour
2026 Event Sponsors, to date, include:

  • Faith in Place
  • Friends of Lincoln Park
  • Fund for Lake Michigan
  • Hummingbird MKE
  • Land Restoration School
  • Midwest Environmental Advocates
  • Milwaukee County Parks
  • Milwaukee Metropolitan Sewerage District
  • Milwaukee Parks Foundation
  • Milwaukee Water Commons
  • Natural Resources Foundation of Wisconsin
  • Nearby Nature Milwaukee
  • Neighborhood House of Milwaukee
  • Northwest Side Community Development Corp
  • Reflo
  • True Skool
  • Urban Ecology Center
  • Wisconsin Green Muslims

The 2026 AAEPA Planning Committee includes:

  •  Jen Abel, Sierra Club Great Waters Group
  • Niki Espy, Neighborhood House of Milwaukee
  • Terry Evans, Urban Ecology Center
  • Aton Fox, Milwaukee Water Commons
  • CaBeatrice Hart, Mystic Phoenix Studio
  • Grian Hollies-Maxwell, Groundworks, Maxwell Farms
  • Detaya Johnson, Educator, Community Engagement
  • Danitra Jones,  Northwest Side CDC
  • Supreme Moore Omokunde, WI State Representative, Dist 17
  • Julien Phifer,  Milwaukee County Parks
  • Wilniesha Smith, Reflo
  • David Thomas, Nearby Nature Milwaukee
  • Fidel Verdin, TRUE Skool

For more information or to arrange interviews, please email:  AAEPA@NearbyNaturemke.org.

Or Call: Terry Evans, Urban Ecology Center: 414-793-3649, tevans@urbanecologycenter.org;
Niki Espy, Neighborhood House of Milwaukee, 414-933-6161 x156, nespy@nh-milw.org.

Links of interest:

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