Black environmentalists like Malik Yakini inspired Detroiter Za’Nyia Kelly to pursue a career in environmental justice and sustainability.

Za’Nyia Kelly’s journey of understanding the world through a Black lens began at her African-centered charter school, the Nsoroma Institute in Detroit, during her elementary and middle school years. The school allowed Kelly to explore different African cultures, drawing connections between Black history and the environment. 

“We always had a school garden,” Kelly, who was born and raised in the city, told Planet Detroit. “It was always important to integrate into the community and present Black success.” 

Kelly credits school founder and longtime Detroit grassroots activist Malik Yakini (also known as “Baba Malik” to Kelly and her school peers) and other school faculty with setting her on a path of environmental sustainability that continues to fuel her passion today as a Black environmentalist. 

After leaving Nsoroma, Kelly attended Davis Aerospace Technical High School, a Detroit Public Schools Community District school, where she learned to fly planes. However, she also needed to learn to take the bus to get there, and that’s when she began noticing the impacts of transportation inequities in her community. 

“I saw how the system is not allocating the resources properly to allow funding for things like the local bus operating system, ” she said.

As a high schooler, Kelly explored her hometown, looking for ways to incorporate herself to improve it. She credits her strong drive to being surrounded by passionate Black adults who expressed the importance of healthy eating and living sustainably for the community as a whole. 

“I got to understand things that were affecting my city —  and my city specifically –  like gentrification,” Kelly said. “Looking at how there’s … disparities in the same city and how that affects your ability to drive and access and maintain resources. And this all affects how we can enact positive climate change.” 

Kelly continued her education and graduated from Michigan State University in 2023 with a Bachelor’s degree in Nutritional Sciences. 

At first, she wanted to express her narrative of a sustainable lifestyle through cooking and being a chef. However, a math teacher inspired her to express her other interests outside of cooking.

She began looking into nutritional science with help from MSU nutritionist and dietitian Katherine Alaimo, starting with climate work by developing a more accurate weather app and studies surrounding greenspaces and community gardening.

The journey of a Black environmentalist

Kelly said that MSU was where she learned to use her voice. The university has a Black student population of just 7%. As a minority student, Kelly said it was often hard to make her voice heard. She credits that experience with helping her learn to speak to people who may not want to listen to her. 

She said she took the time as a “means of practice” to advocate for people not in the room. “Even though it’s unfair, we become spokespersons for communities we are deemed a part of and look like we can be a part of,” Kelly said.

After graduating from MSU with her Bachelor’s in Nutritional Science and moving back to Detroit, Kelly applied for a position through the Michigan Healthy Climate Corps, a statewide program through Americorps that recruits young people to serve communities tackling climate change.

She wanted to find a position close to her and filled with people who shared her passions. She was hired by Transportation Riders United in Detroit and began her role as a Transit Outreach Specialist. 

Kelly collects transit impact stories to support the organization’s legislative advocacy work.

The position incorporates many of Kelly’s interests. She advocates for equitable public transportation, which she wishes she had as a youth and young adult in the city. The position also allows her to connect with others, which doesn’t always come easily.

“I’m a very shy person, but I am constantly trying to work on networking, so at TRU I am constantly able to network with so many people,” Kelly said. “People who I don’t have to explain why what I do is important because they already know why.” 

Kelly introduced President Joe Biden at an Earth Day event in Virginia. EGLE photo.

She said that sometimes it’s hard to explain why public transportation is important to legislators—some simply do not get it, often because they do not themselves use public transit.

Kelly noted that a third of Detroit residents rely on public transportation, but the bus system is inadequate, partly because the city was built for private automobiles. 

“If you feel like traffic … is bad now, imagine everyone you see who uses public transit did not have those options anymore,” Kelly said. “The demographics who rely on public transportation effectively use it, but we really need the investment in public transportation, and that’s what TRU is investing in.” 

Kelly recently met President Joe Biden at the White House on Earth Day, where she spoke a bit about her work as a Black environmentalist. She said she felt honored to be chosen to go, and everyone at the White House respected her voice, journey and drive. She said hearing President Biden’s climate remarks and everyone’s action plans was inspiring.

Though it was never her goal to speak directly to national officials, she said being put in the position offered her an opportunity to speak to people directly who may not have listened to her otherwise. 

“It allowed me their ear. Whether it was my goal or not, I had an idea, and it even took some explaining to some people at the White House who didn’t understand why I did what I did,” Kelly said. “If you come from a place with a reliable transit system, you don’t understand what I’m talking about. There’s a disconnect in our understanding … and when that happens, I try and fill in the gaps.” 

Correction: A previous version of this article gave the wrong name for the Nsoroma Institute.

Sign me up for Planet Detroit’s free weekly email newsletter

Give us your email, and we’ll give you our award-winning free weekly email newsletter on Fridays

Jada Vasser is a junior journalism major with a minor in documentary production at Michigan State University, with future plans of gaining her Master’s and doctorate at MSU. Her main goal is to uplift the Black community and tell their stories, giving them their voice back. She works for The State News as the copy chief and participates in The New York Times Corps program, aimed at helping young journalists of color in the ever-changing journalism world. She is Planet Detroit’s 2024 summer intern, focusing on health and environmental impacts on the Black community. Her internship is supported by the MSU Knight Center for Environmental Journalism with grant support from the Great Lakes Integrated Sciences and Assessments at the University of Michigan. Jada hopes to one day write and edit for National Geographic.