The Charles H. Wright Museum
of African American History
Making the Invisible Visible.
The Wright is dedicated to climate justice, and is at the forefront of worldwide museums in its effort to make the invisible work of sustainability visible, so that everyone can see that they have a stake in—and can contribute to—environmental preservation.
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Breathing New Life Into Dying Trees
In 2018 three dead and dying Zelcova trees from The Wright Museum’s campus started a five-year collaboration with the College for Creative Studies. The d.Tree Studio and now Exhibition: Past, Present and Future of Detroit Trees. Not only are we diverting and saving these these trees from mulch pile and landfill, but these trees are framing the question - what did The Detroit Trees See. -
Initiatives
The Wright is committed not only to preserving African American culture, but to preserving the environment, too.
The Wright hosts a number of ongoing sustainability initiatives that focus on three core impact areas: water, energy, and waste. -
Green Stormwater Infrastructure
Green Stormwater Infrastructure (commonly abbreviated as GSI), loosely defined, is any public works project that diverts stormwater from a municipality's sewers so that it can be preserved for more impactful use elsewhere in the community.
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The Green Museum Summit
Learn how The Wright is creating a green museum of the future, including how we will use the landscape, building and exhibits to further the movement.
advocates for climate justice
The Wright is dedicated to climate justice, and is leading the vanguard of 21st-century museums in its effort to make the invisible work of sustainability visible, so that everyone can see that they have a stake in—and can contribute to—environmental preservation.
"Inaction affects us all," says The Wright's President and CEO, Neil Barclay. "So join The Wright as we transform spaces, hearts, and minds to make room for a more equitable future here in Detroit."
Our Commitments to Sustainability
As an institution dedicated to the cause of climate justice, The Wright is committed to the following:
- Creating a more sustainable museum campus
- Collaborating with the City of Detroit's Office of Urban Planning to expand the impact of our eco-friendly practices
- Working with the Green Task Force on Detroit's City Council to extend the scope of what's possible for sustainability efforts in our city
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Leslie Tom Named a Notable Leader in Sustainability
The Wright's Chief Sustainability Officer, Leslie Tom, believes successful sustainability is a collaborative effort, and is working to define the “Green Museum of the Future.” Under Tom's leadership, The Wright partnered with the College for Creative Studies to extend the life of dead or dying trees on the museum's campus by developing a lumber woodshed studio.
Community Partners
Recycling groups, food justice groups, young people's groups, civic organizations, local government task forces: we're bringing everyone to the table so that we can confront climate change and other detrimental issues directly, and effectively.
For our Ripple of Impact collaboration with the Michigan Science Center, The Wright was the recipient of the American Alliance of Museums' Sustainability Award, for "people-centered programs that engage museums and their communities in a dialogue on sustainability. [The Wright's] programs worked to shift from a self-described 'culture of waste' toward a holistic, institution-wide culture of environmentalism."
The Wright depends on partnerships with community stakeholders in Detroit and across the great state of Michigan—indeed, across all of the United States—in order to realize our sustainability goals. And our network of community partners is as vast as it is diverse.
- Recycling
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Bee Green! Business
Green Living Science
Zero-Waste Detroit
FoodPLUS
The Green: The Church Summit
- Food
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Keep Growing Detroit
Paradise Natural Foods
DBCFSN: Fostering Community Food Security
- Mobility
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Wheel House Detroit
- Youth
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Freedom School
Youth Energy Squad (YES)
- Museums
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PIC Green: American Alliance of Museums
The Field Museum
We Are Still In
- Detroit
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Green Garage
The Sierra Club
The Greening of Detroit
Detroit Revitalization
Fellows of Wayne State University
City of Detroit Green Task Force
Detroiters Working for Environmental Justice
City of Detroit
- Water
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Land + Water Works
Science Gallery
We the People of Detroit
Fred A. & Barbara M. Erb Family Foundation
- Renewable Energy
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Ryter Cooperative Industries
Solar Party Detroit