HARRISONBURG, Va. — Being relentless. Being consistent. Being dogged. 

These are the qualities that Ahmina Maxey, a community organizer in Detroit, has enacted for the last decade. She has worked on the frontlines helping marginalized communities reach environmental social justice, and now works as the Executive Director of Transforming Power Fund.

Her inspiration started when she was growing up on ten acres of land in the countryside of Michigan. Maxey realized that many people didn’t have the access that she did to a clean environment.

“It created a strong connection to nature for me,” Maxey said. “I always loved the outdoors. When I found out that certain folks don’t have access to clean air, land and water solely based on their class or race, it got me interested in learning more.”

As a student at the University of Michigan, Professor Dorceta Taylor inspired her to learn more about environmental justice and the need to combat environmental racism that largely impacts black, Indigenous, and people of color (BIPOC) and poor individuals. 

From 2008 to 2018, her work focused on advocating for environmental policy and organizing community members to put pressure on decision makers for air quality and the corresponding health of individuals in Detroit and environmental justice communities across the country like it. Detroit is an epicenter in the state of Michigan for health conditions from poor air quality.

Children are hospitalized for asthma at three times the rates of children in the state of Michigan, outside of Detroit, according to Maxey. In the city, people die from asthma at twice the rate.

An incinerator contributed air quality pollution and caused surrounding communities to smell. Maxey organized educational events, marches and protests to instill a voice for those that didn’t think they had one. She encouraged individuals to lodge a complaint to the state every time their community was being negatively impacted.

“People said, ‘It’s been like this forever, who cares? What impact is that going to have?’” Maxey said. “It really helped me to be able to say, ‘Actually, the few people who have been making a phone call have been effective.’ You have folks that have been disenfranchised for a long time, and what needs to be done is showing the connection from Action A having an impact on Point B and connecting the dots for people.”

After a decade of work, the incinerator closed down. 

“It’s kind of like throwing straws and you’re hoping that by staying on it that your strategy will work,” Maxey said. “Dealing with pollution that has been around for decades, it doesn’t take a year to fix it.”

Maxey credits her grandfather, Joseph Henry Maxey, with instilling in her a deep work ethic and love for nature. He grew up in the Depression and had seven children, many who went on to college. Maxey considers herself a part of his legacy and her love for community that inspires her each day. 

COVID-19 caused her office to temporarily move to remote work, but the Transforming Power Fund shifted their priorities to include COVID-19 relief and supporting individuals that were facing hardship. She told grant recipients to take care of themselves first, and she would work with them to be supportive. 

“The way that I operate - my bedrock of values - I believe strongly in things being relational vs. transactional,” Maxey said. “Sometimes, what relational organizing means is it takes longer - it’s not about the numbers or how things look. It’s about the effectiveness for the community - it deepens the impact and is much more effective in achieving your end-goal.”