"In one of the nation’s poorest towns, the mayor and others are planning to build a solar installation, a weatherization resource center, and a gleaming new resilience hub."
"ENFIELD, NORTH CAROLINA — When history buffs reenacted a Revolutionary War general’s visit to this tiny, rural North Carolina town in February, its top elected official was notably absent.
General Marquis de Lafayette may have helped liberate America from England, but over 240 years later his story has little relevance to Mayor Mondale Robinson.
“I find it extremely hard to be celebrating the Revolutionary War when people in Enfield — households of four people — are living on $24,000 a year,” said Robinson, sitting in his windowless office, sparsely decorated with small, framed photos of Black leaders. “I don’t know what freedom looks like, because you can’t tell me people in Enfield are free to live the way they want to.”
Robinson, who was elected in 2022, envisions a day when Black people in his community are able to live a life of pride, freedom, and economic stability. He believes clean energy will play a central role."
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