University of Michigan School for Environment and Sustainability (SEAS) Tishman Professor of Environmental Justice, Associate Professor of Environment and Sustainability and Detroit Sustainability Clinic Director Tony G. Reames received a Michigan Chronicle Men of Excellence award last week at the 17th Annual Men of Excellence Awards and Induction Ceremony in Detroit. Each year, the Michigan Chronicle provides Men and Women of Excellence awards to outstanding African American men and women who have made significant contributions to the city of Detroit through their leadership, vision, exemplary achievements and service across all sectors. 

This year’s 50 Men of Excellence recipients included Michigan Lieutenant Governor Garland Gilchrist II and many other distinguished honorees and executives from the political, educational, business, healthcare, civil service, faith and arts spheres. Recipients are nominated by at least two previous Men of Excellence awardees. To qualify, a prospective recipient must be an African American executive or business owner with a proven track record of success in his industry, be active in community service and be a positive role model.

Past Men of Excellence honorees have included Joe Tate, Speaker of the House for the Michigan House of Representatives, and Brad Holmes, Executive Vice President and General Manager of the Detroit Lions, among many other visionary Black leaders.

Cathy Nedd, president of Real Times Media—the parent company of five of the most respected African American-owned news organizations in the U.S., including the Michigan Chronicle and Chicago Defender—gave opening remarks to a crowd of nearly 1,000 at the awards ceremony held at the MGM Grand on July 27.

“Let’s take a moment to recognize the profound impact these men have made. They have devoted themselves to their work, their loved ones, their neighborhoods, and they have consistently gone above and beyond to make a difference. Their achievements are a testament to the power of commitment, hard work and a deep sense of responsibility to care for those around them,” said Nedd.

Hiram E. Jackson, chief executive officer of Real Times Media, celebrated the fact that the Michigan Chronicle has been showcasing Black achievements throughout its 88-year history. 

“It’s our job to celebrate Black people,” Jackson said. “If you believed everything the six o’clock news said [about Black men], you would think that we were all selling drugs and robbing somebody…but if you expect something like that, you don’t really know us.” 

Jackson said that naysayers originally predicted the Men of Excellence annual awards would not last for more than two or three years. 

“[They said] you don’t have that many Black men in the community who are doing amazing things. But here we are in our 17th year…we have lawyers and doctors, corporate CEOs and law enforcement. We’ve got the Lieutenant Governor on this list.” 

Reames has worked with disadvantaged communities in Detroit since 2014, and was nominated for his enduring leadership and innovation in sustainability, environmental justice and energy equity. At the Detroit Sustainability Clinic, Reames and his team provide technical assistance, resources, and multi-year engagement opportunities to uplift community priorities and implement climate solutions in Detroit’s most underserved areas.

Recently, Reames served as a Biden-Harris appointee at the U.S. Department of Energy, where he was the DOE’s Deputy Director for Energy Justice and Principal Deputy Director for State and Community Energy Programs. He led the implementation of the President’s Justice40 Initiative, which affords 40 percent of the benefits of Federal climate investments to communities that bear the worst burdens of the climate crisis. Reames also founded and led the Office of Energy Justice Policy and Analysis, advancing equitable decarbonization in historically marginalized neighborhoods. 

Reames adds the Men of Excellence award to a growing list of accolades. In 2019, he was named a Grist 50 Fixer and in 2022 received a Jan Brinch Award for Collaboration in Public Service from the National Council on Electricity Policy. In addition to his Federal service and academic roles, Reames is also a U.S. Army veteran.

Jackson emphasized that the Michigan Chronicle and Real Times Media focus on “stories about people who you may not know, but they’re doing amazing things in the community. They may not be the loudest, but they’re grinding it out every day. Their story never gets told,” Jackson said. “This is our way of saying, ‘Brother, we see you. We see you.’ We understand how tough it is to be a Black man in America sometimes. And we just want to take one night to celebrate their success and say thank you.”

For more information about this event, read this article in Michigan Chronicle.