Michael Grant is a photojournalist at Black Voice News, a news site and weekly paper in Riverside, California, and focuses on issues related to the climate and environmental justice. As a freelance photographer, Grant has traveled and lived in a number of places, including Brooklyn, New York, Atlanta, Miami and Ethiopia, investigating and documenting the aesthetics of blackness, class, family, relationships and cultural diversities. His work has been exhibited at the Parsons School of Design and Photoville in New York City, and the Chrysler Museum of Art in Norfolk, Virginia. Grant holds a bachelor’s degree in criminology from Hampton University.
Beat: Environmental and health effects of the area's booming logistics industry
The 2022-2023 RFA corps member will focus on environmental justice issues in California’s Inland Empire, home to some of the worst air quality in the nation. This region is also dubbed warehouse central, where increased semi-truck traffic traverses the area nonstop, adding to an already environmentally toxic environment. In one local community, 24 of its 46 census tracts are designated by the state as disadvantaged communities disproportionately impacted by pollution and other hazards that can lead to negative health effects. Seeking applicants with experience in investigative journalism, multimedia reporting and knowledge of how to use data to support a story.