Marvel Studios’ “Avengers: Endgame” star Don Cheadle spent the blockbuster movie’s global premiere weekend surprising real-life heroes uplifting their Los Angeles neighborhoods.
On Sunday, Cheadle — who plays ‘War Machine’ in Marvel Studios’ “Avengers: Endgame” — made a surprise appearance at The Solutions Project’s annual ONE100 Awards ceremony to honor a group of Los Angeles women and students who are giving their 100 percent to fight for clean energy in their communities.
The event, which took place at the Universal Cinema at Universal CityWalk, featured a short video of Cheadle and his fellow Avengers stars Karen Gillan and Mark Ruffalo recognizing the ONE100 Award winners as real-life ‘clean energy superheroes.’ A special screening of Avengers: Endgame followed. Ruffalo co-founded The Solutions Project, and both he and Cheadle serve on the organization’s board together.
“The Avengers: Endgame” global premiere weekend was the perfect time to shine a spotlight on this year’s ONE100 Award winners,” said Cheadle. “The individuals honored today fight for justice and the planet in real life. They are true ‘clean energy superheroes.’”
This year’s ONE100 Awards went to:
- Deborah Bell-Holt, who has been involved in the fight to end oil drilling in Los Angeles for 17 years. Her start in community activism against oil began when her son’s elementary school was located across the street from an oil refinery. Since then, and through volunteering with the organization SCOPE, Deborah has united other neighbors to transition oil drilling from their neighborhoods and protect generations of families like hers in South LA. She is also the founder of Love and Respect Youth Foundation, an organization assisting children and their families in all aspects of life.
- Youth for Environmental Justice (Youth EJ) is a 22-year-old statewide youth organizing program of Communities for a Better Environment, a grantee of The Solutions Project. With Action Clubs that meet at lunch in nine high schools across California, Youth EJ members are the next generation’s environmental justice leaders. Recently, the group of students had a leading role in suing the City of Los Angeles for approving oil drilling sites without considering the impact on neighboring communities.
- Ruth Andrade is a community leader from South Los Angeles who is all about imagining the possibilities. She’s been fighting to shut down an oil drilling site in her neighborhood for over four years after recognizing several families in her neighborhood had mysterious health conditions. In its place, she wants more green spaces where trees can live and future generations can thrive. A volunteer leader, Ruth works with several South LA community-based organizations, including SCOPE LA, a grantee of The Solutions Project.
“I’m proud that women and young people of color were among this year’s ONE100 Award winners,” said The Solutions Project Executive Director Sarah Shanley Hope. “People of color across the US are spearheading some of the most promising and innovative efforts to promote climate justice and 100 percent clean energy for all, but their work mostly goes unrecognized. The ONE100 Awards is one of the ways that The Solutions Project is working for change.”
Earlier this year, The Solutions Project – which is both an advocacy and grantmaking organization – made a 100 percent Commitment to Justice pledge to allocate 95 percent of its funding resources to organizations led by people of color, with at least 80 percent of those organizations led by women. As part of its 100 percent Commitment to Justice announcement, The Solutions Project also released a report showing that women and people of color are dramatically underrepresented in climate and clean energy news coverage.
Patagonia recognized the ONE100 awardees for their work with fun gifts. Event attendees received Just Water water bottles and limited edition Marvel Studios’ “Avengers: Endgame” t-shirts that are also for sale online, with all proceeds benefiting The Solutions Project’s efforts to promote 100 percent clean energy.
