Keith Lee is putting his money and influence where his mouth is. Lee posted a video to his 17.4 million TikTok followers expressing his frustration of the lack of coverage on Gary, Indiana’s power outage on August 18. At the time of his post, he had already initiated contact with the City of Gary’s mayoral office and Salvation Army to bring supplies and resources to the residents of Gary. By August 20, Lee shared an update informing his audience of the community support event he would be hosting in collaboration with the Salvation Army and with additional support from Indiana Pacer’s point guard, Tyrese Haliburton. The event, providing residents with food and supplies, occurred on August 24 at Roosevelt Pavillion – just six days after Lee’s initial call to action. EBONY asked Lee for comment on his outreach work, “I was gearing up for our Midwest food tour, but when I saw what families in Gary were going through, I knew I wanted to do more than bring attention to the need. I wanted to help provide something practical. Partnering with The Salvation Army, Tyrese Haliburton, and the City of Gary made that possible. I’m grateful we can come together to remind the people of Gary that they are seen, supported, and not forgotten.”
When the storm that knocked out power for thousands of residents occurred on August 11, the city of Gary experienced wind gusts of 99 miles per hour. This put Gary in the top three among Northwest cities that received severe wind gusts. The blackout that ensued after lasted a total of two weeks, which caused great frustration for the Gary community. Notably, the city has a 76% Black population with one-third of the population experiencing poverty. Northern Indiana Public Service Co. (NIPSCO) serves as the northern third of Indiana, totaling 32 counties and is the energy provider for cities including Gary.
NIPSCO is receiving immense backlash and pressure to answer for the two weeks Gary residents were without power when the city experienced the brunt of the storm. Indiana’s Governor Mike Braun has urged the state’s utility consumer advocate to pursue an investigation into NIPSCO’s restoration timeline and why this specific community was left without power for such an extended time. Gary Mayor Eddie Melton has also called for answers, underscoring the frustration felt by residents who were left waiting for basic services to be restored.
For many in Gary, the outage also raised a larger question: What happens when a disaster exposes the inequities that already exist within a community?
Gary’s experience is not an isolated incident. Across the country, Black communities have repeatedly found themselves disproportionately vulnerable to environmental disasters, infrastructure failures and the slow distribution of resources that follows them. These disparities are often rooted in decades of underinvestment, environmental racism and inequitable access to emergency resources. The pattern can be seen in communities across the country: the devastation of Hurricane Katrina in New Orleans in 2005; the Flint water crisis, which began receiving national attention in 2014; Hurricane Harvey’s destruction in Houston and surrounding Texas communities in 2017; the devastating California wildfires of 2025; and the prolonged power outage that affected Memphis residents earlier this month. Black communities have historically been under-resourced and often face the greatest consequences when disasters occur.
That is why Lee’s response in Gary matters. His decision to calling attention to the outage to organizing tangible support demonstrates the power of using a platform not only to amplify a problem, but to mobilize people around a solution. His partnership with the Salvation Army, Haliburton and the City of Gary provided immediate resources to residents while also drawing national attention to a community that many felt had been overlooked.
Gary’s power outage is yet another reminder of what happens when Black communities are left under resourced in moments of crisis. But it is also a reminder of our ability to show up for one another. Keith Lee’s response demonstrates what can happen when influence is paired with action. When those gaps exist, community care can become a powerful force. That is how our communities survive.