Rocky Milburn, a 75-year-old White man from a low-income neighborhood, has been an Outings Leader with the Sierra Club’s Inspiring Connections Outdoors program for more than 25 years, sharing his love of the outdoors with youth from underserved communities and inspiring them to explore and enjoy nature.
Author Archives: Benjamin Todd Jealous
Posted inCommentary
Love for the Outdoors is a Gift that Pays Forward
A 75-year-old White man from a low-income neighborhood is sharing his love of the outdoors with Black and brown kids from underserved communities through the Sierra Club’s Inspiring Connections Outdoors program, inspiring them to appreciate and care for nature.
Posted inCommentary
It’s time to put an end to lead in American drinking water
The Biden-Harris administration, community organizers, advocacy groups, the federal government, and private companies are working together to address the threat of lead poisoning, with the goal of ensuring equity in lead line replacement plans and preventing future health crises.
Posted inCommentary, OPINION
Commentary: Vice President Kamala Harris’ fight for reproductive freedom
By Ben Jealous It matters deeply that America has a woman as our vice president. That has never been truer than at this moment. Nothing makes this more clear than Vice President Kamala Harris’s courageous decision to champion reproductive freedom in the midst of a full-on assault on the right to choose. Right now, Harris […]
Posted inCommentary
Setting the record straight on an important piece of Black history
By Ben Jealous With the start of Black History Month, I brace myself for the mis-telling of Black History yet again. In schoolhouses and everywhere the stories are told, a persistent myth shows its ugly head: the ridiculous notion that great Black leaders are not just exceptional but exceptions. It is an idea rooted in […]
Posted inCommentary
Biden-Harris Administration’s liquified natural gas decision gives hope to younger generations
By Ben Jealous James Hiatt lives in an area along the Mississippi River in Louisiana that has been dubbed “Cancer Alley.” Teeming with chemical plants and oil and gas refineries, the air the residents of this area breathe contains more carcinogens than anywhere else in the country. One of those oil and gas facilities is […]
Posted inCommentary
How the clean energy win in Michigan provides a roadmap for other states
By Ben Jealous If you live in Detroit or another part of Michigan where there’s a looming threat of bodily harm from fossil fuel pollution, it just got a little easier to breathe a sigh of relief … and to maintain your ability to breathe in general. The historic Clean Energy Future Package and Clean […]
Posted inCommentary
Overcoming the oil and gas industry’s influence at COP28
By Ben Jealous Frederick Douglass said, “Power concedes nothing without a demand. It never did and it never will.” Those of us with history in the civil rights movement know that taking on entrenched power and changing the status quo requires dogged tenacity and seizing key moments to break down barriers. The United Nations COP28 […]
Posted inCommentary
Environmental ‘sacrifice zones’ can be beacons of clean energy investment
By Ben Jealous Lower Richland County, S.C. is a place with rich history. The region, which sits on wetlands and a floodplain forest fed by the Congaree River, was an established agricultural center dating back more than 300 years. It’s home to Congaree National Park and other important sites that are central to the experiences […]
Posted inCommentary
Commentary: For too many kids getting outside is easier said than done
By Ben Jealous, Special to the AFRO After a restful Thanksgiving, my family made a deliberate choice to #OptOutside on Nov. 24. #OptOutside is a growing movement in which participating organizations and companies close their doors on Black Friday, give their employees a paid day off, and encourage all of us to embrace the serenity […]
Posted inOpinion
Steel mills can steal from the least powerful
By Ben Jealous U.S. Steel gave birth to Gary, Ind. in 1906. The city, named after a chairman of the corporation’s board, started as housing for steelworkers. The Gary Works opened in 1908 and for most of the 20th century was the largest steel mill in the world; it’s still the largest in this country. […]
Posted inOPINION
The clean energy transition must be a just transition
By Ben Jealous When General Motors, Chrysler and Ford – the “Big Three” American automakers – were close to extinction 15 years ago, their workers and the American people stepped in to save them. The United Auto Workers (UAW) gave back wages and benefits they had every right to get under a contract they had […]