In the second installment of The OBSERVER’s series, former Sierra Club president Aaron Mair argues that recent departures of Black leaders reflect deeper issues of governance, power and institutional culture. He describes a “pattern of disposal,” where Black leadership is elevated publicly but undermined internally, raising broader concerns about authenticity and accountability within the environmental movement.
Tag: Sierra Club
Posted inNational News
Inside Sierra Club’s pattern of Black leadership departures
By Dr. Angelo A. WilliamsThe Observer EDITOR’S NOTE: Between 2023 and 2025, a cluster of departures across the Sierra Club and the Sierra Club Foundation — including routine board turnover, resignations, a discrimination lawsuit and the firing of former Executive Director Ben Jealous — fueled a debate over who holds power inside one of the […]
Posted inPOLITICS
The Republican spending bill is bad for climate justice too
The Republican-led budget bill signed on July 4 eliminates key climate justice programs, including the EPA’s Environmental and Climate Justice Program, reversing billions in planned investments for underserved communities. While some grant funding is being defended in court, advocates warn that the rollback signals a major setback for environmental justice efforts, disproportionately impacting Black, Brown, Indigenous, and low-income Americans.
Posted inClimate Change
PRESS ROOM: Top climate organizations react to Trump’s executive orders attacking health, environment, climate and clean energy jobs
President Trump’s administration has introduced policies that undo environmental protections, including the confirmation of Lee Zeldin as the 17th EPA administrator, which threatens the rights of millions of Americans to clean air, water, and energy.
Posted inU.S. Government
Project 2025: The 900-page guide to snuffing out American democracy
Project 2025, a far-right plan to end the American democracy and turn America into an autocracy, has been endorsed by over a hundred far-right organizations and is opposed by the majority of Americans due to its potential harm to healthcare, education, and climate change.
Posted inENVIRONMENT
Carbon pipelines are a bad deal (for everyone who is not getting rich from them)
Iowans are fighting against a massive carbon dioxide pipeline project, which is backed by a wealthy pipeline investor, and are using a bipartisan coalition to challenge the use of eminent domain to seize land for the project.
Posted inCommentary
Biden’s anti-NAFTA moment is here
The Biden-Harris administration is implementing a bold trade policy to ensure America leads the clean energy economy of the 21st century, investing in domestic manufacturing and creating a green jobs boom, while protecting American jobs from Chinese competition.
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, 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 inENVIRONMENT
Having our say against carbon pollution
By Ben Jealous More than one million Americans told the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) that they aren’t willing to wait any longer. Their comments insisting that EPA move forward quickly to cut carbon pollution from new and existing coal and natural gas-burning power plants were delivered in person in Washington by a coalition of a […]
