Al Sharpton warns of ‘racial implications' in Sierra Club firing

E&E News

3 days ago

Civil rights leader Al Sharpton is warning of 'serious racial implications' of the Sierra Club's firing of its Black Executive Director Ben Jealous.
Sharpton criticized the Sierra Club's move earlier this week to fire Jealous. The green group said its board voted unanimously Monday to terminate Jealous' employment 'for cause following extensive evaluation of his conduct.'
Jealous has retained attorneys at a civil rights and employment law firm and said in a statement Tuesday that he is fighting the decision.
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Sharpton is among the supporters of Jealous who are publicly criticizing the Sierra Club for the manner in which the green group ousted its first Black executive director.
'I am troubled by the Sierra Club's manner in which they parted ways with Ben Jealous, a man who has carried himself with dedication, professionalism, and integrity in the time I have known him,' Sharpton said Tuesday in a statement. 'There are serious racial implications in firing a Black man of Ben's caliber, in this fashion, at a time when diversity is under attack. It also runs counter to the Sierra Club's own principle of eradicating racism.'
Sharpton urged the Sierra Club to engage in mediation with Jealous.
It's clear, Sharpton said, that 'another set of eyes is needed to examine what has gone on here. Whether it's myself or another trusted third-party, someone clearly must step in to bring a resolution to this issue.'
Sierra Club spokesperson Jonathon Berman said Wednesday in an email that the group 'agrees with Reverend Al Sharpton that it is time to put this chapter behind us so we can return to our shared mission.'
Jealous 'had the opportunity to join us in doing so when he received written notice detailing — with specificity — his termination for cause more than 30 days ago,' Berman said. 'Mr. Jealous is well aware that race had absolutely no role with the Board's unanimous decision. The Sierra Club stands by its principled decision to terminate Mr. Jealous' employment for cause, and we are fully prepared to defend the decision in any forum in which he chooses to challenge it, whether public or private.'
The Sierra Club has not publicly disclosed details about its reasons for firing Jealous, who started at the group in early 2023.
Sharpton addresses the media during a news conference as then-NAACP President Ben Jealous watches July 14, 2010, in Kansas City, Missouri. | Ed Zurga/AP
The Sierra Club's leaders and many of its staffers at that time celebrated the arrival of the organization's first Black leader in its 130-year history. Jealous' hire followed the departure of former leader Michael Brune, who stepped down in 2021 amid calls for the organization to boost diversity in its ranks.
Jealous previously led People for the American Way and the NAACP and lost his 2018 bid to be governor of Maryland.
His two-year tenure at the Sierra Club has been marked by complaints from employees and the green group's staff union over his management. He inherited a budget deficit when he started the job and announced layoffs soon after his arrival. Public sparring between Jealous and Sierra Club staffers spilled into the media.
Jealous said in a 2023 interview that the Progressive Workers Union, which represents the Sierra Club's staff, had been 'attacking the brand of this organization for years.' He accused the union of sending reporters to the Sierra Club's leaders with 'multiple lies' that 'follow racist tropes about Black leadership.' He called their tactics 'uniquely destructive.'
Members of the PWU's Black, Indigenous and People of Color Caucus sent a letter to the Sierra Club's board of directors this week expressing concerns about Jealous' leadership.
'There have recently been baseless accusations that PWU's attempts to hold Mr. Jealous and his team accountable are rooted in racism,' the letter says. 'BIPOC staff and allies alike have been voicing our concerns about Mr. Jealous's leadership and actions, not because of his identity, but because of the impacts of his choices.'
Aaron Mair, who served as the first Black president of the Sierra Club's board of directors, said Jealous has been 'a victim of racism, white privilege and white victimhood.'
Jealous was 'brought in in the wake of a collapse in organization culture and a big rift between volunteers and labor,' Mair said Wednesday in an interview.
When he first announced layoffs and restructuring at the Sierra Club in April 2023, Jealous said he had inherited an annualized budget deficit of $40 million, a hiring freeze and a mandate from the board 'to manage things so that we would never realize such a deficit.'
He oversaw several more rounds of layoffs at the group, including earlier this year.
Jealous was 'a professional' who executed his role as executive director by caring about the group's fiduciary condition, Mair said. 'He was fired for stabilizing this organization.'
The board of directors voted to enact the budget cuts, Mair said. The 'board has failed in its mission to protect, to lift up and publicly defend Ben,' he added.
'Who would want to ever become an executive director of an organization like this?' Mair asked. 'This is madness. Who's in charge?'