By MELISSA O’ROURKE | DAILY CALLER NEWS FOUNDATION
Ben Jealous, the former executive director of the Sierra Club, claimed he was forced out because of racism after being fired in August following sexual harassment allegations, Bloomberg reports.
The board of directors of the Sierra Club, one of the oldest and largest environmental organizations in the country, voted unanimously to remove Jealous from his role in early August after a review of his behavior. The dismissal followed a misconduct complaint filed earlier in the year by an employee alleging sexual harassment and bullying, though Jealous attributed his firing to racial bias, Bloomberg reports.
“No one can be surprised that the Sierra Club has resorted to personal attacks. That’s how racial retaliation works. When you’re being discriminated against, they don’t accuse you of being Black,” Jealous said in a statement from his lawyer, according to Bloomberg. “Before I left, I raised serious issues of racism and retaliation, and I have honored the confidential process in my contract rather than leak those publicly. It is no coincidence these accusations surface now, after I filed my arbitration complaint detailing the discrimination and retaliation I endured.”
The complaint alleged that Jealous made unwelcome sexual remarks that included graphic comments about his own sex life and the bodies of women at the organization, according to Bloomberg. The complaint also alleges verbal abuse and screaming fits toward the employee.
Jealous, who became the Sierra Club’s first black leader in 2023, previously served as the chief of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP).
Neither Jealous nor the Sierra Club responded to the Daily Caller News Foundation’s requests for comment.
Founded in 1892, the Sierra Club is known not only for its environmental activism but also for its involvement in liberal political advocacy. The group lists its core values as “anti-racism, balance, collaboration, justice, and transformation” on its site.
At the height of the Black Lives Matter movement in 2020, the Sierra Club disavowed its co-founder, John Muir, citing racist beliefs. The group accused Muir, who died in 1914, of making “derogatory comments about Black people and Indigenous peoples that drew on deeply harmful racist stereotypes.”
MSNBC host and civil rights activist Al Sharpton spoke out in support of Jealous following his firing.
“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 in a statement on Aug. 12 after Jealous’ firing was announced. “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.”
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I find racism to be A Two Way Street. Most the reporting of it happens in the Right Lane.
Much we aren’t told here. Similarly to sexual harassment being tolerated when the perps are gay or trans because “it’s who they are”, there are multiple standards of conduct from different identity groups. What is tolerated because of upbringing or culture when challenged by society as a whole brings accusations of racism and calls for toleration. I call rap and hip-hop music as my witness… Sierra Club disavowing John Muir because he wrote from the perspective of the rich and privileged of the 1880s-1920s is comical. Libtard hypocrisy on display here. Surely the Sierra Club saw this coming – Mr Jealous must be a real skunk.
Has Been Jealous.
The Sierra Club is receiving a taste of its own medicine. Enjoy! 😊
The default reason for any firing of a non-white: Racism
I’m just going to say what we’re all thinking: this guy is the whitest black guy I’ve seen pulling the R card in a while.
Maybe he’s partially black but this guy is definitely a very fair-skinned black man.
Is this a joke? “Ben Jealous”? Sure………and my name is Ben Disgusted. And he’s “black”? Who really gives a rip about the Sierra Club and their internal problems and backstabbing? Indeed, the more, the merrier.
As long as the enemy is busy fighting amongst themselves, they aren’t fighting us effectively.
The big question is this: What’s the “rustle” in the alders?
When Al Sharpton comes to your defense, immediately so, you can bet there is a substantial settlement in the wings. Sharpton must be Jealous!
Im actually feeling a little sympathetic for the lefty greenie Sierra Club members!
BTW, Hall Young, the early Missionary and traveling/ adventure companion of Muir in Southeast Alaska back in the 1870’s records some amusing interactions between Muir and Tlinget people…
I suggest those interested in Muir read his book, ” The Mushing Parson”.
LOL ….. the lily white racists at the Sierra Club hire the whiteist looking AA Director and then fire him?
This bunch was the push behind Pres. Carter’s D2- Lands bill (Fed land grab) in 1980.
At the time, in the 1970’s, the Sierra Club racists, wanted to remove all people living in “their ” parks.
They wanted the villages & Native people relocated out of “their” wilderness.
They are not protecting this land for minorities.
They are protecting it for the white, well off REI members, that give them money.
Hope this guy gets a big settlement out of these hypocrites.
Racism fatigue.
Another angry gay black men.
Yawn…
Sierra Club – double yawn…
The Sierra Club disavows John Muir? That’s rich. Think of all the place names to honor John Muir that must now be changed. Imagine, a new ferry someday named for the Muir Glacier. The horror! 👀
Firing man of his caliber! What a bore!!
Of course it’s racism. It’s always racism when it’s a leftist working for a leftist organization. There’s no way it could be because this man acted like a pig, could it? He feels entitled. The Sierra Club was right to boot his *ss to the curb.
Is it just me, or does that guy look kind of white? And am I goin to be censored a third time? Is it because I am a Black Man?