May 2, 2022
What were you up to on Earth Day weekend? Sierra Club staff and volunteers kicked off the festivities Friday, co-sponsoring an Earth Day Panel with Natural Resources Defense Council about the Inglewood Oil Field and our work to phase it out at the 30th Annual Pan African Film Festival (PAFF).
PAFF is the largest Black film festival in the country and is held at the Crenshaw Mall in Baldwin Hills, right next to the Inglewood Oil Field—the largest urban oil field in the country.
Panelists included: County Supervisor Holly J. Mitchell, Kaela Thomas from Black Women for Wellness, Damon Nagomi from NRDC, and David Haake, our volunteer with Clean Break. The panel was moderated by the incredibly talented Josiah Edwards from Sunrise Movement Los Angeles. (You can watch a recording of the panel here.)
This was a unique opportunity to integrate Brand Marketing and Beyond Dirty Fuels Campaign resources and capacities to increase awareness of the Sierra Club, and our work on climate and energy, advance local campaign goals and engage with the community.
Central Group volunteers also arranged for tabling all three days of the festival, educating folks on the Inglewood Oil Fields, and gathering petition signatures, a big task!
We had a great turnout and a great time engaging the community most impacted by the oil field. Stay tuned for a video about the local campaign incorporating footage from this event!
Huge thanks to Nicole Levin, Monica Embrey, Melissa Sun, Morgan Caplan, Adrienne Bramhall, Randy Downs, Melissa Rojas, Jasmine Vazin, Gabby Brown, Adam Bingman, and Derek Doublin for helping organize and film the day of! A huge shoutout to volunteers David Haake, Barabara Hensliegh, Will McWhinney, Raj Patel, and Kwana Key for speaking on the panel and organizing our tabling efforts.
Take action to demand a phase-out of oil drilling in Los Angeles: sc.org/laoil