Visiting Fenceline Communities in Texas

I was recently chosen by our local group to represent Corpus Christi and was elected to serve as the youngest member of the Sierra Club Lone Star Chapter Executive Committee. Last weekend we convened with the Sierra Club National Board, the National Staff, the Texas State Staff and the rest of the members of our Executive Committee to welcome Ben Jealous to Houston.

This weekend I saw and spoke with a diverse group of national board members and staff that proved to me that Justice, Equity, and Inclusion were at the root of this new age of Sierra Club. Thank you Ben for your leadership and taking on a big ask, and for prioritizing environmental justice wherever you venture.

We visited many locations within Houston where our black & brown communities were suffering on the fenceline of toxic pollutants from heavy industries. We visited a family park where less than a mile in the distance, a waste plant laid near. The natural river was poisoned. Signs warned of possible injury.

There were reports of child deaths due to cancer. These are the realities of communities on the frontlines of the climate crisis. And back at home, Corpus Christi is not unknown to these horrors.

We can do better than this. We have to fight for our rights to clean air and clean water. We are only as developed as our most underserved communities. Addressing the climate crisis demands that we address social inequities, racism, and discriminatory systems of law. We will see this done because it’s a matter of life or death.

Bryan Parras, who helped lead the toxics tour, talked to Ben during a meeting with staff. He mentioned he’d read Ben's book and the realities of the Texas Legislative session happening right now. "Your book would be banned if they tried to teach it in Texas."

Even with this constant onslaught of pollution and a corrupt political environment that isn't listening to people in the communities most hurt, we can still take action. Bryan has been helping lead Sierra Club's efforts to support a federal rule regulating toxic pollution that happens during startup, shutdown, and malfunction(SSM), which too many companies have used as a loophole to pollute in these frontline communities like those we visited in Houston. Find out more and tell the Biden Administration and the EPA to remove these SSM loopholes.

Ben's tour also included stops in Los Angeles and Phoenix to meet with Southern California and Arizona leaders.

Grand Canyon Chapter and Arizona national staff, volunteers, and partners enjoyed the beauty of the Sonoran Desert with Ben, Board President Ramon Cruz, and Managing Director Eva Hendandez on a hike in South Mountain Park and Preserve, led by chapter staff and new hike leader, Ana Gorla. Next up was breakfast at a local farm to table outdoor restaurant, where we were joined by partners from the NAACP and the community of Randolph, a historic Black community that is fighting a gas plant expansion and the harm it will bring their community. We are fighting this plant in solidarity with the community. Ben, Ramon, and Eva also heard about the awesome work in Arizona on Grand Canyon, Borderlands, and Water Sentinels, and efforts to save Oak Flat from mining giant Rio Tinto, as well as the continued work on our chapter's Equity Trail Map.

Watch a video of Ben speaking with local leaders in Arizona!

Morgan Dowdy, Chair of the Angeles Chapter, staff and volunteers talked with Ben about the central role of our extensive outings program. He was impressed at the thousands of outings our chapter runs, and wants to really celebrate that as our core work -- if we get people into nature they'll be inspired to protect it. Ben really listened to our ideas and concerns of how to make our outings run smoother and inspire more leaders to get involved. We also talked about the need for outings to include everyone, the radical hospitality that makes people want to come back regardless of their background. We were inspired and motivated by Ben's stories and his vision for growing the Club membership and profile, with chapters a huge part of that effort. Find out more about outings with the Angeles Chapter or across the country and around the world.

Watch a quick video from Benin Kenneth Hahn State Recreation Area, learning about urban drilling in LA County communities, speaking with local staff and volunteers in Los Angeles!

These were the final stops on Ben's tour… for now. By the end of the year he has committed to visiting every chapter in Sierra Club and listening to local leadership in every community. Thanks for joining us on this journey.