Equity

"This is just the beginning of a long journey for Sierra Club; by centering our key principles of equity, justice and inclusion in every aspect of our work, we aim to transform ourselves and build a healthy, welcoming and sustainable community that celebrates people from all walks of life"

- Nellis Kennedy-Howard, Former Sierra Club Director of the Department of Equity, Inclusion, and Justice.

July 8, 2022:

We at the Sierra Club are pro-choice. Here's why.

Sexual and reproductive health and rights are inalienable human rights that should be guaranteed for all people with no ulterior motive.
A human rights-based approach to climate justice centers a person’s bodily autonomy and individual choice.
Bodily autonomy can mean many things, including the right to determine if and when you have children, the right to breathe clean air, the right to experience nature, and the right to make determinations for your own life.

Here's how you can help.

Contact your state rep & senator and urge them to preserve a woman's right to her own body.
Support organizations that provide safe services for people with uteruses.
NEVER GIVE UP.

Read more from Sierra Club Managing Director Eva Hernandez-Simmons about why we support reproductive justice and bodily autonomy.

July 29, 2021:

Check out this blog from our Chapter Director, Amanda Shepherd: A Sustainable World Requires Justice & Liberation

Celebrating Juneteenth in Columbus IN

June 19, 2021.

Michelle Carr.

Juneteenth commemorates June 19th, 1865 when Union Army Major General Gordon Granger rode into Galveston, Texas and delivered the news that the slaves were now free. Even though it had been more than two years since the Emancipation Proclamation was decreed, not every place in the country had put it into practice.

Here in Columbus, Indiana, like many other cities, this day has been celebrated annually as the official day of freedom from slavery. This year on June 17th, President Joe Biden added his signature to certify Juneteenth as a federal holiday. This proclamation only added to the excitement of this year’s already anticipated celebration.

The Columbus / Bartholomew County Area Chapter of the NAACP worked together with the Columbus Area Visitors Center to plan the Juneteenth celebration, the first of this year’s four Ethnic Expo events. The celebration featured many performers including Kamille Wilson who performed an interpretive dance to singer Cynthia Erivo’s song “Stand up”. Numerous booths overflowed the street and offered delicious ethnic food and stunning merchandise sold by local artists and vendors. There were many informational booths as well as a kid’s bouncy house area. Participants could also register to vote at the local Democratic Party’s booth and get their Covid19 vaccine at the Bartholomew County Health Department’s new mobile vaccination center.

One really exciting addition to this year’s event was that the Citizen’s Advisory Committee to the Bartholomew County Waste Management District put together a recycling effort. Volunteers signed up to work at one of the five stations for roughly three hour shifts. It was at waste station number one where I found our fearless leader, Chapter Executive Committee Chair, Julia Lowe volunteering. Volunteers were provided gloves, a grabber and a yellow vest to make them easily identifiable. Their job was to help educate the event’s participants on what items could be recycled and what had to be placed in the trash. The goal was to help reduce the waste that ended up in the landfill from the four Ethnic Expos. Hopefully with the success from these events, this effort will be adopted as a permanent practice.

Columbus’s 2021 Juneteenth saw roughly 400 people come through and a great many of them stayed and took part in the activities. This was incredibly encouraging since 2019’s event was hindered by a great deal of rain and last year’s celebration was cancelled due to the pandemic. Hopefully the declaration of Juneteenth as a federal holiday will aid in the education and celebration of this historically important day. Now that we as a country have taken this step, my hope is that we will continue going forward in other ways that include justice, equality and repairing the damages done from our past as well as those from our present.

(L) Joe Bronnert (Vice Chair of Winding Waters Executive Committee) and Julia Lowe (Chair of Hoosier Chapter & Winding Waters Executive Committee) and (R) Columbus / Bartholomew County NAACP’s 2021 Juneteenth Celebration

Michelle is Chair of the Communications Committee for Sierra Club Hoosier Chapter and the Winding Waters Group, and the Vice Chair of the Hoosier Chapter Executive Committee.

Related reading:

NAACP Columbus/Bartholomew County

Support Outdoor Afro for Juneteenth

Sierra Club's Statement on Reparations

Food Equity and Justice resources added

November 2, 2020.

We are pleased to introduce a new section of our website, dedicated to food access, equity, and justice, in Indiana: Food Equity and Justice.

Jemez Principles

The Sierra Club board of directors adopted the Jemez Principles in 2014. The Hoosier Chapter aims to operate under their guidance.

Open Letter to Governor Holcomb on Utility Commission Vacancy

February 5, 2018.

Sierra Club Hoosier Chapter joins Citizens Action Coalition, Hoosier Environmental Council, Indiana State Conference of NAACP and Hoosier Interfaith Power & Light today, to release the following:

An Open Letter to Indiana Gov. Eric Holcomb: “Find a conscientious leader who will look out for the poor and the most impacted”.

Download the full letter PDF via Indiana DG here.

Food Equity and Justice

It is our strongly held belief that food access and equity is an essential part of the equity and justice we strive for in our communities. Accessing food isn’t always easy in our state. Accessing healthy, nutritious food, less easy still. Feeding...