Since 1892, the world has undergone a lot of change and so has the Sierra Club. Most of us understand that the deep environmental challenges we are facing are brought about by our unbridled use of fossil fuels. And our dependence on fossil fuels is warming the planet, increasing the intensity of severe weather events. What is less accepted by society at large is that all of the many challenges we face — a broken democracy, extreme economic inequity, systemic racism, and climate change — are interwoven together and cannot be solved individually.
That’s the bad news. The good news is that the solutions to these problems are also intertwined and can be solved by taking a holistic approach.
In his June 23, 2021 blog post, Michael Brune talks about the commitment the Sierra Club is making to work for racial justice. For many people, including Sierra Club members, this represents a radical departure from our traditional work to protect the environment. This year at the Oregon Chapter’s Organizing School, we will center our conversations about this change in focus and what it means for our work.
We understand that culture is intrinsically conservative and slow to change, and as a result there is going to be a wide spectrum of understanding and acceptance of the importance of Equity, Inclusion, and Justice in our work. We hope this program will allow participants to gain a deeper understanding of racism, how it impacts our work, and strategies to address it. As volunteer leaders, we strive to develop our skills to have supportive, open conversations. We also plan to help our facilitation team build their skills to have “difficult conversations” and engage with our webinar participants to increase their understanding of why and how they can support change in the focus of our work. We invite you to join us!
Join our Organizing School mailing list to stay up-to-date on future announcements about the webinars and program!
Questions? Reach out to Gregory Monahan if you have any questions or want more information.