Bottom row (L-R) Priscilla Preston, Audrey Jones, Ben Jealous, Rev. Leo Woodberry, and Elaine Cooper | Top row (L-R) Bob Guild, Pamela Greenlaw, Lorretta Slater, Bob Petrulis, & Montravias King
COLUMBIA, S.C. – Ben Jealous, Sierra Club Executive Director, was in Hopkins (Lower Richland) Saturday night to keynote the 28th Annual NAACP Lower Richland Branch Freedom Fund Dinner & Community Awards Gala.
"Lower Richland is a prime example of a community that could benefit tremendously from clean energy investments under the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) and Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act—and the community is hungry for the opportunity," stated Jealous during his remarks.
Jealous also mentioned the success of the Sierra Club's Beyond Coal Campaign in improving health outcomes in BIPOC communities across the nation with the Club's push to accelerate the retirement of coal plants that cause soot pollution, which negatively impacts health outcomes for poor people in frontline communities such as Hopkins. Almost 1 million asthma attacks have been prevented due to the organization's Beyond Coal campaign.
"Lower Richland is a dumping ground for the rest of the county and the industries that set up shop here, while it could be a gold mine for the county and the state's tourism industry. We need clean industry in this community," stated lifelong NAACP and Sierra Club member, Ms. Virginia Sanders.
The Sierra Club South Carolina Chapter is excited to forge a new partnership with the Lower Richland NAACP Branch to address the climate crisis and to ensure that Justice40 is a realization for communities.
"We share a common agenda around voting rights, environmental protection, and social justice. So this partnership is the strategic way forward towards accelerating progress in our communities," stated Dr. Dawn Mills Campbell, President of the NAACP Lower Richland Branch.
The Community Awards portion of the gala honored Champions of Justice honorees:
Education Award—Dr. Ronald L. Rhames, the 6th President of Midlands Technical Community College.
Community Service Award—Mr. Elis Curtis "E.C." Nelson for his work fighting crime across Richland County by establishing 23 community watch organizations.
The gala ended with a call to action from Jealous, in which he stated: "the most powerful math possible is getting the working class together against all the lines they use to divide us. "He went on to say that "the math they teach us about politics is wrong. We can come together and forge a healthier, greener, and more prosperous future with the benefits of this new Green Economy.”
Jealous met with Sierra Club South Carolina Chapter staff and volunteer leaders at their downtown Columbia offices at a welcome ceremony and briefing prior to the gala. This was Jealous's second visit to Palmetto since becoming Executive Director in 2022 of the nation's largest grassroots environmental advocacy organization. Still, it is no surprise to advocates because of Jealous's goal to revamp the Sierra Club and expand its presence in red states.
Jealous's 50-state strategy involves having a Chapter Director in all RED states, such as South Carolina. Currently, the organization has a state director in every blue state but only in a third of red states. With the recent appointment of Montravias King to the role of Chapter Director, the South Carolina Chapter has added capacity to address climate change and ensure that the benefits from the Inflation Reduction Act are well spent in frontline communities such as Lower Richland that continue to experience the worst impacts of the climate crisis and detrimental health outcomes due to its proximity to heavy pollution and industrial sites.