Issue link: https://digital.copcomm.com/i/604020
9 B M & T ••• September/October 2015 ••• www.blackmeetingsandtourism.com mental racism and human rights abuse for operating a failed garbage waste incinerator that negatively affected thousands of residents in Albany's inner city. Planet: Did this lead to your involve- ment with the Sierra Club? Mair: Yes. At one of our meetings of the Arbor Hill Neighborhood Association, a gentleman from the Sierra Club was present, and he invited me to make a presentation at an upcom- ing meeting of the local Sierra Club group. We accepted. The Sierra Club was noted for its organizing skills and effective grassroots strategies, and we followed the Club's organizing manual to a T. It proved so effective in organiz- ing the community that we decided to enlist the Sierra Club in our effort to get the toxics incinerator shut down. We presented our case to the Atlantic Chapter's executive commit- tee, but unfortunately we did not win their support in helping us with our campaign in Albany. At the time, when people of color appealed to the Club, it wasn't received, and it was impossible to be unaware of the fact that we were an all-black group presenting our campaign and making our pitch for sup- port to an all-white chapter excom. But I believe the real issue was one of resources; the Club simply wasn't sure it could take on another campaign. Roger Gray of the chapter excom was deeply dismayed – in fact, deeply upset. What touched me was the way Roger genuinely cared and wanted to help bring relief to our com- munity. So I became a Sierra Club member and dedicated vol- unteer within the organization so that I could help change the culture of the Club from within. My goal was to take my grass- roots experience and my knowledge of the EJ movement and bring the concept of environmental justice into the main- stream of the environmental movement through a big organ- ization like the Sierra Club. Planet: What do you see as the biggest environmental threats/challenges we face today? Mair: Our nation is faced with a legislative climate that seeks to expand our national carbon footprint while system- atically trying to dismantle the EPA. We are living in an era of the largest expanding economy while personal incomes are being depressed, creating a culture of fear and insecurity that makes protecting our immediate and global environment seem like a material luxury. Political leaders have pushed an anti-green jobs/green industry agenda and shifted the nation- al discourse. The biggest threat right now is the political argu- ment of climate denial funded by the 1 percent of America for its own corporate interests and profits at the expense of the environment, the people of our great nation, and the people of the globe. The Sierra Club needs to lead the charge to cre- ate and galvanize the movement that will scale up to take on this global corporate climate threat. (b)Planet: What role do you see the Sierra Club playing in meeting these challenges? What strengths do we bring to the table? Mair: The Sierra Club has the foundations to build a strong, authentic movement because we're now undergoing