MONTEREY >> Ben Jealous, the Pacific Grove native, current executive director of the Sierra Club and former national president of the NAACP, said he was to be the keynote speaker at a local NAACP banquet, but was disinvited when he would not agree to not voice a point of view that might make a sponsor uncomfortable.

“I was heartbroken when I was recently disinvited from delivering the keynote address at the Monterey County NAACP’s Freedom Fund Banquet this (past) weekend because Chevron is sponsoring the event,” said Jealous in a piece submitted to The Herald. “The branch requested that I not ‘voice a point of view that might make Chevron uncomfortable.’ As the executive director of the Sierra Club, that is not a request I was prepared to entertain.”A statement from the NAACP Monterey County Branch said, in part, “Our branch did indeed attempt to connect with him for our 51st Freedom Fund Life Membership Banquet in 2023. Consequently, we DID NOT extend an invitation for the 2024 event. It is vital to understand that this decision was not made lightly, but after thorough consideration of logistical constraints and the importance of aligning our event with available speakers.”

An email to Jealous in March from the local NAACP said, “Given that you are the executive director of the Sierra Club, a few folks have expressed concern that you, as keynote speaker, will voice a point of view that might make Chevron uncomfortable.”

In his response, Jealous said he could not offer the assurance sought, adding, “As the executive director of the Sierra Club, I have an ethical obligation not to censor myself on key issues at the core of the organization’s mission. In this case, the centrality of fossil fuels and fossil fuel companies to the climate crisis may not be a reality I can sidestep in any remarks — especially in response to a request to do so.”

Jealous said that the revered former national chairman of the NAACP Julian Bond “would roll over in his grave if I yielded to such a request.” He said Bond was his mentor and was proud to join Jealous in launching the climate justice program and cited Bond’s final act of civil disobedience of chaining himself to the White House fence in opposition to the Keystone XL pipeline alongside Bill McKibben and then-Sierra Club Executive Director Mike Brune.

The NAACP Monterey County Branch also said in its statement that, “The decision to partner with Chevron as a sponsor was made after careful deliberation and reflection of our goals and community needs. It is important to stress that this partnership does not disregard community perspectives, rather, we recognize the complexities involved in such collaborations and are committed to engaging in dialogues that resonate with our core values. Chevron has been proud to support the Monterey County NAACP for the past four years, sponsoring the banquet for three of those years. Our partnership is rooted in a genuine desire to uplift and empower communities and there has never been an ulterior motive behind their financial contributions.”

Jealous said that in 2019, it was revealed that some NAACP chapters accepted donations from fossil fuel-aligned utility companies and then took positions against climate-friendly policies.

“The New York Times reported, ‘When utilities around the country have wanted to build fossil-fuel plants, defeat energy-efficiency proposals or slow the growth of rooftop solar power, they have often turned for support to a surprisingly reliable ally: a local chapter of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People,’” according to Jealous.

To say the Monterey County Branch was environmentally minded when he grew up would be an understatement, said Jealous, who added that its membership included many conservationists and tremendous overlap with the local chapter of the Sierra Club.

“My own family was a perfect example of that overlap. I went on to spend my life in the civil rights and environmental movements. And I realized both movements are really one and the same,” said Jealous. “That is why when I led the NAACP, my first major act was to establish what would become the Environmental and Climate Justice Program.”

The link between NAACP chapters and the fossil-fuel industry is a particular affront in light of what the industry has done to Black communities across the country, said Jealous.

“When I was NAACP president, our own research showed communities of color were most likely to be impacted by climate-related disasters, and most harmed by the health impacts of pollution from the burning of fossil fuels,” he said.

Jealous said that it now seems fossil fuel interests are trying to use the Monterey County chapter of the NAACP as a willing prop in its agenda.

“At the time Chevron became the Freedom Fund Banquet’s sponsor, a ballot initiative backed by Big Oil and Gas was slated to be in front of California voters this November,” said Jealous. “It was aimed at repealing a law against new oil and gas wells within 3,200 feet of homes, schools, nursing homes, and hospitals and beefing up health, safety, and environmental requirements. Of course, heavily impacted areas would include places like Inglewood and Baldwin Hills in Los Angeles — communities with many Black residents.”

The initiative was pulled from the ballot when it was evident oil companies would not win, he said, but there is legislation currently on Gov. Newsom’s desk that would effectively reinstate limits on oil and gas drilling passed by voters in Monterey and other counties — limits that Chevron itself successfully sued to overturn in court.

“For chapters and branches to accept fossil fuel blood money and then oppose clean energy initiatives — or insist their event honorees and speakers not cause ‘discomfort’ to the industry that is killing our planet and our people — is a betrayal of the entire mission of the NAACP,” said Jealous. “And it is a betrayal of chapters’ obligation to be good stewards of NAACP’s revered brand.”

When Big Tobacco attempted to leverage donations to the NAACP in the 1990s, then president Kweisi Mfume enacted a policy of no longer accepting their checks, said Jealous, who added that policy was maintained when he was president and habitually returned checks that violated it.

“I now call on the Monterey County Branch and all NAACP chapters and branches to do the same with fossil fuel donations,” he said. “Black people are among the most acutely harmed by the climate crisis. For the NAACP to accept money and influence from the very perpetrators of that crisis makes a mockery of its more-than-a-century-old mission to secure our advancement. The Monterey County Branch should return Chevron’s check immediately.”

The NAACP Monterey County Branch says it will keep an open mind about its sponsorship.

“Mr. Jealous’ call to reject Chevron’s sponsorship outright does not fully encompass the nuanced considerations our organization faces,” said the local NAACP. “Our commitment remains to positively impact our community, and we are mindful of the various factors at play in this partnership. We are taking all feedback seriously and will continue to evaluate this sponsorship with an open mind.”