“The Sierra Club is a 128-year-old organization with a complex history, some of which have caused significant and immeasurable harm,” the letter said. “We must also take advantage of this moment to reexamine our past and our important role in perpetuating white supremacy.”
Brune begins by noting that while Muir’s influence on environmentalism cannot be denied, the organization sees some of his friends as worrisome.
“Muir kept friends with people like Henry Fairfield Osborn, who worked both for nature conservation and for the conservation of the white race,” he wrote.
Brune also notes derogatory comments Muir made against black and indigenous peoples who “resorted to profoundly damaging racist stereotypes, although their views evolved later in life.”
“As the most iconic figure in Sierra Club history, Muir’s words and actions carry especially heavy weight. They continue to harm and alienate indigenous and colored people who come into contact with the Sierra Club,” the letter continued.
Brune also mentions the views of white supremacy and the actions of some of the organization’s early members and leaders, including Joseph LeConte and David Starr Jordan.
Trying to fix an exclusivity record
The early membership process was also extremely unique: for upper-middle-class white men, Brune says. New members only showed up on the recommendation of current members, and requests for people of color were always turned down, the club said. Today, the organization has more than 3.5 million members.
The reforms will seek to solve some of the enduring problems in the club’s history, Brune says, including redesigning its leadership structure so that “black, indigenous and other leaders of color in the Sierra Club make up the majority of the team that forms the highest level of organizational decisions. “
Five million dollars from its budget will also go toward investing in the organization’s staff of color and in environmental and racial justice work.
“I know that the steps I outlined above are just the beginning of what will be a long-standing process to tell our story, regain the trust of the communities we have wronged, and create a diverse and equitable Sierra Club for the 21st century,” he concluded. Brune.
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