DeepSummary
In this podcast episode, Emily Kirsch interviews Van Jones, a CNN host, author, and social entrepreneur. Van Jones shares stories from his childhood as a 'nerd' and his early fascination with political figures. He discusses his time at Yale Law School, which pushed him further to the left, and his experience as an observer during the Rodney King trial protests where he was arrested. Jones co-founded the Ella Baker Center for Human Rights, focused on criminal justice reform and environmental justice.
Jones became involved in promoting green jobs and clean energy solutions, especially for underserved communities. This led to him working briefly in the Obama White House before resigning after facing criticism from conservatives. He reflects on the difficulty of that experience and his subsequent clinical depression. Despite this, Jones continued his activism, collaborating with artists like Prince and eventually hosting shows on CNN.
Throughout the interview, Jones emphasizes the need for empathy, solidarity, and partnership across different communities to drive real change. He advocates for fighting against the worst aspects of business and government while embracing the best of both. Jones believes people must move beyond hatred and division to truly address systemic issues like racism and climate change.
Key Episodes Takeaways
- Empathy, listening skills, and solidarity are essential for building successful social and environmental movements.
- Activists must fight the worst aspects of business and government while embracing the best parts of each.
- Green jobs and economic opportunities should be extended to underserved communities as part of environmental justice efforts.
- Cultural humility and partnership across racial/cultural lines are needed, rather than condescension or 'cancel culture'.
- Adversity and criticism are inevitable when pursuing major systemic changes; resilience and positivity are required.
- Early life experiences, like the Rodney King protests, shaped Jones' passion for racial and criminal justice reform.
- Friendships with influential figures like Prince provided moral support for Jones' activism.
- Self-awareness about one's strengths and limitations as a leader is valuable.
Top Episodes Quotes
- “If there was any way for me to be further left, I didn't figure out what it was. Cause I would have been.“ by Van Jones
- “We seek solidarity, not charity. Solidarity is an act of mutual aid between two forces pursuing the same objective.“ by Van Jones
- “I'm incredibly poorly organized, so it takes a lot of staff to get anything to actually happen. I think about a lot of things, I propose a lot of things, but basically I communicate, convene and catalyze very well so I can communicate well.“ by Van Jones
- “You want cultural humility when you're the majority, especially. But not humiliation, right? It's just that little cultural humility. So you can kind of partner, well, listen to other people, but not we. This canceled culture now is looking for humiliation.“ by Van Jones
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Episode Information
The Energy Gang
Wood Mackenzie
9/4/20
This week on Watt It Takes: Powerhouse CEO Emily Kirsch sits down with green jobs pioneer Van Jones.
Jones may be best known for “The Van Jones Show” and “The Redemption Project,” which both air on CNN. He is also the author of three best-selling books, including “The Green Collar Economy.”
But long before the high-profile Green New Deal, Jones was also a powerful voice for bringing clean energy jobs to black and brown communities. He helped spearhead the Green Jobs Act of 2007, the first time the country deliberately trained workers for the future clean economy.
In this episode, Jones reveals a little-told backstory of his childhood and early life, his time at Yale Law School, and the painful time he briefly joined, and then left, the Obama Administration as the green jobs czar.
This conversation was recorded live (remotely) as part of an interview series in collaboration with Powerhouse and Greentech Media.
To learn more about future speakers and attending a live event, go to Powerhouse.fund and click on the events tab. You can listen to all of the episodes of Watt It Takes here.
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