<p><strong>Renowned activist, civil rights leader, community organizer and politician Benjamin Jealous outlines what it will take to secure true equality for all Americans and to empower the next generation to lead toward a better future.</strong></p><p>With a background in social justice advocacy, Ben brings a unique perspective to his role as Executive Director at the Sierra Club, focusing on issues of environmental justice, climate change, and conservation. Previously he served as the youngest-ever president and CEO of the NAACP, where he spearheaded campaigns to advance civil rights, voting rights, and criminal justice reform. Ben is a passionate advocate for marginalized communities and has dedicated his career to fighting for equality, sustainability, and a healthier planet for future generations.</p><p>During his term at the NAACP, Ben created pathbreaking partnerships with conservative leaders and Republican governors to help shrink America's prison system as well as expand voting rights and employment opportunities for formerly incarcerated people. In 2013, <em>The Washington Post</em> hailed him as "one of the nation's most prominent civil rights leaders." He was previously the Executive Director of the National Newspaper Publishers Association, an organization of over two hundred historically black-owned newspapers.</p><p>Ben is also a Professor of Practice at the University of Pennsylvania. He is the <em>New York Times</em> bestselling author of <em>Reach: 40 Black Men Speak on Living, Leading, and Succeeding</em>, and his latest book is <em>Never Forget Our People Were Always Free: A Parable of American Healing</em>.</p><p>A former Rhodes Scholar, Ben is a graduate of Columbia and Oxford Universities and a former visiting professor at Princeton University's School of Public and International Affairs.</p>
Former NAACP President, Equality activist, and Executive Director of the Sierra Club
<ul><li><strong>The Secret to Unleashing Inner Greatness</strong></li><li>A Rhodes scholar and the youngest person ever to lead the NAACP, Ben Jealous is known for being one of the most effective civil rights leaders of our day. However, it was not always clear that he would follow this path. In this speech, Jealous tells the inside history of more than 50 years of great civil rights battles, both known and unknown. He offers insight both into what our nation's greatest change agents have in common, and shows how we can all dramatically increase our capacity to make the world a better place.</li><li><strong>Brothers, Unlimited</strong></li><li>From the street-level movement to end racial profiling, to the White House's "My Brother’s Keeper" initiative, there is a growing movement to ensure that young Black men and all young men of color have access to the American Dream. Drawing from stories of men he knows and admires, Ben Jealous reflects on the importance of treating young men of color as assets to our communities rather than liabilities, and lays out what it will take for our country to finally realize the dream of "One Nation" written into the Pledge of Allegiance.</li><li><strong>The Forgotten Origins and Consequences of Race in America</strong></li><li>Do you remember the details of how President McKinley was killed? Did you know that Georgetown University's first president was black? Most Americans don't. And yet our forgotten history of race continues to haunt us in ways big and small, and to shape the making of modern America. In this speech, Ben Jealous tells the story behind lessons learned and unlearned, and what we all need to internalize if we aim to create a country where children are judged by the content of their character, not the color of their skin.</li><li><strong>Why We Will Win</strong></li><li>Ben Jealous founded the first high school chapter of the Student Environmental Action Coalition (SEAC) in the 1980s. Today, he is the seventh Executive Director of the Sierra Club. Jealous describes his own journey into environmental activism and why he is convinced humanity will rise to overcome the urgent challenge of climate change. In this speech, he outlines the major victories we are already winning, the path forward, and most importantly, what each of us can and must do to hasten the coming of the day that our children will never have to fear for the future of planet earth itself.</li></ul>