Van Jones Goes to Washington

Last week I wrote about Van Jones rumored role as Green Jobs Czar. Emily at the Global Warming blog confirmed the rumors that social entrepreneur and Green For All founder would be headed to DC as a special adviser to the president on green jobs, business and innovation.

In an interview with Doug Pibel of Yes! magazine, he explained more about his decision, shedding some light on his activist philosophy. When asked why he would move "inside" when he'd had so much success as an outsider, he said:

Van: We have a president who's committed to climate solutions and who's also committed to economic recovery and who has a longstanding commitment to civil rights and equal opportunity. You put those three things together and I think that this administration's going to do an extraordinary job, and I think it's also important that people who have a grassroots perspective on some of these things have the opportunity to serve and to support what the president is trying to do. And so to me that's the main thing. We've got a president like this who's trying to do what he's trying to do, it's important that everybody step up in all the ways that they can.

Pushed further:

Doug: In your November interview, you pointed to the experience of Nelson Mandela and the ANC as a cautionary tale for movement people thinking about going into government. Why is your situation different?

Van: I think that certainly is a big cautionary tale. When Nelson Mandela came out and the ANC took over, people left the townships and went into parliament and the movement politics and the township politics really suffered. I think that it had a negative impact. You know, the overwhelming rush from the townships into parliament, I think had a negative impact on the ability of the ANC to govern well. The reality is that the grassroots movement in this country is not shrinking, it's expanding. People got a taste of engagement. People are actually looking for new ways to get involved—the Obama organization is still active, Green for All is growing, and other organizations are growing. So my initial concerns—again, this is before Obama was even sworn in—that we would stop, that somehow the grassroots movement would stop—those concerns are not strong for me. 70,000 people were marching in New York City last week. 12,000 students went to the Power Shift conference, there was a major civil disobedience action—or planned civil disobedience action—that resulted in a huge change. You know, there's all kinds of great stuff that's happening across the country, so I'm not as concerned about the grassroots movements sputtering out. And that also creates more options.

Check out the full interview here.