GREENFIELD — Captivating dozens packed inside the Episcopal Church of Saint James and Andrew, nationally acclaimed environmentalist Aaron Mair emphasized that environmental activism must be an “intersectional” effort.

Mair, former president of the Sierra Club environmental nonprofit and current Sierra Club board member, spoke as part of the church’s “Environmental Sunday” series at 2 p.m. on Sunday afternoon. Mair told the audience about his experience attending the Conference of the Parties to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (COP27) in Egypt last November, while also speaking on his journey pursuing eco-justice more broadly.

Mair began by sharing how he first became involved with environmentalism. He told the story of living in Arbor Hill, an inner-city community in Albany, New York, near a solid waste incinerator that produced toxic ash, which he said caused his daughters to fall ill.

“That was my entrance into the movement,” he said. “They hurt my children.”

This, he recalled, catalyzed his lengthy fight to close down the incinerator. During this time, he traveled to New York City to meet with the Sierra Club’s Atlantic Chapter, with hopes that they would “eat this up” and lend their support. When he arrived and gave his pitch, however, they denied the partnership.

“What I told them was that I need your help,” Mair explained. “I need your allyship. … I said, ‘This is a government-run facility. We need your power, your hold over democracy … to help on behalf of those who don’t have a voice, the power, the presence and the means.”

Instead, the all-white group asked Mair, a Black man, if he had talked to the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP), which at that time, had not yet developed an environmental justice department.

“The thing that hit me then and there that would actually push me into the [environmental justice] movement is the way we compartmentalize ourselves and how we struggle in society,” Mair said. “We always figure that we can come together on certain things. … Still, it came down to race. I could not connect the dots, but I felt the impact.”

Mair then turned to Albany’s local Sierra Club chapter, which provided support. With their help, Mair achieved his goal and the state shut down the facility after about a decade’s worth of advocacy. Additionally, the affected community was awarded a $1.6 million settlement.

Mair’s gratitude to the Sierra Club translated into membership with the nonprofit — highlighted by a term as president from 2015 to 2017 — that lasts to this day. His work within the organization was motivated by a desire to soften the “color line” along the “green line” of environmental activism.

“The environment is the thing that should bind us all,” Mair stressed. He noted in his speech that impoverished communities and communities of color have historically been positioned near toxic waste dumps, incinerators and other polluting industries at a disproportionate rate.

Mair’s work as part of the Sierra Club included cultivating the organization’s Department of Equity, Inclusion and Justice; helping initiate the formation of the Environmental Justice Executive Board under President Bill Clinton; and participating in national climate summits. In the time since the Sierra Club asked Mair if he had checked in with the NAACP, he said the organization has done a “complete 180.”

Reach Julian Mendoza at 413-930-4231 or jmendoza@recorder.com.

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