Progressive Leaders React to Jones Resignation (Paraphrased)

The paraphrased comments below come from a series on speakers and events at the Momentum 2009 Conference in San Francisco -- a gathering of thought-leaders, social entrepreneurs, and activists, to share strategies for positive change.

Phaedra Ellis-Lamkins, CEO, Green for All
People send me emails. They say, "I stand with Van. Let's go get Fox News." That's not where the power is. The Senate is about to have a fight about health care and climate change. Van needs a movement that is strong, that shows it's not about him. He needs a movement that can engage and bring people together on the real issues.

Benjamin Jealous, President and CEO of the NAACP
We saw a friend get beaten up. We all know why he left. We know the McCarthyite tactics behind it. But we have to remind the world why he was hired. We have to be careful about the message we send to young people about this incident. There are lots of kids in the (SF) East Bay with broken hearts right now, who looked up to him as their hero. If we aren't careful, the lesson here is [akin to] that of the McCarthy era - don't speak out, bite your tongue, and bide your time. That's dangerous. That kills the prophetic voice. We have to instead point out how [Jones] changed the world and how he'll continue to change the world

Adam Werbach, former Chair of the Sierra Club, author of Strategy for Sustainability
I'm angry about Van Jones. I have a loathing, a self-loathing about what happened. I did almost nothing. I changed my Facebook status last week, but that's it. When someone comes after one of us, we have to defend them. We can't make that mistake again.

Alexis McGill Johnson, former head of Citizen Change
[The incident speaks to lots of pressing questions in the African-American community.] Is speaking about social justice too radical? Is using racialized language in our critiques actually a liability?