Van Jones, appointed less than a year ago by President Barack Obama to be the nation’s green jobs czar, may have stepped down, but the administration should continue efforts to stress the importance of a green economy, especially in urban areas, observers said.
 
Following weeks of attacks by conservative news show hosts and some congressmen over controversial past statements and stance, Jones stepped down last weekend, saying he did not want to be a distraction as the administration tackled other critical issues.
 
The administration has not said who will replace Jones, but the work he was doing must continue, said James Taylor, professor of political science at the University of San Francisco.
 
Taylor said he has seen firsthand the success Jones had in reaching Bay area communities with the green message.

Jones co-founded the Ella Baker Center for Human Rights 13 years ago, an organization that has been on the front line of advocacy on environmental racism and educating inner city communities on the benefits of a green economy.

“He was able to bridge the progressive left and the white elite environmental community together in a way that no one else has done,” Taylor told BlackAmericaWeb.com.

In a column published on Huffington Post, current Ella Baker Center Executive Director Jakada Imani, said, “Now, more than ever, we must redouble our efforts to create a green-collar economy that truly creates opportunity for all … Following Van's lead, we're staying focused on solutions that will unite communities and ultimately create real, lasting change in people's lives.”

Green jobs are environmentally positive opportunities in areas such as renewable energy, alternative fuel, green construction and weatherization of buildings. The creation of green jobs was a major focus of President Obama’s economic stimulus package.

Jones was effective as green jobs czar because of his ability to bridge communities, said Taylor. “He brought together the progressive left with the elite environmental white, in way that no one else has done.

But the problem for Jones (and Obama) came when conservatives shined the light on Jones' past, considered by some to be radical. He was co-founder of Color or Change, an Internet advocacy group that has persuaded at least 57 advertisers to shift their ads from Glenn Beck’s show because he said President Obama was a racist. Jones is no longer affiliated with Color of Change, but several political observers have said the attack on him is retaliation for the Color of Change campaign.

“Green jobs will not go away because Van Jones has stepped down, said Dr. Boyce Watkins, professor of finance at Syracuse University. “We have to continue to spread the word; this is where opportunity lives. This is where the jobs are.”

The new czar may be quite different, and he “will not be an African-American,” Watkins told BlackAmericaWeb.com.

“President Obama spent a lot of his political capital with white folks on Henry Louis Gates.  When he brought up Gates during a speech this summer, his ratings dropped 7 percentage points the next week,” Watkins said.
 
“At this point when he makes an appointment to replace Jones, he would not want to appoint someone who would be caught being too black or too radical,” Watkins said. “President Obama cares deeply about the black community, but he is under pressure at every angle."

Taylor said that Jones is being used by conservatives as a lightening rod to say that “President Obama has radical ties. He’s being used as the new Jeremiah Wright,” Taylor said. “This has reinvigorated the conservatives.

While some feel like President Obama has abandoned Jones much like former President Bill Clinton abandoned one of his controversial nominees Lani Guinier, .....

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