Fossil Firms Including TC Energy Are Using Black Leaders To Endorse Projects Harmful To Black Communities

Fossil fuel companies such as TC Energy have long used Black leaders to endorse oil and gas projects that disproportionately affect people of color and low-income areas.

The Guardian reported that one prime example is the Virginia Reliability Project (VRP), a proposal by TC Energy, the same company behind the controversial Keystone XL Pipeline. THE VRP aims to upgrade gas infrastructure on tribal lands, fragile waterways, and underserved neighborhoods in Southeast Virginia.

Geoffrey Guns, the senior pastor at the Second Baptist Calvary Church in Norfolk, was asked to join the community advisory board for the pipeline, which TC Energy claimed would lead to thousands of local jobs, and that community engagement is core to TC Energy’s mission.

Guns, believing it was his duty to fight for Black communities that would be affected by the pipeline, joined the board with several other Black community leaders, but soon realized they made a grave mistake.

“If they’re asking us to rubber-stamp this, then there should be economic benefits for Black folks and minorities. But all we heard was talk without any actual commitment to equity in contracts for minorities,” Guns told the Guardian.

Guns added that he felt used by TC Energy, which features the endorsement of several Black leaders on its “Community Voices” page, including Virginia Senate Delegate Lamont Bagby, Sen. Louise Lucas and Delegate Clinton Jenkins.

However, The Guardian reported that many of the firm’s “Community Voices” receive financial contributions from TC Energy, which is legal but not mentioned on the page. Additionally, the majority of the “Community Voices” are white.

“The whole thing feels very disingenuous, as clearly the company is not really interested in our advice on safety or guaranteeing opportunities for minority businesses. I am very disappointed. This is a bunch of white people with some Black faces sprinkled in. I feel absolutely used and violated,” Guns added.

TC Energy is a $47 billion energy company and its VRP proposes digging up 49 miles of an existing pipeline and replacing it with a pipeline double the size through designated wetlands, residential areas, and an elementary school of mostly minority students.

The Guardian reported the project would also use horizontal drilling to cross watersheds currently being rehabilitated, which provide fish, oysters, and drinking water to indigenous Americans and Black communities. TC Energy is not the only fossil fuel firm to bring in influential Black leaders to endorse oil and gas projects that disproportionately affect people of color, Native communities, and low-income areas.

In fact, it happened so much the NAACP created a Fossil Fueled Foolery primer, warning people of color and communities about companies that use the endorsement of local leaders to misrepresent their interests. The organization created the primer after discovering some of its local chapters were supporting power plants and pipelines.

James Minor, the president of the Richmond NAACP chapter, lobbied on behalf of TC Energy and asked local politicians to sign ghostwritten letters supporting the pipeline. Minor is also one of eight voting members on the Virginia Marine Resources Commission, which is responsible for issuing water permits, which the VRP requires. Earlier this year, Minor voted in favor of a separate TC Energy permit request.

Itai Vardi, a research manager at the Energy and Policy Institute (EPI) told The Guardian that Minor’s actions are “a blatant conflict of interest and what seems to be an extremely troubling attempt by TC Energy to tilt the environmental review of the project in its favor.”

According to The Guardian, TC Energy donated $20,000 to the state’s Black Caucus, $5,000 to Lt. Gov. Winsome Sears, and $2,000 to Sen. Lucas, among others in the state.