Ebony.com contributing writer Dream Hampton’s interview of green jobs guru Van Jones provides the reader with a deeper look inside Jones’ departure from the White House. When Van Jones stepped down from his position as the special advisor for Green Jobs, some of his supporters were disappointed that he didn’t stay and fight the allegations made against him by the Tea Party.

 

In the interview, Jones explained that he was “the perfect target for all their venom and hatred” and the controversy was distracting from President Obama’s health care reform fight. These factors led Jones to the decision that he needed to resign and remove the distraction from the equation.

 

“So it all came down to me. I had to make a decision. Do we waste bullets trying to defend, explain and contextualize everything in my colorful past — day after day, for weeks and possibly months? We knew they were going to keep trying to make 'Van Jones' the issue. Or should I quit so the team could put 100 percent of the focus back on getting doctors to babies, doctors to families — you know, fighting for America’s future? To me, that was a no brainer.“ Source: Ebony.com

 

We all know the result of Jones’ decision: health care reform was passed and the Tea Party moved on to other targets.

 

Hampton tackles other big questions in her interview, including the lack of criminal charges being levied against the bankers responsible for this economic mess, the Rebuild The Dream movement, Occupy Wall Street and Jones’ childhood in Jackson, Tenn.

 

In what I would consider true Jones fashion, the interview ends with a comment on green jobs, “Once I learned about green jobs — once I knew we could have Earth-friendly business that create jobs for people who need them — I became an evangelist.”

 

Head on over to Ebony.com to read the entire interview: Former Obama “Green” Advisor Talks OWS, Jobs and Why He Really Left the White House.