Black Agenda Report
Black Agenda Report
News, commentary and analysis from the black left.

  • Home
  • Africa
  • African America
  • Education
  • Environment
  • International
  • Media and Culture
  • Political Economy
  • Radio
  • US Politics
  • War and Empire

Van Jones "Forced" Out of Nonprofit Dream.org, Despite Bezos’ Huge Contribution
Chelsea Alexandra
23 Aug 2023
🖨️ Print Article
Van Jones "Forced" Out of Nonprofit Dream.org, Despite Bezos’ Huge Contribution
Photo: CNN

Van Jones parlayed his fake leftist credentials into jobs at the Obama administration and CNN. The one-time phony Marxist turned Trump supporter showed his true colors when Amazon's Jeff Bezos gave him $100 million to play with but he was recently forced out of Dream.org. 

Originally published in Rolling Out.

In 2020, CNN commentator Van Jones was praised by Jeff Bezos for being a great philanthropic leader. In the same breath, Jeff Bezos gave Jones a hefty check of $100M to use as needed.

Jones was elated by this grand action and was believed to have used it toward his nonprofit Dream.org.

Dream.org is a nonprofit co-founded by Van Jones and Matt Haney focusing on addressing climate change, mass incarceration, and poverty by advocating for new legislation, teaching low-income children how to code, and creating green jobs.

According to The Daily Beast, Jones left the board this summer after struggling to agree on the organization’s direction with the leadership team.

Allegedly, a direct source is saying Jones did not leave willingly.

In addition to the shocking news, Jones is not the only person affected by the changes.

“One Dream subsidiary, an environmental advocacy initiative called Green For All, has been laying off staffers—even though Bezos’ climate fund awarded it a separate three-year, $10 million grant in 2020. The group tore through that money with little to show for it, several ex-employees said. Bezos’ nonprofit has not renewed the grant,” The Daily Beast reported.

All in all, Jones continues to work with Dream.org despite no longer running day-to-day responsibilities.

Jones’ spokesperson said according to The Daily Beast: “Van continues to work with Dream.Org in the justice innovation space and beyond. He is a proud supporter of their work at every level. With Dream.Org’s support, he is working to launch a new, complementary initiative, which will be announced soon.”



Bezos’ charitable fund has yet to comment on the news.

Chelsea Alexandra is a writer for Rolling Out.

Van Jones
Jeff Bezos
Black Misleadership Class

Do you need and appreciate Black Agenda Report articles? Please click on the DONATE icon, and help us out, if you can.


Related Stories

Wolfgang Bronner
North Nashville's Reckoning: The Fight for Sovereignty in the Shadow of a Data Center
19 August 2026
Fisk University, an HBCU, is presenting a $400 million A.I. data center as progress for the North Nashville community.
x
Margaret Kimberley, BAR Executive Editor and Senior Columnist
"Real Talk" from Kamala Harris on the Voting Rights Act Says the Quiet Part Out Loud
04 August 2026
The evisceration of the Voting Rights Act is of great concern to Black voters.
Anthony Karefa Rogers-Wright
Trash Panda Politics Guides the Black Misleadership Class’s Electoral Dumpster Dive
29 July 2026
The Congressional Black Caucus electoral strategy has turned the 2026 midterm elections into a dumpster dive for corporate interests and Zionis
Anthony Karefa Rogers-Wright
In its Lynching of the Voting Rights Act, Did SCOTUS Just Do Us A Favor By Elucidating the Lies of “America?”
06 May 2026
The Supreme Court decision in Louisiana v.
Mark P. Fancher
Political Snobbery Delays Black Liberation
29 April 2026
The conditions are ripe for growing Black political consciousness, but revolutionary movements must broaden their reach to all sectors and clas
Anthony Rogers-Wright
Preserving the Legacy of Martin Luther King and The Black Radical Tradition Requires Saving Both from the Congressional Black Caucus More than from white moderates and white supremacists (Or, I said what I said)
21 January 2026
Preserving the Black Radical Tradition demands struggle not only against white supremacists, but also against the co-opted Black political clas
X
Margaret Kimberley, BAR Executive Editor and Senior Columnist
Fighting Trump and the Black Collaborators Too
24 September 2025
Fighting Trump’s racist attacks is obviously a necessity but that fight must include opposing the Black misleadership class and their
Margaret Kimberley, BAR Executive Editor and Senior Columnist
Super Predators, Born Criminals, and the Black Misleadership Class
10 September 2025
The treachery of the Black misleadership class knows no bounds.
Glen Ford, BAR Executive Editor
Katrina: The Rich Folks' Opportunity and Our Dismal Failure
27 August 2025
"Racism showed its ass in the days after August 29, 2005."
Jon Jeter
Across the Country, Black Voters Show Signs of Abandoning Black Mayors Who Have Abandoned Them
05 February 2025
The adage that "black faces in high places won't help us" still rings true when you look at Black mayors like Karen Bass, Eric Adams, and Lori

More Stories


  • The U.S. Legacy in Afghanistan: War Crimes and Imperialist Double Standards
    Danny Haiphong, BAR Contributing Editor
    The U.S. Legacy in Afghanistan: War Crimes and Imperialist Double Standards
    24 Aug 2022
    One year ago the U.S. was ousted from Afghanistan after making war on that country for 20 years. But the U.S. killed civilians as it left and stole Afghanistan's assets. It seems there is no end to…
  • Wizard of Oz redux—  …and some casting questions…
    Raymond Nat Turner, BAR poet-in-residence
    Wizard of Oz redux— …and some casting questions…
    24 Aug 2022
                                                           …
  • BAR Book Forum: Boukary Sawadogo’s Book, “Africans in Harlem”
    Roberto Sirvent, BAR Book Forum Editor
    BAR Book Forum: Boukary Sawadogo’s Book, “Africans in Harlem”
    24 Aug 2022
    This week’s featured author is Boukary Sawadogo. Sawadogo is Associate Professor of Cinema Studies and Black Studies at City College–City University of New York. His book is Africans in Harlem: An…
  • “Revolutionary Organizing: An Interview with Ahjamu Umi”
    Ahjamu Umi , Roberto Sirvent
    “Revolutionary Organizing: An Interview with Ahjamu Umi”
    24 Aug 2022
    Ahjamu Umi and Roberto Sirvent discuss revolutionary organizing.
  • Why the Inflation Reduction Act is Less a “Climate Bill” and More a Poison Pill for Black and Indigenous Communities and Movements
    Anthony Rogers-Wright
    Why the Inflation Reduction Act is Less a “Climate Bill” and More a Poison Pill for Black and Indigenous Communities and Movements
    24 Aug 2022
    Among other problematic issues, the so-called climate provisions of the Inflation Reduction Act allow for more oil drilling on federal lands. Greenwashing and Democratic party duplicity are …
  • Load More
Subscribe
connect with us
about us
contact us