Amidst Controversy, Green Jobs Czar Van Jones Resigns

White House environmental advisor Van Jones resigned Sept. 5, after heightening accusations involving his past statements regarding race and the Bush Administration.

Jones was appointed by the Obama Administration March 16 as a special adviser for green jobs, enterprise and innovation.

But in recent weeks he has become the target of critics, including Fox commentator Glenn Beck, among others, reports the Washington Post. Beck was a leading critic after a group that Jones founded in 2005, Color of Change, led an advertising boycott against Beck’s show, which itself has come under fire for incendiary accusations of racism within the Obama Administration.

In early September, Jones issued apologies for past comments, including some stating that whites exploit minorities, reports ABC News. He also had been accused of signing a petition that suggested the Bush Administration “may indeed have deliberately allowed 9/11 to happen, perhaps as a pretext for war.”

Jones came to the White House with strong environmental credentials. He is the founder of Green For All, a national organization that promotes an inclusive green economy. He also is the author of the 2008 New York Times best-seller, “The Green Collar Economy.”