On July 3rd, hundreds of people converged on the normally quiet Vanguard headquarters in Chester County to demand that Vanguard – the world’s largest investor in coal, oil, and gas – instead invest sustainably. The crowd of about 300 included people from 24 states and multiple countries.
Participants sat and stood in the entrance to Vanguard, holding the Quaker silent religious service called Meeting for Worship. In attendance were members of at least 40 Quaker meetings from across North America. (Photo by Ray Bailey)
The day began with remarks from Walter Durham, elder and spiritual leader in the Lenape Indian Tribe of Delaware community. (Photo by Ray Bailey)
Denali Nalamalapu from Protect Our Water, Heritage, Rights in Virginia and West Virginia spoke of their work organizing to resist the construction of the Mountain Valley Pipeline, a methane gas pipeline in Appalachia. Vanguard is a major investor in the corporations building and supplying the pipeline, like Equitrans and EQAT. “We traveled to Malvern from Appalachia to tell Vanguard about the devastation their investment, the methane gas Mountain Valley Pipeline, is wreaking on our mountains, streams, and planet,” said Nalamalapu. “The MVP is a reckless, needless project that places Vanguard on the wrong side of history. Vanguard must change course immediately by ceasing the purchase of fossil fuel industry bonds and instead backing a renewable energy future.” (Photo by Ray Bailey)
Hillary Taylor, a member of the Ugandan diaspora and human rights activist who participates in the Stop EACOP campaign, also spoke to the crowd. Vanguard is the third largest investor in Total, the corporation behind EACOP, or the East African Crude Oil Pipeline. “Vanguard’s support of TotalEnergies for the East African Crude Oil Pipeline is directly fueling large scale displacement of communities, repression of climate activists, and ecocide in Uganda and Tanzania,” said Taylor. “It is a moral imperative for Vanguard and all of its customers to prioritize respect for the environment and human rights. The time is now for Vanguard to divest from fossil fuel investments because being a laggard is unacceptable, inexcusable, and indefensible.” (Photo by Rachael Warriner)
CommUnity ArtsReach sang original songs about resistance to the Mountain Valley Pipeline. The day was filled with song, led by various song leaders from Pennsylvania to Virginia to Illinois. (Photo by Rachael Warriner)
Zulene Mayfield from Chester Residents Concerned for Quality Living spoke to close out the event. Vanguard invests in numerous corporations polluting Chester and surrounding towns, like Delcora and the Monroe Oil Refinery. “If you don’t think it matters, it does matter. We have beat multi-billion dollar corporations and shut them down,” said Mayfield. “We have to continue to build these bridges; we need to join together and collaborate. My fight is your fight.” (Photo by Rachael Warriner)
In addition to protests, call in days, and petitions, former Vanguard customers have so far moved $40 million out of Vanguard because of its inaction on climate change. This number will continue to grow, until Vanguard makes a serious course correction on fossil fuels and environmental justice. (Photo by Laran Kaplan)
This was the largest climate change protest at any Vanguard office, after three years of grassroots campaigning targeting the giant asset manager. Campaigners are calling on Vanguard to use its influence as a powerful shareholder to push the companies it invests in to do better on climate, and to exit its investments in fossil fuel companies that refuse to transition their businesses to be in alignment with a livable future. (Photo by Laran Kaplan)
