Rev. Lennox Yearwood, Jr.

Roles: Special Guest

Rev. Lennox Yearwood Jr. is the President & CEO of Hip Hop Caucus. Rev Yearwood is the host of the award-winning climate and environmental justice podcast The Coolest Show, Senior Advisor of Bloomberg Philanthropies’ Beyond Petrochemicals Campaign, and one of the most innovative advocates and strategists for racial justice and climate justice. He is a White House Champion of Change for Climate leadership and Rolling Stone called him a “New Green Hero.” His work has also been featured on Billboard, CNN, EBONY Magazine, Fast Company, The Guardian, HuffPost, The Nation, The New York Times, NPR, PBS NewsHour, POLITICO, REVOLT TV, The Washington Post and more.

Rev Yearwood dedicated himself to climate activism when, as a native Louisianan, he witnessed loved ones being displaced in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina. The Hip Hop Caucus organized the Gulf Coast Renewal Campaign in response to Hurricane Katrina and fought and advocated for justice for Gulf Coast communities. The campaign’s work, which connected grassroots leaders with leaders on Capitol Hill, challenged FEMA’s failures, and held corrupt law enforcement accountable, won the prestigious Letelier-Moffitt Human Rights Award in 2006. In 2009, the Hip Hop Caucus launched a solutions-based climate campaign – Green the Block – from the West Wing of the White House on President Obama’s Birthday. Then, after a decade of organizing innovative activism strategies on climate, under Rev Yearwood’s leadership, Hip Hop Caucus launched Think 100%, the organization’s award-winning climate activism and storytelling platform. Rev Yearwood foresaw the need for better storytelling to change the narrative on climate so that a movement big enough and inclusive enough to win against fossil fuel corporations could finally be built.

 

2024 Program(s):

Environmental Champion Award: Rev Yearwood + Underwater Projects Screening