Since our last episode on Stop Cop City, signatures of more than 116,000 Atlanta residents were gathered and submitted to the City of Atlanta in support of adding a referendum on the ballot. Atlanta officials have contested the submissions and used tactics such as doxxing signatories and enforcing RICO charges on local organizers and protesters. The case remains in limbo as we await the 11th U.S. Circuit Court’s decision on whether or not a deadline extension for signatures was lawful.

In this episode of The Coolest Show, Hip Hop Caucus hosted a Stop Cop City press conference during the Congressional Black Caucus Foundation’s 52nd Annual Legislative Conference. Actors Amanda Seales and Kendrick Sampson, and activists Cliff Albright and Linda Sarsour used their platform to stand in solidarity with Atlanta residents.

The Coolest Show – brought to you by Hip Hop Caucus Think 100% PODCASTS – drops new episodes every Monday on environmental justice and how we solve the climate crisis. Listen and subscribe here or at TheCoolestShow.com! Follow @Think100Climate and @RevYearwood on Instagram, Twitter, and Instagram.

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2023 marks the 30th anniversary of Octavia Butler’s Parable of the Sower, a novel that prophesied the US’ rise in fascism and the global impact of the climate crisis. While Butler was unable to finish the trilogy in her lifetime and experienced frustrations encompassing climate solutions in her writing, people who continue to be inspired by her life and writings are building solutions Butler may have hoped for. The Black Hive @ M4BL recently launched Parable of the Movement, a narrative project and campaign that aims to: continue the work of Octavia Butler; lift up Black led EJ and climate solutions to the climate crisis; and build a space for deep learning, experimentation and alternatives.  

On this episode of The Coolest Show, be a fly on the wall at Parable of the Movement’s launch event during New York’s Climate Week. Speakers include Natalie Jeffers, lead of The Black Hive, Johari Farrar, and Black climate authors Aya De Leon, Emily Raboteau, and Kevin Aipopo. 

The Coolest Show – brought to you by Hip Hop Caucus Think 100% PODCASTS – drops new episodes every Monday on environmental justice and how we solve the climate crisis. Listen and subscribe here or at TheCoolestShow.com! Follow @Think100Climate and @RevYearwood on Instagram, Twitter, and Instagram.

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The influence of Hollywood’s media and entertainment is undeniable. The narratives we consume impact our daily decisions and even affect changes in legislation. There are many parallels between activists and artists/entertainers, as well as the industries they are working within or fighting to end. “Profits over people is the core foundation of the issue. Because if some folks weren’t so concerned, so concerned with so much profit, then they would change their business model to be something that isn’t going to kill people,” said former TCS co-host Antonique Smith.

On this episode of The Coolest Show, Antonique shares her experience and interviews live from the March to End Fossil Fuels in New York City. Her and Rev Yearwood speak about being an artivist in today’s movement, the SAG-AFTRA strike and the future of climate storytelling. 

The Coolest Show – brought to you by Hip Hop Caucus Think 100% PODCASTS – drops new episodes every Monday on environmental justice and how we solve the climate crisis. Listen and subscribe here or at TheCoolestShow.com! Follow @Think100Climate and @RevYearwood on Instagram, Twitter, and Instagram.

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Reverend Yearwood recently was the Keynote Speaker at the University of Maryland’s Environmental Justice & Health Disparities Symposium. The Symposium theme was “People, Power, & Politics,” highlighting energy justice, climate change, power dynamics in environmental justice, and the use of technology in environmental justice work. 

On this Episode of The Coolest Show, Reverend Yearwood delivers an eye-opening message on the result of recent climate events impacting communities, and how big business is directly responsible for health emergencies for the people who inhabit these areas, and measures they use to continue the cycle.

The Coolest Show – brought to you by Hip Hop Caucus Think 100% PODCASTS – drops new episodes every Monday on environmental justice and how we solve the climate crisis. Listen and subscribe here or at TheCoolestShow.com! Follow @Think100Climate and @RevYearwood on Instagram, Twitter, and Instagram.

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The scale of the climate crisis requires unprecedented investments to combat its causes and impacts. The Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) allocated $27 billion to EPA’s Greenhouse Gas Reduction Fund (GGRF), composed of three grant programs designed to: reduce greenhouse gas emissions; deliver the benefits of clean energy technologies to “low-income and disadvantaged” communities; and mobilize financing and private capital to stimulate the deployment of additional clean energy projects. Jahi Wise is the Acting Director for the GGRF and Senior Advisor to the Administrator. In this episode, he speaks with Rev Yearwood about climate finance, GGRF’s three programs, and the future he’s committed to creating for his children.

Learn More: www.epa.gov/greenhouse-gas-reduction-fund/about-greenhouse-gas-reduction-fund

Our Black Executive series highlights Black folk in pivotal roles in the Biden-Harris Administration. Given the Administration’s investment in climate and clean energy and its relatively short timeline, we want to ensure those individuals who have been tasked with what could accurately be called an “impossible feat” are seen and supported. Like the rest of us, they have humanity and their own vision for the work. While the Administration might not bring the entirety of their visions to fruition, we want to archive it all so that in community, we can continue to support their efforts for our people and the whole planet.

The Coolest Show – brought to you by Hip Hop Caucus Think 100% PODCASTS – drops new episodes every Monday on environmental justice and how we solve the climate crisis. Listen and subscribe here or at TheCoolestShow.com! Follow @Think100Climate and @RevYearwood on Instagram, Twitter, and Instagram.

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In Memoriam The Coolest Show presents a Tribute to ibrahim abdul-matin, Activist, Author, and Leader. Abdul-Matin passed away in California on June 21, 2023, and we would like to honor him this Labor Day by replaying his interview with Reverend Yearwood from Season 3. Remember to love yourself and each other.

It is important to be grounded when doing this work. For people like Rev Yearwood and Ibrahim Abdul-Matin, urban strategist and author, they ground themselves in their spiritual faith. They discuss extractivism vs regeneration, phases of the environmental movement, and the connections between Islam and the environment.

The Coolest Show – brought to you by Hip Hop Caucus Think 100% PODCASTS – drops new episodes every Monday on environmental justice and how we solve the climate crisis. Listen and subscribe here or at TheCoolestShow.com! Follow @Think100Climate and @RevYearwood on Instagram, Twitter, and Instagram.

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The Office of Economic Impact and Diversity at the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) was established in 1978 by Congress. This Office was designed to ensure minority businesses and minority serving institutions could utilize DOE money, while also researching the effects of the energy system on Black and Brown communities. Prior to the Biden Administration, this Office was “underfunded, under-resourced, and structurally excluded from every policy conversation in the building for the last 50 years.” The Honorable Shalanda Baker, the Director of Office of Economic Impact and Diversity at DOE and Secretarial Advisor on Equity, spoke with Rev Yearwood about energy insecurity, developing energy justice frameworks for industry scale projects, and how the fossil fuel industry has impacted her lineage.

The Coolest Show – brought to you by Hip Hop Caucus Think 100% PODCASTS – drops new episodes every Monday on environmental justice and how we solve the climate crisis. Listen and subscribe here or at TheCoolestShow.com! Follow @Think100Climate and @RevYearwood on Instagram, Twitter, and Instagram.

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Back From our Summer Break the producers of The Coolest Show meet in Brooklyn, New York, to discuss what our listeners will be-in store for the rest of Season 5.  Reverend Yearwood, Tamara, Destiny and Cross continue the discussion of Care and Repair, burning out in the climate movement, and personal reflections of how we must show up for ourselves, as well as each other.

The Coolest Show – brought to you by Hip Hop Caucus Think 100% PODCASTS – drops new episodes every Monday on environmental justice and how we solve the climate crisis. Listen and subscribe here or at TheCoolestShow.com! Follow @Think100Climate and @RevYearwood on Instagram, Twitter, and Instagram.

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The City of Atlanta has leased 381-acres of Weelaunee Forest, stolen Muscogee land, to the Atlanta Police Foundation for a police military facility funded by corporations. This would be the largest police training facility in the US in a primarily Black community who overwhelmingly oppose the project. Despite over fifteen hours of public comments against the project, the City Council has approved $67 million in public funding for Cop City. The plans include military-grade training facilities, a mock city to practice urban warfare, dozens of shooting ranges, and a Black Hawk helicopter landing pad.

Residents have petitioned the municipal court of Atlanta to gather signatures for a binding referendum. With enough signatures, this would put whether or not Cop City gets built up for a vote on November’s ballot box. In this 2 part episode of The Coolest Show, Rev Yearwood speaks with community organizer Rev Keyanna Jones, economist Dr. Gloria Bromell Tinubu, and community advocate Shar Bates. They discuss the history of the area surrounding the Weelaunee forest, the legacy of environmental racism, the community’s work to get signatures, and “the Atlanta Way.”

Support: https://www.copcityvote.com/

Stop Cop City

#StopCopCity

The Coolest Show – brought to you by Hip Hop Caucus Think 100% PODCASTS – drops new episodes every Monday on environmental justice and how we solve the climate crisis. Listen and subscribe here or at TheCoolestShow.com! Follow @Think100Climate and @RevYearwood on Instagram, Twitter, and Instagram.

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The City of Atlanta has leased 381-acres of Weelaunee Forest, stolen Muscogee land, to the Atlanta Police Foundation for a police military facility funded by corporations. This would be the largest police training facility in the US in a primarily Black community who overwhelmingly oppose the project. Despite over fifteen hours of public comments against the project, the City Council has approved $67 million in public funding for Cop City. The plans include military-grade training facilities, a mock city to practice urban warfare, dozens of shooting ranges, and a Black Hawk helicopter landing pad.

Residents have petitioned the municipal court of Atlanta to gather signatures for a binding referendum. With enough signatures, this would put whether or not Cop City gets built up for a vote on November’s ballot box. In this 2 part episode of The Coolest Show, Rev Yearwood speaks with community organizer Rev Keyanna Jones, economist Dr. Gloria Bromell Tinubu, and community advocate Shar Bates. They discuss the history of the area surrounding the Weelaunee forest, the legacy of environmental racism, the community’s work to get signatures, and “the Atlanta Way.”

Support: https://www.copcityvote.com/

Stop Cop City

#StopCopCity

The Coolest Show – brought to you by Hip Hop Caucus Think 100% PODCASTS – drops new episodes every Monday on environmental justice and how we solve the climate crisis. Listen and subscribe here or at TheCoolestShow.com! Follow @Think100Climate and @RevYearwood on Instagram, Twitter, and Instagram.

Podcast: Play in new window | Download

Subscribe: RSS