Author: Hip Hop Caucus

Hip Hop Caucus included in Los Angeles Projects Selected for New $400 Million Greening America’s Cities Initiative

LOS ANGELES, Calif. — July 17, 2023: The Bezos Earth Fund announced today $12.7 million to fund urban Los Angeles area urban greening projects as part of its new Greening America’s Cities initiative, a $400 million commitment through 2030 to create more equitable access to urban green spaces with more parks, trees, and community gardens. The foundation will launch the initiative at the site of one the Pacoima Beautiful initiative, the Pacoima Wash at Paxton Park in Los Angeles.

“We are honored to be a Bezos Earth Fund grant recipient. This grant will help Hip Hop Caucus bring attention to the climate and environmental challenges South Los Angeles communities face, amplify the community-based solutions they are advancing, and drive education around opportunities to maximize grassroots efforts,” said Hip Hop Caucus President and CEO, Rev. Lennox Yearwood, Jr. 

The L.A.-based nonprofits receiving funding include: 

• Pacoima Beautiful receives funding to support the first phase to reshape four miles of the Pacoima Wash into a valuable community resource. Funding will go toward construction costs, community organization and outreach, professional development to secure additional funding, the hiring of additional staff, and volunteer training.
• TreePeople will plant and maintain at least 4,250 trees in underserved communities in LA, launch multilingual community organizing efforts to expand urban greening efforts, work to shape policy and green infrastructure support at the state and local level, and lead initiatives to inform underserved youth about career opportunities in the environmental sector. 
• Mujeres de la Tierra will launch a park revitalization and ongoing maintenance initiative, including pollinator-friendly, climate-appropriate landscaping, community stewardship programming, and youth workforce development.
• SE Asian Community Alliance will partner with the Los Angeles Regional Open Space and Affordable Housing (LA ROSAH) Collaborative to launch preemptive community-driven planning to prevent the displacement of long-term residents of the communities adjacent to Taylor Yard, a formerly contaminated rail maintenance yard which has recently been remediated and transformed into a 100-acre park.
• Hip Hop Caucus will engage residents in community activation events, film screenings, and digital media production that centers on environmental justice issues and solutions. These will include dialogue and advocacy supporting the development of new community green spaces and education and narrative creation around community-owned revitalization, economic development, and climate resilience efforts that result in healthy, thriving Black and brown neighborhoods across Los Angeles.
• East LA Community Corporation will partner with community farming organization Campos de Cultivo to complete the Lorena Terrace Community Garden and two additional green spaces. Through the project, Boyle Heights will gain access to nutritious, fresh food, as well as a venue for physical activity and meaningful, intergenerational social interaction.

Additional organizations funded to work in LA include GreenLatinos, Green Cities California, Urban Sustainability Directors Network, Trust for Public Land, ReGenesis, PolicyLink, University of Southern California – Urban Trees Initiative and the Equity Research Institute, and UCLA Laboratory for Environmental Narrative Strategies. 

Other inaugural Greening America’s Cities include projects in Albuquerque, Atlanta, Chicago, and Wilmington, Delaware. The grantees are integral in leading these groundbreaking projects to advance nature in their communities. Their work includes community engagement, land acquisition, project design and construction, local training, and long-term maintenance.

There is clear evidence that “greening” U.S. cities with more — and better — parks, trees, and community gardens can improve physical and mental health, increase local resilience to climate impacts like extreme heat and reduce energy consumption. Health benefits come from improved air quality, more physical activity, reduced heat, the stress reduction effect of green spaces, and the opportunities green spaces create for social interaction. 

Historic systems of segregation, exclusion, and land dispossession have led to many communities living in nature-deprived areas. Consequently, these communities often do not benefit from nature’s benefits, like air and water purification, climate mitigation, or biodiversity.

The Greening America’s Cities initiative builds on the Earth Fund’s earlier $300 million in funding to climate and environmental justice groups in the U.S. Find more information on each city’s projects and a complete list of the grantees here. 

About Hip Hop Caucus 

Formed in 2004, the Hip Hop Caucus (HHC) is a non-profit, non-partisan organization that leverages Hip Hop culture to encourage young people to participate in the democratic process. Through a collaborative leadership network, HHC addresses core issues affecting underserved communities. HHC programs and campaigns support solution-driven community organizing led by today’s young leaders.

About the Bezos Earth Fund 
The Bezos Earth Fund is Jeff Bezos’ $10 billion commitment to fund scientists, activists, NGOs, and other actors who will drive climate and nature solutions. By allocating funds creatively, wisely, and boldly, the Bezos Earth Fund has the potential for transformative influence in this decisive decade. Funds will be fully allocated by 2030—the date the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals must be achieved.

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WASHINGTON — Today, Hip Hop Caucus Executive Vice President Tanya Clay House issued the following statement in response to the United States Supreme Court 6-3 decision in the Biden v. Nebraska and Department of Education v. Brown cases on student loan debt:

“Hip Hop Caucus is sadly not surprised that the current United States Supreme Court has once again failed to stand with the American people in this decision to overturn President Biden’s student loan forgiveness plan. Despite this ruling, we stand with the Administration’s ability to cancel student loan debt and we encourage President Biden to continue to fight on behalf of everyday Americans by finding another legal remedy, including continuing the current pause on student loan payments implemented during the pandemic.   

Black people, particularly Black women, and borrowers under age 40 represent a majority of the $1.7 trillion dollars in U.S. federal student loan debt.. Student loan debt disproportionately burdens people of color, who already face significant economic disparities compared to their White counterparts. Communities across the board are continually feeling the weight of food insecurity, rising housing and education costs, and medical costs, making the need to cancel all student loan debt increasingly urgent. 

With approximately $27 million everyday Americans now not able to receive any relief from student loan debt despite millions of debt being forgiven for business, legislators and many in economically privileged classes during COVID, Hip Hop Caucus fails to see the equity in this Supreme Court ruling. A nation worth $25 trillion dollars that spends nearly $1 trillion dollars on its defense budget and provides trillions in tax cuts to billionaires can afford to clear the debt of average Americans across the country.” 

About Hip Hop Caucus 

Formed in 2004, the Hip Hop Caucus (HHC) is a non-profit, non-partisan organization that leverages Hip Hop culture to encourage young people to participate in the democratic process. Through a collaborative leadership network, HHC addresses core issues affecting underserved communities. HHC programs and campaigns support solution-driven community organizing led by today’s young leaders.

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WASHINGTON — Today, Hip Hop Caucus Executive Vice President Tanya Clay House issued the following statement in response to the United States Supreme Court 6-3 decision in the 303 Creative LLC v. Elenis case on LGBTQIA+ rights:

“Open for business no longer means to everyone. Hip Hop Caucus is not surprised as much as it is saddened that on the last day of Pride month, the United States Supreme Court has ruled to deny public accommodations to the LGBTQ+ community, a protected class, based upon the prejudices of people. While this case was brought under the Free Speech Clause, this ruling has opened the door to discrimination against any protected class.

As Justice Sonia Sotomayor said, ‘Today, the Court, for the first time in its history, grants a business open to the public a constitutional right to refuse to serve members of a protected class.’

This is another sad day for our nation. In many states around this nation, you can still get married on Sunday, get fired on Monday and get legally put out of your home on Tuesday for being who you are and loving who you love. Moreover, the trans community is under attack daily from extremist state legislators pushing draconian bills banning trans athletes from participating in sports and from using public restrooms.

Despite this traumatic ruling, Hip Hop Caucus calls upon the United States Congress to pass the Equality Act. We need Congress to do as it has done in the past and again pass legislation which prohibits discrimination based on sex, sexual orientation, and gender identity in areas including public accommodations and facilities, education, federal funding, employment, housing, credit, and the jury system as an addendum to the Civil Rights Act of 1964.  

“We know that this is only the beginning of the fight to claw back LGBTQIA+ Rights in this nation coming from this court and we urge everyone to stand with Hip Hop Caucus in fighting to protect the civil rights of all Americans” 

About Hip Hop Caucus 

Formed in 2004, the Hip Hop Caucus (HHC) is a non-profit, non-partisan organization that leverages Hip Hop culture to encourage young people to participate in the democratic process. Through a collaborative leadership network, HHC addresses core issues affecting underserved communities. HHC programs and campaigns support solution-driven community organizing led by today’s young leaders.

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WASHINGTON — Today, Hip Hop Caucus Executive Vice President and former Deputy Assistant Secretary for Education Tanya Clay House issued the following statement in response to the United States Supreme Court 6-3 decision in the Students for Fair Admissions v. University of North Carolina and Students for Fair Admissions v. Harvard cases on affirmative action:

“Justice Jackson said it best, Our country has never been colorblind. Today’s decision on affirmative action has not only overturned decades of precedent, but signals The United States Supreme Court’s hostility toward proven policies that have provided equitable opportunities for underrepresented minority students in higher education. Structural racism continues to exist in this nation, despite those who would like to create revisionist history and ignore the impacts of racism upon communities of color in our society. For nearly 50 years, affirmative action in higher education has expanded racial equity and diversity – fostering an immediate benefit to each and every one of us that also echoes and extends for generations. Students of color, particularly Black students, continue to face systemic barriers in the higher education system, and scaling back affirmative action not only impacts their educational opportunities but also socioeconomic mobility for generations.

“As a graduate of both the University of Michigan and the University of Texas School of Law who’s affirmative action programs have been at the center of legal challenges for decades,  I know that these programs at these institutions had a significant and positive impact upon my professional and personal trajectory.  The diversity at these institutions was minimal even with the affirmative action programs during my attendance, and while at the University of Texas, the number of Black students in the class entering after me dropped from over 30 to 4.  As a Black woman who has had to work twice as hard to reaffirm my professional worth in this society that is based on a legacy of discrimination, it is astounding that this Court is attempting to turn a blind eye to the continued institutional racism that exists in this society.”

Our democracy demands that we work together to tear down barriers of opportunity in education and ensure that pathways in higher education and leadership are open and accessible to all, especially for communities of color and other historically marginalized communities. When everyone has fair access to higher education, we all benefit. Unfortunately, that day is still not here. Despite the constant attacks on civil rights, we are stronger than ever in our collective power, and we remain committed to racial justice and equal opportunity.”

About Hip Hop Caucus 

Formed in 2004, the Hip Hop Caucus (HHC) is a non-profit, non-partisan organization that leverages Hip Hop culture to encourage young people to participate in the democratic process. Through a collaborative leadership network, HHC addresses core issues affecting underserved communities. HHC programs and campaigns support solution-driven community organizing led by today’s young leaders.

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WASHINGTON — Today, Hip Hop Caucus Executive Vice President, Campaigns and Advocacy, Tanya Clay House issued the following statement in response to the United States Supreme Court 6-3 decision in Moore v. Harper case of on Independent State Legislature Theory:

“Hip Hop Caucus applauds the United States Supreme Court decision in the voting rights case Moore v. Harper, rejecting North Carolina lawmaker’s attempt to remove the role of courts in our election process. Our democracy is built on a system of checks and balances to maintain level power across our branches of government. 

Therefore, state courts absolutely must be empowered to provide oversight of elections. State legislatures should not have independent, unchecked power to gerrymander voting maps, enact discriminatory voting laws, or manipulate elections for partisan benefit. Fairness in our electoral system and government are imperative and this decision is a step toward making sure that the will of the majority of the people is truly represented. While we applaud this decision, the Hip Hop Caucus still emphasizes the urgent need for Congress to fulfill its duties and pass the Freedom to Vote Act and the John Lewis Advancement Act in order to further reaffirm the voting rights protections of all citizens.”

About Hip Hop Caucus 

Formed in 2004, the Hip Hop Caucus (HHC) is a non-profit, non-partisan organization that leverages Hip Hop culture to encourage young people to participate in the democratic process. Through a collaborative leadership network, HHC addresses core issues affecting underserved communities. HHC programs and campaigns support solution-driven community organizing led by today’s young leaders.

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WASHINGTON — Today, Hip Hop Caucus Executive Vice President, Campaigns and Advocacy, Tanya Clay House issued the following statement in response to the United States Supreme Court decision in the Louisiana case of racial gerrymandering:

“Hip Hop Caucus applauds the United States Supreme Court’s decision dismissing the state of Louisiana’s appeal to avoid redrawing its congressional maps that dilute the power of Black voters. This Supreme Court decision remands the Louisiana case back to the 5th Circuit of Appeals, paves the way for a second majority-Black congressional district in Louisiana, and reaffirms the Supreme Court’s  Allen v. Milligan decision to uphold voting rights and prohibit racial gerrymandering. 

The Allen v. Milligan, ruling maintained that the Voting Rights Act continues to protect the ability of minority voters to  elect candidates of their choice in states where voting is racially polarized, like Louisiana, and where the Black population is intentionally underrepresented. Louisiana has six congressional districts and a Black population of 33 percent, yet only one Black congressional district. Math tells us that that should not be the case. 

Hip Hop Caucus supports redrawing Louisiana’s congressional maps to allow for fair representation and we will continue to fight against gerrymandering and other racialized threats to our democracy.”

About Hip Hop Caucus 

Formed in 2004, the Hip Hop Caucus (HHC) is a non-profit, non-partisan organization that leverages Hip Hop culture to encourage young people to participate in the democratic process. Through a collaborative leadership network, HHC addresses core issues affecting underserved communities. HHC programs and campaigns support solution-driven community organizing led by today’s young leaders.

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WASHINGTON — Today, Hip Hop Caucus Executive Vice President, Campaigns and Advocacy, Tanya Clay House issued the following statement in response to the United States Supreme Court decision in the Allen v. Milligan case of racial gerrymandering in Alabama:

“Hip Hop Caucus applauds the United States Supreme Court’s 5-4 decision in the case of Allen v. Milligan to uphold voting rights and prohibit racial gerrymandering. This decision maintains the Voting Rights Act protections that voting district lines must be drawn fairly to allow minority voters a chance to elect candidates of their choice in states where voting is racially polarized. 

Gerrymandering, especially racial gerrymandering, is an insidious threat to our democracy. It undercuts voters and helps create systemic apathy that aims to keep Black voters from the polls and encourages people to believe that their votes do not matter.

We know the tremendous power that is held in every single vote.  This ruling reiterates that it is imperative that our voting laws and maps must consider race as a factor to prevent discrimination in the right to vote. Black voters have historically been disenfranchised and continue to face resistance in the electoral process through targeted voter suppression and intimidation practices. This ruling is a reaffirmation that we must continually be diligent in our efforts to protect the right to vote.

Hip Hop Caucus encourages racially-polarized states, like those in the U.S. South, to immediately redistrict where necessary to fairly represent the Black populations in their states and provide opportunity for a fair representative voice in government.”

About Hip Hop Caucus 

Formed in 2004, the Hip Hop Caucus (HHC) is a non-profit, non-partisan organization that leverages Hip Hop culture to encourage young people to participate in the democratic process. Through a collaborative leadership network, HHC addresses core issues affecting underserved communities. HHC programs and campaigns support solution-driven community organizing led by today’s young leaders.

WASHINGTON — Today, Hip Hop Caucus President and CEO Rev. Lennox Yearwood Jr. issued the following statement in response to the Atlanta City Council’s vote to approve $67 million in funding for Cop City in Atlanta:

“Today, the Atlanta City Council passed $67 million in funding for Cop City, by an 11-4 margin, after more than 15 hours of near-unanimous public comments against it. While the Council’s decision is deeply disappointing and harrowing for the city’s public safety, this was a historic 24 hours for resistance. 

The people fighting back shattered every record of public turnout in Atlanta, Georgia and made it clear, unequivocally, that Atlanta residents are against Cop City. Over a thousand people turned out to speak and our resistance will continue with a week of action at the end of June. 

Hip Hop Caucus will not be slowed down by today’s decision. We will continue to build power with the local community and hold elected officials accountable.”

About Hip Hop Caucus 

Formed in 2004, the Hip Hop Caucus (HHC) is a non-profit, non-partisan organization that leverages Hip Hop culture to encourage young people to participate in the democratic process. Through a collaborative leadership network, HHC addresses core issues affecting underserved communities. HHC programs and campaigns support solution-driven community organizing led by today’s young leaders.

U.S. Senator Cory Booker, Representatives Barbara Lee and Raúl Grijalva awarded for climate and environmental justice leadership

WASHINGTON – Hip Hop Caucus, a national nonprofit organization that uses the power of hip-hop culture to advance civil and human rights, recognized Congressional environmental justice champions U.S. Senator Cory Booker and Representatives Barbara Lee and Raúl Grijalva with the inaugural A. Donald McEachin award at a reception on Capitol Hill on Thursday, April 20, 2023. In honor of the late Congressman and environmental justice advocate A. Donald McEachin, the award is bestowed to Congressional members who exemplifies leadership on racial justice and environmental justice on behalf of disadvantaged communities.

“Hip Hop Caucus is honored to recognize the powerful contributions of Senator Booker, Congresswoman Lee and Congressman Grijalva in support of climate and environmental justice, and celebrate the legacy of the late Congressman A. Donald McEachin’s trailblazing work, said Tanya Clay House, Executive Vice President, Campaigns and Advocacy at Hip Hop Caucus. “As we celebrate fifty years of hip-hop this year, we continue to highlight the myriad of ways that hip-hop has been a vehicle for showcasing the realities of climate and environmental injustices and shifting culture to enact effective solutions. We look forward to deepening our ongoing work with Congressional leaders from across the aisle to protect the health of our people and our planet.”

Senator Cory Booker is a long-time climate and environmental justice advocate, dating back to his tenure as Mayor of Newark, New Jersey. Senator Booker is also the co-founder of the Senate’s Environmental Justice Caucus. 

Representative Barbara Lee is the former chair and current ranking member of the House Appropriations Subcommittee for State and Foreign Operations that has purview over international climate finance. Representative Lee is also the former chair of the Congressional Black Caucus and former co-chair of the Congressional Progressive Caucus. 

Representative Raúl Grijalva is the former chair and current ranking member of the House Natural Resources Committee. In 2022, Representative Grijalva opposed permitting reforms that would sacrifice frontline communities and gut bedrock environmental laws like the Clean Air Act and the National Environmental Policy Act.

All three Congressional members have been leaders on advancing the Environmental Justice Act for All. 

“I just want to thank the Hip Hop Caucus for creating the A. Donald McEachin award in recognition of the unwavering work that my husband did in the areas of climate and environmental justice,” said Congressman McEachin’s wife and Commonwealth’s Attorney for Richmond, Virginia Colette Wallace McEachin through video remarks at the award reception. “And I also want to thank Congressman Grijalva, Congresswoman Lee and Senator Booker in carrying on the legacy of my husband and reintroducing the EJ (Environmental Justice) For All bill.”

Hip Hop Caucus unveiled its 2023 policy and legislative agenda at the award reception, highlighting strategic long-term goals for the liberation and empowerment of communities of color. Hip Hop Caucus’ 2023 policy and legislative agenda includes organizational priorities for campaigns and advocacy efforts related to democratic policy, climate and environmental justice, criminal justice, education, health care, LGBTQIA+ rights, and economic justice. 

For more information about Hip Hop Caucus, visit hiphopcaucus.org. 

About Hip Hop Caucus

Formed in 2004, the Hip Hop Caucus (HHC) is a non-profit, non-partisan organization that leverages Hip Hop culture to encourage young people to participate in the democratic process. Through a collaborative leadership network, HHC addresses core issues affecting underserved communities. HHC programs and campaigns support solution-driven community organizing led by today’s young leaders.

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