Hip Hop Caucus and Partners Launch Bus Tour To Organize Communities of Color Disproportionately Affected by Climate Change to Take Action

WASHINGTON, Sept. 2, 2015 /PRNewswire/ -- Musicians, actors, environmental leaders and community activists are joining the People's Climate Music "Act On Climate" National Bus Tour – a multi-state tour organized by the Hip Hop Caucus and its partners. Climate change is a life and death issue for urban communities in the U.S., and this month-long run of concerts, meetings, community events and on-the-ground tours will reach over a dozen U.S. cities with music and messages that inspire climate change awareness and action.

Traveling through the month of September, the bus will stop in cities directly impacted by high levels of pollution and social inequality to draw attention to the injustice inherent in the fossil fuel economy and call for a just and rapid transition to a clean energy future. It will serve to energize the existing climate movement base and reach new communities at a critical time with the Clean Power Plan (CPP) rule finalization, the lead up to COP 21 in Paris, and the 2016 U.S. Elections where climate will be a central issue.

"We know the pollution linked to climate change is disproportionately concentrated in poor communities and communities of color, contributing to the extremely high rates of asthma, cancer, heart disease and lung diseases," said Rev. Lennox Yearwood Jr., President & CEO of the Hip Hop Caucus. "We also know from Hurricane Katrina that it is the poor and people of color who get left behind in extreme weather disasters, which are increasing in strength and frequency because of climate change. This is why climate change can no longer be just a political issue. It is a social justice issue, and one we can solve in our generation, if we come together to make a change."

To rally the U.S. public in support of this action, Hip Hop Caucus will be joined by allies like 350.org, Earthjustice, League of Conservation Voters, Natural Resources Defense Council, Sierra Club and The Solutions Project. Surrogates include Grammy nominated recording artist Antonique Smith, who was featured on the album HOME, and five time Grammy Award winning poet and producer Malik Yusef who executive produced HOME. Other top music artists will be joining the tour on specific stops, in the effort to use their collective voices to center climate change as a justice issue in mainstream culture.

"We are facing the next greatest economic and racial injustice of our time. Just as our parents' generation fought for equality, we are fighting for existence," said Rev. Yearwood. "Ending the fossil fuel pollution that contributes to health problems and climate change is the issue of our time. We all must come together to act now."

Visit http://www.hiphopcaucus.org/act-on-climate-national-bus-tour/ for more information.

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. Learn more at http://hiphopcaucus.org.

About the People's Climate Music: People's Climate Music is helping to expand the climate movement by organizing diverse and influential artists to create music and culture that inspires action to solve the biggest crisis humanity has ever faced – climate change. Organizations leading People's Climate Music include Hip Hop Caucus, 350.org, Earthjustice, League of Conservation Voters, NRDC, Sierra Club and The Solutions Project.  Learn more at http://peoplesclimatemusic.com.

Contact:
Amy Clark
202-789-7791 (o)
917-648-5577 (c)

SOURCE Hip Hop Caucus

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