Spiritual Stamina
E.N. WEST IN CONVERSATION WITH REV. LENNOX YEARWOOD, JR.
Photo: Hip Hop Caucus
I connected with Rev. Yearwood while he was steps away from the EPA office in Washington, D.C. just minutes before a press conference. Despite the literal urgency of the moment, the Rev. - president and CEO of the Hip Hop Caucus, outspoken environmental justice organizer, ordained minister, and son of Louisiana - was clear and cogent in his message, gleaned from the wisdom of another: “We’ve overcome four hundred years, we can overcome four more…”
Our conversation covers spiritual stamina and strategic civic engagement. I offer it to the Peace & Riot community, with hopes it is as much of a balm to your spirit as it was to mine.
Photo: Hip Hop Caucus
E.N. WEST: Like you, I’m part of movements at the intersection of land justice, housing justice, environmental justice, racial justice. It’s work that has really affirmed for me how important cultural geography is. So with that said, what is your cultural geography? What people and places shaped you, and how does that inform the work that you do today?
REV. YEARWOOD: I was born in Shreveport, Louisiana, right outside of Cancer Alley, in between Baton Rouge and New Orleans. That formed me tremendously.
Both my parents came here from Trinidad, for school. My Dad was actually in the ‘68 Olympics, and seeing John Carlos and Tommie Smith raise their fists in the air inspired him to come here. If not for that activism, for that symbolism, I wouldn’t be here now. And I want to say that because cultural geography isn’t just where you come from, it’s how you got to where you come from.
Having my family come from Trinidad impacted the food, the culture, the dancing, that I grew up with. Later on, my parents both became college professors—my Dad was the Dean of African-American Studies at Howard University—so I lived in D.C. as well.
Caribbean, Louisiana, D.C. are some of the places that made me. So I can do curry, chicken, gumbo, and for me, now, tofu!
But although those are three points, I’m someone who has grown and evolved to feel connected to the struggle of all people, everywhere. And being from hip-hop, the culture connects as well.
E.N. WEST: Thank you for sharing that!
Integrating hip-hop with environmental justice and civic engagement is a big part of your work. In fact, you’re in D.C. right now, about to head to the EPA as part of the Hip Hop Caucus.
So from your vantage point, what does civic engagement look like right now? What gains, if any, might be possible in the face of our current regime?
REV. YEARWOOD: First, let me just say that I’m super excited that the Hip Hop Caucus exists. The Caucus turns 20, this year, and it’s important to have national and non-partisan institutions like this that harness the power of hip-hop culture.
When we came into this work, we were dealing with George Bush and Katrina, Guantanamo, and the Iraq War—many things I was arrested, and even in some cases beaten by police, for protesting—and I never gave up hope that, as long as we as organize and come together, we can overcome. So that’s the groundwork.
“Right now, I will say, I’m alarmed that our movement was not as prepared as it should have been.”
Right now, I will say, I’m alarmed that our movement was not as prepared as it should have been. We talked about 2025, but we did not prepare for this moment, for what it would really mean to fight for queer and trans lives, for Indigenous communities.
I do feel the moment that we are in is very serious. It is not a game. Lives will be lost by the rollbacks.
So the thing that we have to do is keep our energy to continue to fight. That means looking at the long-term of what it means to build. We need to ensure that foundations do not stop funding organizations, that journalism and media content creation continue.
We need to begin to be global citizens, so that we are connected not only across Turtle Island but also the globe. We see what’s going on in Congo, in Palestine, in parts of the Caribbean, and South America, and we’re connecting those dots to what is happening in our communities.
The current administration has been planning for this for quite some time. And I think that we have to begin to organize in a way that understands that their business plan is a death sentence for our communities.
Rev. Yearwood at a climate rally in Washington, D.C. Photo: Shadia Fayne Wood / Project Survival Media
E.N. WEST: Thank you for that, Rev.
One thing that's really resonating with me from your share is this idea of stoking the fire. I feel like, in my communities, a lot of folks are trying to find the faith right now. But it’s also exhausting, and many people are starting to get overwhelmed, de-energized, shut down. I’m curious for you, how would you describe your spiritual stamina in this season? What is feeding your spirit?
“I was an outcast within my religion. Like, why are you working with people in hip-hop?”
REV. YEARWOOD: I really believe that God works in mysterious ways. Especially early on, I was an outcast within my religion. Like, why are you working with people in hip-hop? Why are you defending women in church? Why are you inviting in queer people? It was always a journey, but it made me stronger. And I didn’t know it then, but sometimes God will prepare you for a moment in the future. The terrible things you go through are actually getting you ready to be a solution for future generations.
But you cannot do this work if you are pulling on yourself. If you don’t have something to pull on, like faith, it will consume you. And there are many activists at this moment who are literally taking themselves out—either physically, or spiritually or mentally—because they do not have something bigger than them to draw from. And we can’t have that.
We have to remind ourselves that the same creator that allowed us to overcome many things is preparing us to overcome this moment. Someone said to me, we overcame four hundred years. We can overcome four years.
So that’s where we are at this moment. And I would just say that one of the things that's important is that we need institutions—like mosques, temples, churches—right now, and more than ever. We need institutions to strengthen and activate our spiritual communities.
Look at the rollback of FEMA. We should have a PEMA—a People's Emergency Management. We gotta have our own things ready to go, right? From social justice to climate change, we have to be able to respond.
The other piece of that is that we have to keep our spirits steady. Media, especially right now, is overwhelming to our spirit. But we need our energy. We need to be able to encourage one another, to have that flow of energy that allows us to say you know what? I’m not giving up. I'm not going to stop fighting. I understand that this is my time on this planet—I'm not gonna be here 100 years from now— and I’m gonna do all I can in this relay race to make sure I pass the baton to the next generation.
E.N. WEST: I want to stay a little longer in this space. So you're a reverend, a man of faith, and many of the things that have formed your faith—even against the status quo —are things I resonate with that heavily.
Where do you see God, Spirit, the Divine—however you name them—moving in the world right now? And where would you like to see Spirit moving?
REV. YEARWOOD: My faith system is based around the belief that I am always humbled by the fact that I have life.
“I think the churches, our spiritual institutions, need to realize that for a day like this is why we exist.”
I think the churches, our spiritual institutions, need to realize that for a day like this is why we exist. And so I would love for more of the faith community, whatever your faith may be, to be more connected into this moment.
We need abolitionists. We need folks to be able to speak to power. We need humans to begin to break down the silos. I believe the climate movement has a tendency to be a silo segregated space, but I think that faith and culture can help to break down those silos.
So for me, I would hope in this moment that the faith community can come together in a way that breaks down silos. Because we need to be organized, and we need to be in solidarity.
E.N. WEST: You’ve said so much here that resonates. But if you were going to share maybe three takeaways—you know, preacher style—with our readers, what guidance would you offer folks who are looking to sustainably engage in movement work this season?
REV. YEARWOOD: Here’s one: see the big picture. I always say that a hundred years from now, you won't be here. What will be here is your work. So see the big picture and ensure that your work serves that vision.
“You cannot do this work by trying to think you’re smart.”
Two: I truly believe in love. I think that there's nothing more powerful than the love that we have for one another. That is something that will hold you together. And although I’ve said this already, I’ll say it again: you have to love something invisible. Something bigger and beyond you.
You cannot do this work by trying to think you're smart. Sometimes that works! But this is not that season. This is a season when we need to be humble and when we need to have something that we hope exists to help us do what we want to right now.
Because Mother Nature will still run her PR campaign. There will be more floods. There will be more wildfires. There will be more hurricanes. And it will continue to get worse. Despite that, we need to still be in a position to have compassion.
And that's my last thing: have compassion. Have compassion for one another, and be there when the cameras are gone. The cameras have left Asheville, Phoenix, Altadena, right, but the crises are ongoing. So we need to continue to have compassion for humanity.
E.N. WEST: Thank you, Rev. I know you're knocking on the door of the EPA as we speak. So I won't hold you, but I'm glad we got this time and blessings to you and the folks you're with.
E.N. WEST
E.N. West, affectionately known as "E" (they/them), proudly hails from the DC metropolitan area, by way of Alexandria, Virginia. E deeply believes "we are uninhibited when we know our power" and is committed to co-creating a world where everyone intimately knows how powerful they are and directs that power toward collective liberation. E is many things, but at the heart of all of them, they are a community organizer based in Seattle, Washington. You can find E’s work here: about.me/enxwest
REV. LENNOX YEARWOOD
Rev. Lennox Yearwood Jr. is the President & CEO of Hip Hop Caucus — a national nonprofit, nonpartisan organization celebrating 20 years of advancing civil and human rights through hip-hop culture. Rev. Lennox Yearwood Jr. is a Senior Advisor for Bloomberg Philanthropies and is one of today’s most innovative advocates for racial and climate justice. He was one of 50 changemakers selected for Forbes’ inaugural Sustainability Leaders list in 2024. He has been recognized as a White House Champion of Change for Climate Leadership and has been called a "New Green Hero" by Rolling Stone. Rev. Lennox Yearwood Jr. is a leader in climate storytelling and entertainment, executive producing the standup comedy special ‘Ain’t Your Mama’s Heat Wave’ and hosting the award-winning climate and environmental justice podcast The Coolest Show. Above all, he is a devoted father, bringing purpose and passion to both his family and his work.