Hip Hop Caucus Combines Art with Activism

Rhymes and Spoken Word filled Ashé Cultural Arts Center as the non-profit organization, Hip-Hop Caucus, hosted “Clear the Air: A Culture & Climate Experience,” an open mic night for creatives to use their voices to unpack realities behind local environmental issues. The creative social action showcase coincided with the 11th Annual HBCU Climate Change Conference on Saturday, March 21, 2026, with featured performances, dialogue, and a discussion of the organization’s involvement in the Netflix Documentary, “The Plastic Detox.”

“At Hip Hop Caucus, we know that art is forever. Social Justice Movements are always temporary. But art lives on,” said Jasmine Gil, the Associate Senior Director for Hip Hop Caucus. 

“We know through any strong Social Justice Movement, when you bring art and Social Justice together, you’ll have a long-standing movement, where it’s about the people, and the power behind people, not necessarily about who’s elected or the issue at the time,” said Gil, who is from South Carolina.

Gil said the organization strives to combine artists with activism, what they consider “artivism,” to empower communities who are impacted by injustice. By collaborating with artists, Hip-Hop Caucus taps into organic audiences that traditional advocacy spaces often struggle to reach.

“Artists have a unique ability to build community. When you work with them, you’re also bringing their audience into the movement,” Gil said.

The event also included a discussion led by Gil and Kristi Dayemo surrounding “The Plastic Detox,” a Global Documentary featuring Hip Hop Caucus President and CEO Lennox Yearwood Jr. The open dialogue confronted issues behind plastics, petrochemicals, and environmental issues impacting communities of color across Louisiana and the Gulf South.

“I want people to know that there are actionable things that they can do to fight back against the petrochemical industry, that this fight isn’t over,” said Dayemo, Think 100% Campaign Manager, who is from New Orleans. “The largest petrochemical facility is being planned and built not too from New Orleans, in Ascension Parish. It’s very important for our health to fight back against that expansion,” Dayemo said.

The “Clean the Air” Advocacy Campaign aims to mobilize young leaders from Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs) to lead the fight for clean air, clean water, and a sustainable future. The open mic featured a poetry performance from Madison Thompson, a Sophomore African American Diaspora Studies Major at Xavier University of Louisiana, who hopes to work in Civil Rights Issues as she is from Montgomery, AL.

“My poetry today focuses on how when I was little, I used to go outside and look at the stars, but now because of pollution and change to the environment, I can’t look at them anymore,” Thompson said. “My second poem is called “Stand Still,” how in modern society we have news and notifications that pull us away from being able to stand still and appreciate nature’s natural music,” she said.