Founded collectively by The Rev and the likes of Russell Simmons & Sean "P. Diddy" Combs on September 11, 2004. This was not the first time however that The Rev had worked with these individuals for the cause of getting the next generation involved in the political process. The Rev and Combs met while he attended the University of the District of Columbia (UDC) and Combs was at Howard. That friendship turned out to be the foundation for their efforts to effect change in urban areas to date. A seasoned activist with an interesting background Rev. Yearwood is as much a story as the work that The Hip Hop Caucus is.
Born in the United States in 1969 as an “anchor baby”, allowed his parents to come to the states from Trinidad and raise their family. Both parents very well educated, his mother has a PhD in Psychology and his father a PhD in African-American Studies played significant roles in the shaping of the man that works tirelessly for the people today. While getting his degree from UDC The Rev. interned at the White House during the Clinton administration. It was during that experience he began to see how young people were not encouraged or welcomed into political activist groups, though there were youths interested in the process. Unsure what to do about that obstacle but still feeling called to serve people in need Rev. Yearwood began a homeless shelter out of the Columbia Community Church (no longer in existence), served in the United State Air Force, and got his Master’s in Divinity. These experiences would all be field training for the work that was to come.
The former political/grassroots director for Russell Simmons is taking to the internet and the streets to inform young people that they have a seat at the table in the future or our country’s political practices. The Rev. says that “the hip hop generation is beyond partisan, not post partisan – we are no longer looking for Republican or Democratic congresses but rather a human congress”. Insisting that regardless of party or race we must ask how they intend to improve our communities and not allow votes to be taken for granted. To date The Hip Hop Caucus has not accepted any governmental funding but does receive operational support from a few foundations. The recession did not effect their funding as much as one would think, due in part to the demographic that HHC seeks to engage The Rev. says that they never really had an outpouring of financial support for the non-profit organization.
With such successful campaigns as “Vote or Die” and the “Make Hip Hop Not War” tour The Rev. says that the HHC is most excited about the election cycles of 2019-2020. That’s when we will see our first viable candidate possibly of the hip hop generation in one or both parties running for the presidency. Quite possibly that candidate will come out of the 700,000+ membership that the organization currently has, 59% of which are female. Between then and now the organization would like to expand its offices and possibly begin to offer direct services while maintaining its focus on policy.
The Hip Hop Caucus is everywhere on the internet literally, more information about the organization can be found at www.hiphopcaucus.org , also on Twitter and Facebook. Find out how to become a volunteer in your city and state, phone bank volunteers are needed and all you need is a cell phone and a computer. While the political paradigm shifts and the younger voters come of age, so do the processes to reach people, much of HHC’s success can be attributed to innovative usage of the internet and social networking sites.
When asked where he saw HHC many more years later The Rev. simply stated “we are not in business for the sake of being in business, if we are no longer relevant and have no group to serve – than we will stop and find another means of being helpful”
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