Antonique Smith and Rev Yearwood Launch Nonprofit to Mobilize Black Communities on Climate Vote

Actress Antonique Smith and activist Rev Yearwood have teamed up to launch Climate Revival, a new nonprofit using the power of music and celebrity to mobilize faith communities and people of color to get out the climate vote, both in the 2024 election and beyond.

The duo will host special event “Climate Revival: Live” in Washington, D.C., on Friday to kick off the initiative, featuring appearances from Leslie Odom Jr.,  filmmaker Maya Penn and Rep. Justin J. Pearson.

Smith — who has appeared in Rent on Broadway as well as onscreen in Luke Cake and 2009’s Notorious — will serve as CEO of Climate Revival, and has been a part of the climate movement for the last decade after seeing how her community was being affected. She points to a recent Yale study that found 68 percent of Black Americans live within 30 miles of a coal-fired power plant that causes asthma and cancer but only 12 percent of Black Americans have ever heard of climate justice. 

“This fall is the most significant chance in history for us to make progress. All over the country, there are climate champions and climate legislation up and down the ballot that can help rebuild our systems and put them to work for the people and our planet,” she said in a statement. “We’ve got to get out there and use our faith, our music and our joy to bring people together and vote on climate. It’s not enough to survive, we deserve to thrive.”

Yearwood is the co-founder of Climate Revival and is known as the president & CEO of Hip Hop Caucus. He was the subject of Hip Hop Rev, a documentary on Discovery following his longtime work as a social and climate justice advocate.

“We are in the midst of a climate crisis and what we need is a climate revival. We must transition from fossil fuels to clean energy, and we must use our faith, our love, our culture and our humanity to make this change,” he said of the current moment. “Our environment cannot be a partisan or political issue. We are God’s children, and we must do everything we can to make our planet livable for future generations.”

Yearwood added of the plan behind their initiative, “Data, studies and information doesn’t bring people together or create shared bonds; it doesn’t get people off the couch and into the voting booth. I’ve been working in climate for years, and it’s always the collaborations with celebrities and musicians that reach the most people, create the richest experiences and inspire the most action.”