About Hip Hop is Green
Founded in 2009 by Keith Tucker, Hip Hop is Green (HHIG) is a Black-led and Seattle-based organization that uses the power and influence of Hip Hop culture to speak to youth and spark positive health and wellness changes in their lives. Our mission is to support the holistic health and environmental transformation of urban communities. In 2017, we had the honor of being one of five organizations in the nation to be nominated for Michelle Obama’s Partnership for a Healthier America ``Catalyst for Change” award.
HHIG produces cultural and educational curricula and programs for majority BIPOC and low-income youth that (1) teach leadership & job skills, (2) promote health and wellness, and (3) provide hands-on, immersive training in climate change, agriculture, sustainable careers, project management and entrepreneurship. HHIG provides a positive, dynamic, safe, supportive and interactive learning environment with mentors, speakers and role models who look like our participants and have shared lived experiences.
Funding will support Hip Hop is Green’s Youth Excellence Program (YEP): a project-based, paid internship for youth ages 11-20 that teaches about leadership, climate change, environmental justice, plant-based eating, and the green economy. We present actionable solutions to the challenges facing youth in our community, including: obtaining living-wage jobs in fields such as geology, permaculture, engineering, green infrastructure, agriculture technology, science, and biology; small business development; robotic technology, and food production. Over the next year we anticipate working with 120 youth, and providing more than 440 hours of programming focused on these topics. YEP youth are 90% BIPOC, 85% low-income, and 65% female or nonbinary.