Hip Hop Caucus spotlights climate justice with film ‘Underwater Projects’

WESTWOOD, Calif. — The Hip Hop Caucus, a nonpartisan organization leveraging the cultural power of hip-hop to inspire civic action, is using storytelling to sound the alarm on environmental justice, bringing its message to Los Angeles with a screening of its film “Underwater Projects.”

The film, which documents the climate challenges facing Norfolk, Virginia, drew a packed crowd at UCLA. 

Narrated by comedian Wanda Sykes, the film explores how environmental disasters and climate policy intersect with issues of equity and economics.

For Derrick Richardson, a second-year doctorate student in atmospheric and oceanic sciences at UCLA, the screening hit especially close to home.

“In my undergraduate, I went to Hampton University for four years, and actually having hands-on experience with the atmospheric storms that were going on in Norfolk and also in Hampton caused, you know, a lot of disturbance to my education sometimes,” Richardson shared.

The film serves as both a warning and a call to action. For Richardson, its lessons extend beyond Virginia to his current home in California. 

“Now I’m going through more, like, what other climatic disasters, like wildfires here in LA, which I’ve never experienced before, and it’s actually causing a big concern to me,” he said.

The event, organized in partnership with UCLA’s Center for Diverse Leadership, featured a panel moderated by doctorate candidate Elijah Catalan with panelists including actress and entrepreneur Vanessa Simmons, founder of Youth on Root Candice Youngblood, Health Equity Programs Director at the Social Justice Learning Institute Nicole Steele, and Managing Director and COO of Hip Hop Caucus Liz Havstad. 

Havstad underscored the disproportionate impact of climate change on marginalized communities and the importance of addressing these inequities.

She also indicated the deep connections between Norfolk, Virginia, and Southern California in terms of environmental and economic challenges.

“Norfolk, Virginia, is one big military town with the biggest naval base in the country. We have the second biggest naval base here in Southern California in San Diego. Norfolk has a really critical port. We have major ports here in Los Angeles and Long Beach,” Havstad said. “All these things tie to larger economies — the movement of goods, the environmental impacts, and what we are doing with fossil fuels, oil and gas, and how we’re transitioning to clean energy.”

Havstad noted that with a new administration in Washington, there’s a unique opportunity for action, particularly in California, which often sets the pace for progressive climate policies.

“After this election, where big change happens, there’s so much work for all of us to do,” Havstad said. “There’s so much leadership for a state like California to have in terms of setting standards for vehicle pollution, for advancing climate solutions, for fighting environmental justice. There’s so many ways that at the state level we could make and will make tremendous change.” 

Nicole Steele emphasized the importance of involving young people in the fight for climate justice.

“I think it’s important for our youth and our young adults to think of themselves as climate activists,” Steele said. “In your everyday life, you are dealing with the effects of climate change, even the ones that you did not ask for. So yes, examining what you’re doing in your everyday life to make sure you’re mitigating your carbon footprint, but also thinking critically about what’s happening in the communities around you.”

For Richardson, the event reinforced his commitment to seeking solutions through his academic work.

“From now on, my journey will be dedicated definitely to figuring out solutions, even in my studies, to how I could better support policies to get pushed forward to make these changes,” he said. 

As Hip Hop Caucus prepares for a 2025 packed with action and advocacy across many issues, their message is clear: there’s no time to waste in the fight against climate change.