Our bus tour continued on to St. Louis, Missouri on Sunday morning for the Hip Hop Caucus Clean Energy Now! Bus Tour. Spirits were high at the Friendly Temple Missionary Baptist Church where Rev. Lennox Yearwood and the rest of the team attended services with thousands of congregational members.

Pastor Michael Jones led the congregation in a rousing sermon about the biblical story of three men, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, who stood up against Nebuchadnezzar. Later, Rev. Yearwood took the stage and equated these historical figures’ stance to the fight against lobbyists of dirty energy industries and special interests in Washington (see video below). Today, the clean energy movement provides a historical moment to stand for lasting social justice, and it will take the courage and endurance of all our clean energy fighters and champions.

As the bus said goodbye to Missouri following the service at Friendly Temple, Rev. Yearwood took a few minutes to do an online interview with bloggers (watch video HERE). During the interview, he touched on how important it is for depressed communities to transition to a clean energy economy, as it could create as many as 29,000 jobs in Missouri for both entry-level workers and experienced professionals. These are jobs that cannot be outsourced.

The tour will be in Indianapolis today for a site visit of a sheet metal workers training facility and press conference. Later in the day, the tour will arrive at Indiana University in Bloomington for performances from Biz Markie and a student panel discussion. Hoosier students are already fired up!

Rev. Yearwood addresses Friendly Temple Missionary Baptist Church in St. Louis, MO