Hip Hop as Political Power?

March 2, 2004 == MEDIA ADVISORY

Calvin College will host a talk by Bakari Kitwana called " Can Hip Hop Make
the Transition from a Cultural Movement to A Political Power." The talk will
be held on Monday, March 8 at 7 pm in the Meeter Center Lecture Hall at Calvin.
 It is free and open to all and sponsored by the Student Activities office and
the Multicultural Student Development office at Calvin.

Bakari Kitwana is the former editor of Source Magazine and the author of the
book The Hip Hop Generation: Young Blacks and the Crisis in African American
Culture.

He believes that the civil rights movement was a giant step in race relations,
but that there hasn't been one since then. He thinks hip-hop could be part of a
next "giant step for the country at large," not just for race relations, but
for civil rights for all people.

He also thinks that the civil rights leadership, what he calls "the old-guard
black leadership," has not been effective at making the younger generation's
agenda part of their agenda.

He will address those concerns and more in his talk at Calvin.

Kitwana's writings have appeared in the Source, Savoy, the Village Voice, the
Progressive, BET.com and other publications. Additionally, he writes a column
on hip-hop and youth culture for the Cleveland Plain Dealer and has lectured on
hip-hop at Harvard, Columbia and many other colleges and universities across
the country. The author of The Rap on Gangsta Rap, he teaches a course in the
political science department at Kent State University called "The Politics of
The Hip-Hop Generation," is a consultant on hip-hop for the Rock and Roll Hall
of Fame, and is the author of the forthcoming Why White Kids Love Hip-Hop.

Contact Ken Heffner at 616-526-6064

-end-
Received on Tue Mar 2 11:24:00 2004