Hip Hop Caucus
Encyclopedia
The Hip Hop Caucus is a national, non-profit organization
in the United States, which aims to promote political activism for young U.S. voters using hip-hop music and culture.
The group's programs are intended to promote social and political equality in the areas of economics
, education
, health care
, housing
, the environment
and social justice
. The group is a member of the Black Leadership Forum and the Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights.
Rev. Lennox Yearwood
Jr., President & CEO of the Hip Hop Caucus is a former co-creator of P. Diddy's "Vote or Die" campaign of 2004. In 2003 and 2004 he was the Political and Grassroots Director for Russell Simmons
' Hip Hop Summit Action Network, as well as a Senior Consultant to Jay Z's Citizen Change
"Voice Your Choice" campaign.
.
In 2008, the Hip Hop Caucus and the hip hop artist T.I.
launched the "Respect My Vote" youth voting campaign. There was a higher number of young voters at the 2008 election, subsequent to higher turnout seen in 2004 and 2006. Analysis of the 2008 electorate showed that while overall numbers of voters did not increase as dramatically as expected, the composition of the electorate was notably different, with increased participation seen among minority youth voters, the Hip Hop Caucus' target dempgraphic.
.
activism, for which the Hip Hop Caucus created "Green the City" and "Green the Block" campaigns. Events have included the "Hip Hop Caucus Clean Energy Now Tour", with the Alliance for Climate Protection
and the "Historically Black College and University Tour" with the National Wildlife Federation
. This campaign is aimed at promoting activism for sustainable energy
in low-income communities of color.
The campaign, which was launched at the White House
on President Barack Obama
's birthday (August 4, 2009), aims to educate and encourage people to take better care of the environment.
Green the Block has helped organize over 100 community service projects in cities around the U.S. including Memphis, Tennessee
, Oakland, California
, Washington, D.C.
, and Miami.
The campaign hosted a 16-city "Campus Consciousness Tour" featuring hip-hop artist Drake
to encourage college students to join sustainable energy efforts.
mayors and city residents to promote activism for sustainable enerty.
June 28–30, 2010 the Hip Hop Caucus Education Fund and the National Conference of Black Mayors hosted the "Green the City Advocacy Summit" that brought 25 mayors to Washington, DC, to attend a "Green the City" campaign and to meet with members of the United States Congress
, Obama administration officials, and heads of the United States Environmental Protection Agency
to advocate for sustainable energy in the U.S.
march in Gretna, Louisiana
to protest the alleged racial profiling
of survivors. The march attracted 150 participants, including many displaced residents. As a result of this effort, police officers were convicted of denying human rights to African-American families displaced by Hurricane Katrina.
, Mississippi
, and Alabama
. Rev. Yearwood and the Hip Hop Caucus organized partnerships with national and grassroots organizations to advocate for the rights of Hurricane Katrina survivors.
After public mobilization, two marches in Washington, DC, testimony to Congress and other work by the group, the Federal Emergency Management Agency
ceased preemptive temporary housing evictions of Katrina Survivors. To continue addressing the issue of displaced citizens in New Orleans and Iraq, due to the war the "We Care" concert was organized with Amnesty International
.
In 2005 the Institute for Policy Studies
awarded the Hip Hop Caucus their Letelier-Moffitt Human Rights Award
for the Gulf Coast Renewal Campaign, an annual award given by the Institute for Policy Studies to those helping to advance human rights.
at McDonogh No. 35 Senior High School
in New Orleans, LA. Hip-Hop artists and community activists gathered with youth, parents and other citizens, aiming to address the issue of gun violence
in the city. Panelists included rappers Doug E. Fresh
, Slim Thug
and many local rappers, along with President Kenneth Barnes Sr. of ROOT Inc. (Reaching Out to Others Together), community activist Ronald Coleman, and Councilmen James Carter. Audience members and panelists discussed possible steps to be taken to put an end to the violence in the streets of New Orleans.
s. On November 17, 2007, the Hip Hop Caucus organized a rally called "Enough is Enough, Stop Police Brutality and Hate Crimes" on the National Mall
in Washington, D.C. This rally aimed to bring attention to the cases of Sean Bell, Megan Williams
, Martin Lee Anderson, Deonte Rawlings and other young African-American victims of alleged police brutality and hate crimes.
, intended to inform young people about the war in Afghanistan
and the Iraq War, and to encourage them to speak out against war. This campaign also worked to lobby Congress to stop funding the war in Iraq. The "Make Hip-Hop Not War" campaign received the Walter E. Fauntroy No FEAR
Institute Award on May 14, 2008 for its efforts to speak out against the government and war-supporting institutions.
(June 19, 2007), in order to symbolically link the emancipation of slaves in the U.S. and the current situation at Guantanamo Bay.
that claimed the lives of hundreds of thousands of people, the Hip Hop Caucus created HipHopHelpHaiti.org, a network aimed at helping people to take action in response to the crisis. The 500 member online network is updated periodically and provides information on people can be involved and provide assistance to the Haitian population.
Non-profit organization
Nonprofit organization is neither a legal nor technical definition but generally refers to an organization that uses surplus revenues to achieve its goals, rather than distributing them as profit or dividends...
in the United States, which aims to promote political activism for young U.S. voters using hip-hop music and culture.
The group's programs are intended to promote social and political equality in the areas of economics
Economics
Economics is the social science that analyzes the production, distribution, and consumption of goods and services. The term economics comes from the Ancient Greek from + , hence "rules of the house"...
, education
Education
Education in its broadest, general sense is the means through which the aims and habits of a group of people lives on from one generation to the next. Generally, it occurs through any experience that has a formative effect on the way one thinks, feels, or acts...
, health care
Health care
Health care is the diagnosis, treatment, and prevention of disease, illness, injury, and other physical and mental impairments in humans. Health care is delivered by practitioners in medicine, chiropractic, dentistry, nursing, pharmacy, allied health, and other care providers...
, housing
House
A house is a building or structure that has the ability to be occupied for dwelling by human beings or other creatures. The term house includes many kinds of different dwellings ranging from rudimentary huts of nomadic tribes to free standing individual structures...
, the environment
Natural environment
The natural environment encompasses all living and non-living things occurring naturally on Earth or some region thereof. It is an environment that encompasses the interaction of all living species....
and social justice
Social justice
Social justice generally refers to the idea of creating a society or institution that is based on the principles of equality and solidarity, that understands and values human rights, and that recognizes the dignity of every human being. The term and modern concept of "social justice" was coined by...
. The group is a member of the Black Leadership Forum and the Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights.
Rev. Lennox Yearwood
Lennox Yearwood
Lennox Yearwood, Jr., is a minister, community activist, and one of the most influential people in Hip Hop political life.He currently serves as President of the Hip Hop Caucus in Washington, D.C. The Hip Hop Caucus is a national, nonprofit, nonpartisan, organization that engages young people in...
Jr., President & CEO of the Hip Hop Caucus is a former co-creator of P. Diddy's "Vote or Die" campaign of 2004. In 2003 and 2004 he was the Political and Grassroots Director for Russell Simmons
Russell Simmons
-External links:** * * * * * * from the US Holocaust Memorial Museum* *...
' Hip Hop Summit Action Network, as well as a Senior Consultant to Jay Z's Citizen Change
Citizen Change
Citizen Change is a political service group, founded by music mogul P. Diddy, and backed by Mary J. Blige, Mariah Carey and 50 Cent. The stated aim was to get young people to vote....
"Voice Your Choice" campaign.
Respect My Vote
Respect My Vote! is a voter mobilization campaign that aims to educate, register and mobilize young people of color between the ages of 18-39 who live in urban communities, do not attend college, people with felony records who are unaware of their voting rights, and students at historically black colleges and universitiesHistorically Black Colleges and Universities
Historically black colleges and universities are institutions of higher education in the United States that were established before 1964 with the intention of serving the black community....
.
In 2008, the Hip Hop Caucus and the hip hop artist T.I.
T.I.
Clifford Joseph Harris, Jr. , better known by his stage name T.I., is an American rap artist, film and music producer, actor and author. He is also the founder and co-chief executive officer of Grand Hustle Records....
launched the "Respect My Vote" youth voting campaign. There was a higher number of young voters at the 2008 election, subsequent to higher turnout seen in 2004 and 2006. Analysis of the 2008 electorate showed that while overall numbers of voters did not increase as dramatically as expected, the composition of the electorate was notably different, with increased participation seen among minority youth voters, the Hip Hop Caucus' target dempgraphic.
One Vote Day
The Hip Hop Caucus' Respect My Vote! Campaign, along with Radio Oneregistered more than 30,000 voters during its national “One Vote Day” voter registration drive on September 30, 2008. Sixteen cities across the country participated in events aimed at mass voter registration. Radio One stations broadcasted live from central locations in each of the participating cities urging unregistered voters to attend their local registration site to register onsite. Artists such as Nelly and Raheem DeVaughn helped draw large crowds to registration stations, allowing Hip Hop Caucus volunteers to register voters.Respect My Vote! National Bus Tour
During the 2008 general elections The Respect My Vote! campaign traveled to 20 cities on the “Respect My Vote! Get Out The Vote Bus Tour” to encourage voting by distributing pledge cards and having celebrities discuss the value of voting. The tour included the largest ever Get Out the Vote Rally at Florida A&M UniversityFlorida A&M University
Florida Agricultural and Mechanical University, commonly known as Florida A&M or FAMU, is a historically black university located in Tallahassee, Florida, United States, the state capital, and is one of eleven member institutions of the State University System of Florida...
.
Green 2 Live
Green 2 Live aims to raise awareness within low-income communities of color about what they believe to be the impacts of climate change on their communities, and train leaders in sustainable energySustainable energy
Sustainable energy is the provision of energy that meets the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their needs. Sustainable energy sources include all renewable energy sources, such as hydroelectricity, solar energy, wind energy, wave power, geothermal...
activism, for which the Hip Hop Caucus created "Green the City" and "Green the Block" campaigns. Events have included the "Hip Hop Caucus Clean Energy Now Tour", with the Alliance for Climate Protection
Alliance for Climate Protection
The Alliance for Climate Protection was founded in 2006 by Nobel laureate and former United States Vice President Al Gore. The Alliance is a nonprofit, nonpartisan organization committed to educating the global community about the urgency of implementing comprehensive solutions to the climate crisis...
and the "Historically Black College and University Tour" with the National Wildlife Federation
National Wildlife Federation
The National Wildlife Federation is the United States' largest private, nonprofit conservation education and advocacy organization, with over four million members and supporters, and 48 state and territorial affiliated organizations...
Green the Block
"Green the Block" is a national campaign and coalition created by the Hip Hop Caucus and Green For AllGreen For All
Green for All is an NGO in the United States "working to build an inclusive green economy strong enough to lift people out of poverty." Based in Oakland, California, Green For All advocates for a clean energy economy as a solution to both environmental and economic problems. Phaedra Ellis-Lamkins...
. This campaign is aimed at promoting activism for sustainable energy
Sustainable energy
Sustainable energy is the provision of energy that meets the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their needs. Sustainable energy sources include all renewable energy sources, such as hydroelectricity, solar energy, wind energy, wave power, geothermal...
in low-income communities of color.
The campaign, which was launched at the White House
White House
The White House is the official residence and principal workplace of the president of the United States. Located at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue NW in Washington, D.C., the house was designed by Irish-born James Hoban, and built between 1792 and 1800 of white-painted Aquia sandstone in the Neoclassical...
on President Barack Obama
Barack Obama
Barack Hussein Obama II is the 44th and current President of the United States. He is the first African American to hold the office. Obama previously served as a United States Senator from Illinois, from January 2005 until he resigned following his victory in the 2008 presidential election.Born in...
's birthday (August 4, 2009), aims to educate and encourage people to take better care of the environment.
Green the Block has helped organize over 100 community service projects in cities around the U.S. including Memphis, Tennessee
Memphis, Tennessee
Memphis is a city in the southwestern corner of the U.S. state of Tennessee, and the county seat of Shelby County. The city is located on the 4th Chickasaw Bluff, south of the confluence of the Wolf and Mississippi rivers....
, Oakland, California
Oakland, California
Oakland is a major West Coast port city on San Francisco Bay in the U.S. state of California. It is the eighth-largest city in the state with a 2010 population of 390,724...
, Washington, D.C.
Washington, D.C.
Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly referred to as Washington, "the District", or simply D.C., is the capital of the United States. On July 16, 1790, the United States Congress approved the creation of a permanent national capital as permitted by the U.S. Constitution....
, and Miami.
The campaign hosted a 16-city "Campus Consciousness Tour" featuring hip-hop artist Drake
Drake (entertainer)
Aubrey Drake Graham , who records under the mononym Drake, is a Canadian recording artist and actor. He originally became known for playing Jimmy Brooks on the television series Degrassi: The Next Generation....
to encourage college students to join sustainable energy efforts.
Green the City
Launched in 2010 as a joint campaign between the National Conference of Black Mayors and the Hip Hop Caucus Education Fund, Green the City works with African AmericanAfrican American
African Americans are citizens or residents of the United States who have at least partial ancestry from any of the native populations of Sub-Saharan Africa and are the direct descendants of enslaved Africans within the boundaries of the present United States...
mayors and city residents to promote activism for sustainable enerty.
June 28–30, 2010 the Hip Hop Caucus Education Fund and the National Conference of Black Mayors hosted the "Green the City Advocacy Summit" that brought 25 mayors to Washington, DC, to attend a "Green the City" campaign and to meet with members of the United States Congress
United States Congress
The United States Congress is the bicameral legislature of the federal government of the United States, consisting of the Senate and the House of Representatives. The Congress meets in the United States Capitol in Washington, D.C....
, Obama administration officials, and heads of the United States Environmental Protection Agency
United States Environmental Protection Agency
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency is an agency of the federal government of the United States charged with protecting human health and the environment, by writing and enforcing regulations based on laws passed by Congress...
to advocate for sustainable energy in the U.S.
March on Gretna
On November 7, 2005, Rev. Yearwood led the first post-Hurricane KatrinaHurricane Katrina
Hurricane Katrina of the 2005 Atlantic hurricane season was a powerful Atlantic hurricane. It is the costliest natural disaster, as well as one of the five deadliest hurricanes, in the history of the United States. Among recorded Atlantic hurricanes, it was the sixth strongest overall...
march in Gretna, Louisiana
Gretna, Louisiana
The city of Gretna is the parish seat of Jefferson Parish, in the US state of Louisiana. Gretna is on the west bank of the Mississippi River, just east and across the river from uptown New Orleans. It is part of the New Orleans–Metairie–Kenner Metropolitan Statistical Area...
to protest the alleged racial profiling
Racial profiling
Racial profiling refers to the use of an individual’s race or ethnicity by law enforcement personnel as a key factor in deciding whether to engage in enforcement...
of survivors. The march attracted 150 participants, including many displaced residents. As a result of this effort, police officers were convicted of denying human rights to African-American families displaced by Hurricane Katrina.
Gulf Coast Renewal
The Hip Hop Caucus implemented the Gulf Coast Renewal campaign after the disaster of Hurricane Katrina. The campaign focused on the affected areas of the Gulf Coast including LouisianaLouisiana
Louisiana is a state located in the southern region of the United States of America. Its capital is Baton Rouge and largest city is New Orleans. Louisiana is the only state in the U.S. with political subdivisions termed parishes, which are local governments equivalent to counties...
, Mississippi
Mississippi
Mississippi is a U.S. state located in the Southern United States. Jackson is the state capital and largest city. The name of the state derives from the Mississippi River, which flows along its western boundary, whose name comes from the Ojibwe word misi-ziibi...
, and Alabama
Alabama
Alabama is a state located in the southeastern region of the United States. It is bordered by Tennessee to the north, Georgia to the east, Florida and the Gulf of Mexico to the south, and Mississippi to the west. Alabama ranks 30th in total land area and ranks second in the size of its inland...
. Rev. Yearwood and the Hip Hop Caucus organized partnerships with national and grassroots organizations to advocate for the rights of Hurricane Katrina survivors.
After public mobilization, two marches in Washington, DC, testimony to Congress and other work by the group, the Federal Emergency Management Agency
Federal Emergency Management Agency
The Federal Emergency Management Agency is an agency of the United States Department of Homeland Security, initially created by Presidential Reorganization Plan No. 1 of 1978 and implemented by two Executive Orders...
ceased preemptive temporary housing evictions of Katrina Survivors. To continue addressing the issue of displaced citizens in New Orleans and Iraq, due to the war the "We Care" concert was organized with Amnesty International
Amnesty International
Amnesty International is an international non-governmental organisation whose stated mission is "to conduct research and generate action to prevent and end grave abuses of human rights, and to demand justice for those whose rights have been violated."Following a publication of Peter Benenson's...
.
In 2005 the Institute for Policy Studies
Institute for Policy Studies
Institute for Policy Studies is a left-wing think tank based in Washington, D.C..It has been directed by John Cavanagh since 1998- History :...
awarded the Hip Hop Caucus their Letelier-Moffitt Human Rights Award
Letelier-Moffitt Human Rights Award
The Letelier-Moffitt Human Rights Award is awarded annually by the Washington, D.C.-based Institute for Policy Studies. It is awarded to those advancing the cause of human rights in the Americas. The Letelier-Moffitt Human Rights Award commemorates Orlando Letelier and Ronni Moffitt, who in 1976...
for the Gulf Coast Renewal Campaign, an annual award given by the Institute for Policy Studies to those helping to advance human rights.
Stop the Violence in New Orleans
Fifteen months after Hurricane Katrina, the Hip Hop Caucus hosted the "Stop the Violence" town hall meetingTown hall meeting
A town hall meeting is an American English term given to an informal public meeting. Everybody in a town community is invited to attend, not always to voice their opinions, but to hear the responses from public figures and elected officials about shared subjects of interest. Attendees rarely voted...
at McDonogh No. 35 Senior High School
McDonogh No. 35 Senior High School
McDonogh No. 35 Senior High School was the first high school for African-American pupils in the city of New Orleans, Louisiana. Prior to 1917, during the era of segregated school systems in the Southern US, no public high school existed in New Orleans for African-American pupils...
in New Orleans, LA. Hip-Hop artists and community activists gathered with youth, parents and other citizens, aiming to address the issue of gun violence
Gun violence in the United States
Gun violence in the United States is an intensely debated political issue in the United States. Gun-related violence is most common in poor urban areas and in conjunction with gang violence, often involving juveniles or young adults...
in the city. Panelists included rappers Doug E. Fresh
Doug E. Fresh
Douglas E. Davis , better known by the stage name Doug E. Fresh, is an American rapper, record producer, and beat boxer, also known as the Human Beat Box...
, Slim Thug
Slim Thug
Stayve Jerome Thomas , better known as Slim Thug, Boss Hogg or Thug Boss, is an American rapper. He gained mainstream attention for his contribution to the popular single from rapper Mike Jones, "Still Tippin'"....
and many local rappers, along with President Kenneth Barnes Sr. of ROOT Inc. (Reaching Out to Others Together), community activist Ronald Coleman, and Councilmen James Carter. Audience members and panelists discussed possible steps to be taken to put an end to the violence in the streets of New Orleans.
Enough is Enough
In 2007, the Hip Hop Caucus began to address the issues of violence, alleged police brutality, and hate crimeHate crime
In crime and law, hate crimes occur when a perpetrator targets a victim because of his or her perceived membership in a certain social group, usually defined by racial group, religion, sexual orientation, disability, class, ethnicity, nationality, age, gender, gender identity, social status or...
s. On November 17, 2007, the Hip Hop Caucus organized a rally called "Enough is Enough, Stop Police Brutality and Hate Crimes" on the National Mall
National Mall
The National Mall is an open-area national park in downtown Washington, D.C., the capital of the United States. The National Mall is a unit of the National Park Service , and is administered by the National Mall and Memorial Parks unit...
in Washington, D.C. This rally aimed to bring attention to the cases of Sean Bell, Megan Williams
Megan Williams case
The Megan Williams case involves a 20-year-old African American woman from West Virginia who originally claimed that she was kidnapped, raped and tortured in an allegedly racist attack by six white residents from Logan County, three of whom are women, in August 2007...
, Martin Lee Anderson, Deonte Rawlings and other young African-American victims of alleged police brutality and hate crimes.
Make Hip-Hop Not War
The Hip Hop Caucus launched the "Make Hip-Hop Not War" campaign in 2007 aiming to promote activism in the anti-war movement for young people. The Hip Hop Caucus along with hip-hop artists and Iraq War veterans, campaigned in 16 cities through a national bus tour. The tour consisted of rallies and round table discussionsRound table (discussion)
Round table is a form of academic discussion. Participants agree on a specific topic to discuss and debate. Each person is given equal right to participate, because of the circular layout usually used in round table discussions....
, intended to inform young people about the war in Afghanistan
War in Afghanistan (2001–present)
The War in Afghanistan began on October 7, 2001, as the armed forces of the United States of America, the United Kingdom, Australia, and the Afghan United Front launched Operation Enduring Freedom...
and the Iraq War, and to encourage them to speak out against war. This campaign also worked to lobby Congress to stop funding the war in Iraq. The "Make Hip-Hop Not War" campaign received the Walter E. Fauntroy No FEAR
No-FEAR Act
The Notification and Federal Employee Antidiscrimination and Retaliation Act of 2002 is a United States federal law that seeks to discourage federal managers and supervisors from engaging in unlawful discrimination and retaliation...
Institute Award on May 14, 2008 for its efforts to speak out against the government and war-supporting institutions.
Shut it Down, Stop the Torture
Hip Hop Caucus and Amnesty International organized the "Shut It Down, Stop the Torture" event in Washington, D.C. to advocate the closure of the U.S. Guantánamo Bay detention camp in Cuba. The informational briefing and concert was intended to raise awareness on human rights and the events that took place at Guantanamo Bay. The event was held on JuneteenthJuneteenth
Juneteenth, also known as Freedom Day or Emancipation Day, is a holiday in the United States honoring African American heritage by commemorating the announcement of the abolition of slavery in the U.S. State of Texas in 1865...
(June 19, 2007), in order to symbolically link the emancipation of slaves in the U.S. and the current situation at Guantanamo Bay.
Hip-Hop Help Haiti
After the 2010 Haiti earthquake2010 Haiti earthquake
The 2010 Haiti earthquake was a catastrophic magnitude 7.0 Mw earthquake, with an epicentre near the town of Léogâne, approximately west of Port-au-Prince, Haiti's capital. The earthquake occurred at 16:53 local time on Tuesday, 12 January 2010.By 24 January, at least 52 aftershocks...
that claimed the lives of hundreds of thousands of people, the Hip Hop Caucus created HipHopHelpHaiti.org, a network aimed at helping people to take action in response to the crisis. The 500 member online network is updated periodically and provides information on people can be involved and provide assistance to the Haitian population.