April is National Poetry Month, and the Hip Hop Caucus is in the midst of a “Hip Hop Is Poetry” multimedia and social media project. HHC is releasing videos from renowned poets to showcase the contributions of poetry to hip hop culture and social and political movements throughout history. At HipHopCaucus.org/poetry you'll find videos of original pieces being performed by poets such as the legendary Nikki Giovanni and Charlotte's award-winning poet Boris "Bluz" Rogers.
Charlotte poet Bluz at dupp&swat.
Hip Hop Caucus-Charlotte Leadership Committee member Jameka Whitten organized a video shoot a few weeks ago for Bluz at dupp&swat boutique/studio in NoDa. In the video below, Bluz delivers a riveting four-and-a-half-minute poem about the many facets of hip hop culture and life's struggles. "I understand that life on the block, meets life in the block cell lot. Where prison bars produce convicts that spit 16 bars. 'Who's hard?' Not me," he rhymes.
Early voting has begun in North Carolina, kicking off today (October 18) and running through November 3. So you don't have to wait until Election Day (Tuesday, November 6) to vote. If you have already decided which candidates/political parties you're voting for, then hop to it. If you're still undecided (I hope you're not waiting on the final presidential debate next week), then educate yourself.
Earn this sticker.
Whether it's through my work as a journalist or blogger, or my involvement in the community--such as when I helped coordinate three nonpartisan voter registration events last month in Charlotte (here, here, and here) through the Hip Hop Caucus and its Respect My Vote! campaign--you'll never hear/read me telling you who to vote for (my only goal is to help you become more informed and more involved). I leave the persuasion up to the billion dollars that's being spent on television and radio ads by the political parties, to the tens of thousands of volunteers across the country who are going door to door for the campaigns, and to whichever partisan cable news station you watch--FOX News or MSNBC.
Actually, I hope you're cutting through all that clutter and not only deciding to vote, but understanding who and what you're voting for. Every four years, the presidential election becomes the hot topic that dominates far too many facets of our lives (my example in 2008), but when you show up to the polls, aside from going in to vote for either Obama or Romney, you'll also see races for state senators and representatives, local judges, county commissioners, and other important elections on the ballot. Some of the races are non-partisan, so even if you vote straight-party ticket, there will be other candidates you'll need to decide between. Don't go in there guessing.
If you aren't registered to vote, even though the voter registration deadline has passed in North Carolina, in this state you can still vote at what's known as a One-Stop Voting Site, where you can register to vote and cast your vote the same day during the early voting period. So you can do that now through November 3 (but not on Election Day unless you're already registered). Click here for more details and here to search for the nearest One-Stop Voting Site in your county.
Watch this BET video of the making of a Respect My Vote! PSA, featuring Rev. Lennox Yearwood Jr. (president of the Hip Hop Caucus) and hip hop artists 2 Chainz and Travis Porter. (FYI: Ads that run before the video are because of BET and not the nonpartisan Respect My Vote! campaign.)
Enjoy the slideshow I created from Saturday's E Pluribus UnumOpening Reception with Respect My Vote, using Storify (click here) and incorporating tweets, posts, and photos from Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram by several of the event's attendees. And there's a YouTube video I captured of Quentin "Q" Talley's spoken word.
As you might've seen me talk about before, I'm a member of the Hip Hop Caucus Charlotte Leadership Committee (HHC has leadership committees in 14 cities around the country). Through that involvement I'm helping organize an event this Saturday in partnership with UNC Charlotte Center City. It should be a great time, and you should come out. See details below.
E Pluribus Unum Opening Reception with Respect My Vote! Saturday, September 15, 6-10 p.m. | UNC Charlotte Center City, 320 E. 9th St. Free and open to the public.
E Pluribus Unum, Latin for “out of many, one,” is the title of an exciting new art exhibit at UNC Charlotte Center City that explores the experience of pluralism in America, conveying the concept that diverse traditions, perspectives, and philosophies add value to the whole. UNC Charlotte has partnered with the Hip Hop Caucus’ Respect My Vote! initiative to host an interactive Opening Reception on Saturday, September 15 at 6 p.m. at UNC Charlotte Center City (320 E. 9th Street), free and open to the public.
The evening will feature performances by Mike from Day 26, Bettie Grind, and Mr. 704, along with spoken word by Quentin "Q" Talley in front of a melting ice sculpture depicting the Middle Class. A live digital lounge will be set up for attendees to discuss E Pluribus Unum pieces, enabling them to post messages and images to Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram, using the #RespectMyVote and #EPluribus hashtags. A photo booth by Favors in a Flash will allow guests to take home complimentary photo keepsakes. Plus, complimentary wine and farm-to-fork cuisine provided by Harvest Moon Grille will be served during the first two hours of the evening.
E Pluribus Unum, presented by the College of Arts + Architecture and located at UNC Charlotte Center City, is a gathering of different cultures and expressions, including works by Michael Murphy of Georgia; the collaborative team Nora Ligorano and Marshall Reese of New York; historical artists Arthur Mole and John Thomas; and Charlotte-based artists Barbara Schreiber, Grant Baldwin, Carrie Gault, and Jason Michel.
The Hip Hop Caucus is hosting a Respect My Vote! Town Hall 2 p.m. today at Charlotte School of Law. It's sure to be a packed house, with the number of tickets distributed greatly surpassing the venue's capacity (seating will be on a first come, first served basis). But whether or not you're planning to come out today, you can watch the event live at www.livestream.com/hiphopcaucus, 2 p.m. to 5 p.m. I'll actually be producing the live stream (I'm on the Hip Hop Caucus Charlotte Leadership Committee). And better yet, Black Entertainment Television (BET) will be taping the event, with plans to air portions of it on 106 & Park.
This nonpartisan town hall event will highlight the concerns of young voters in preparation for this fall's election. Rev. Lennox Yearwood Jr., president and CEO of the Hip Hop Caucus, will moderate, and speakers include: Barbara Arnwine, president and executive director of the Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights Under Law; Kevin Powell, nationally renowned activist, writer, and speaker; Big Mike, recording artist of the group Day 26; and Carrie Cook, local community activist and founder of the Youth EmpowHERment Summit. The event will be hosted by Nolimit Larry of Power 98, and Charlotte-based artists Bettie Grind and Mr. 704, along with A. Dot of Power 98, will host the live stream, in addition to spoken word poet Bluz delivering a performance. Celebrity guests are also expected to attend.
The Hip Hop Caucus Charlotte Leadership Committee is holding a volunteer training session for the 2012 Respect My Vote! campaign this Saturday, June 16, 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. at the Urban League of Central Carolinas (740 W. Fifth St.). This is your opportunity to get involved in the community and have a positive impact on voter turnout in this fall's election.
The Hip Hop Caucus is a national nonprofit organization, based in Washington D.C., and Respect My Vote! is its nonpartisan voter registration, mobilization, and education campaign targeting young people between the ages of 18 and 40, supported by a national coalition of two dozen organizations as well as leadership committees in cities like Charlotte, Raleigh-Durham, Atlanta, Miami, Chicago, and more. It doesn't matter what political party you support, whether you lean left or right, if you value the importance of voting and educating yourself on candidates and policies, then you should register to be a volunteer to help spread that message to others. Respect My Vote! isn't about telling people who to vote for, but to encourage them to vote and helping them to register--millions of people don't exercise this important constitutional right, especially young adults.
The Hip Hop Caucus Charlotte will hold some exciting and informative community events in the coming months (some hosted by celebrities) that you can be part of the planning for. Click here to sign up for Saturday's volunteer training. I hope to see you there.
The Hip Hop Caucus' Charlotte Leadership Committee is engaging the community in a social media campaign today to bring awareness to protecting voting rights and the importance of registering to vote. If you're on Twitter, please follow hashtags #RespectMyVote and #Selma and tweet your support (even if you don't have a Twitter account you can click on the links and read what's being said). You can also read about the effort in an article published today by Qcitymetro.com.
The Hip Hop Caucus is a national nonprofit organization, based in Washington D.C. and led by Rev. Lennox Yearwood Jr., with more than 650,000 supporters across all 50 states. Respect My Vote is its nonpartisan voter registration, mobilization, and education campaign targeting young people between the ages of 18 and 40. In regards to the Selma hashtag, today, March 7, is the anniversary of the 1965 Selma to Montgomery March, also known as Bloody Sunday, when several hundred voting rights activists and Civil Rights leaders attempted a 54-mile march but were met with force and brutality by the police. The efforts of these brave souls, however, would help lead to the Voting Rights Act of 1965.
Honoring important historical events such as this isn't about opening old wounds or harping on our country's ugly past of race relations. Instead it's about reminding young people today not to take our liberties, freedoms, and rights for granted because people literally died for them. In regards to voting rights in particular, we should both understand the importance of voting and educate ourselves on who and what we're voting for: North Carolina's Primary is May 8; get Charlotte/Mecklenburg County info here.
Also, on this week's episode of 282, one of our guests is Rod Garvin, member of the Hip Hop Caucus Charlotte Leadership Committee. He talks about honoring the Selma event and details the national 2012 Respect My Vote campaign that's launching April 4. (In the episode we also talk about the Mecklenburg County Board of Commissioners upcoming vacant three at-large seats with guest Amanda Raymond from the League of Women Voters. But it isn't all politics this week--we also feature John Morgan, who's leading an effort to replace the Bobcats name and bring the Hornets mascot back to Charlotte's NBA team).
In coming weeks, I'll provide more details on how you can get involved with the Respect My Vote campaign in Charlotte.
