PROGRAMS

About the Program

Exhibits

Education

Film Series

Hip-Hop, Activism, and Social Change

"I see it in the youth, hungry for fame and money
Not for knowledge and pursuit of the truth
Pick up a book or a newspaper
Take a free class in politics or human behavior
We need to stop actin victimized, it's like we're day-walkin blind
Open your eyes, there's a whole world out there"
Jean Grae, MC


BOOKS

Can't Stop Won't Stop: A History of the Hip-Hop Generation
by Jeff Chang (St. Martin's Press, 2005)
**Winner of the 2005 American Book Award***

Stand and Deliver: Political Activism, Leadership, and Hip Hop Culture
by Yvonne Bynoe (Soft Skull Press, 2004)

No More Prisons: Urban Life, Homeschooling, Hip-Hop Leadership, the Cool Rich Kids Movement, A Hitchhiker's Guide to Community Organizing, and Why Philanthropy is the Greatest Art Form of the 21st Century
by William Upski Wimsatt (Soft Skull Press, 1998)

The New H.N.I.C. (Head Niggas in Charge): The Death of Civil Rights and the Reign of Hip Hop by Todd Boyd (New York University Press, 2003)

How to Get Stupid White Men Out of Office: The Anti-Politics, Un-Boring Guide to Power by William Upski Wimsatt (Soft Skull Press, 2003)

All the Power : Revolution Without Illusion by Mark Andersen (Punk Planet Books, 2004)


"You would rather have a Lexus? Or justice?
A Dream? Or some substance?
A Beamer? A necklace? Or Freedom?" Stic.man, MC (Dead Prez)

ARTICLES

"William Upski Wimsatt: Cool Rich Kid/Pissed off Voter (Part I)"
By Gordon Gartrelle for Dork Magazine

"Hip-Hop Activism: Will They Come to Vote?"
by Don Hazen, from AlterNet, 5/26/2004

"Younger activists use music to get out the vote: Concerts, recordings, Weblogs appeal to youth to get off sidelines"
by Michael E. Ross (MSNBC), 2/24/2004

"'Constant Elevation: The Rise of Bay Area Hip-Hop Activism"
by Jeff Chang (monograph)

"Impeach the President"
by Jeff Chang for San Jose Metro, 10/27/2004.

"The Civil Rights Movement in Review: The 1990s Political Emergence of Hip-Hop Nation"
by Lisa Sullivan, for Listen, Inc.

"Mobilizing the Hip-Hop Generation" by Jesse Alejandro Cottrell, for WireTap, 4/24/2003


""People treat Hip Hop like an isolated phenomenon. They don't treat it as a continuum, a history or legacy. And it really is. And like all mediums or movements, it came out of a need." Mos Def, MC, actor

FILMS

Ammo for the Info Warrior (2002), produced by GNN: Guerilla News Network

Hip Hop: A Culture of Influence (1999), produced by Educational Video Center and Youth Organizers Television


"This is rebellion music, not gangsta music." KRS-One, MC, activist

INTERVIEWS

Adrienne Maree Brown

Saul Williams interviewed by Jeff Chang

Yvonne Bynoe

-

Rep. Barbara Lee interviewed by Davey D

Mos Def

Harry Allen (audio)


"There are certain clear economic disadvantages that are the direct result of the American apartheid system. If we don't address that, it's going to continue to prey on a large segment of society and support the belief that people harbor about cultural inferiority." Sarah Jones, writer, actor
Websites & Organizations

Can't Stop Won't Stop: Jeff Chang's highly content-driven, timely and insightful blog site. News, updates and links on hip-hop generation activism.

Davey D's Hip Hop Corner: Homies Unidos is a non-profit gang violence prevention and intervention organization with projects in San Salvador, El Salvador and Los Angeles, California. The organization was founded in 1996 in San Salvador and formally began organizing in the United States in 1997.

LISTEN: Local Initiative Support Training and Education Network (LISTEN) was founded in October 1998 as a response to our nation's failure to recognize and invest in an emerging generation of indigenous leaders, especially in poor urban communities of color. The impetus for starting this new organization is deeply rooted in the realities of post-civil rights, post-industrial America.

The 21st Century Youth Leadership Movement: The mission of the 21st Century Youth Leadership Movement is to inspire, assist, organize and develop, young people of all ages, in and out of school, to be skilled community focused leaders, resiliently and creatively empowering themselves and their communities to affect positive change now and in the 21st Century.

The League of Pissed-Off Voters: The League of PISSED OFF Voters, cofounded by activist William Upski Wimsatt, is doing national voter-organizing out of New York City with a mission to "engage pissed off 17-35 year olds in the democratic process to build a progressive governing majority in our lifetime."

Hip Hop Political Convention: A National Gathering of the Hip-Hop generation to vote on, adopt and endorse a political agenda for the Hip Hop Generation, scheduled for May 2006 and calling for radical change in the areas of Education, Economic Justice, Criminal Justice, Health and Human Rights.

Hip Hop Congress: The Hip Hop Congress uses the culture of Hip Hop to inspire young people to get involved in social action, civic service, and cultural creativity. Hip Hop Congress is the product of a merger of artists and students, music and community. It is significant because it provides one of few paths for highly creative and often disenfranchised youth where they can channel their energy into a strong and organized force aimed at improving their community.

Hip Hop Summit Action Network: The Hip-Hop Summit Action Network (HSAN) is dedicated to harnessing the cultural relevance of Hip-Hop music to serve as a catalyst for education advocacy and other societal concerns fundamental to the well-being of at-risk youth throughout the United States.

RESOURCES

Hip-Hop in a Global Context

Hip-Hop, Activism, and Social Change

Hip-Hop, Gender, and Sexuality

Graffiti: Free Expression, Public Space, and the Commons

Change Methods' Playlist: Global Hip-Hop

PROGRAMS

Hip-Hop, Arts, and Activism: What's the Connection?