August 21, 2008

Convention Season

Posted by Rebecca McDonald at 9:52AM

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(This post originally appeared on Rock the Trail -- a project of Rock the Vote and WireTap)

After basking in the heated activity (and 100+ degree weather) of the third bi-annual 2008 National Hip Hop Political Convention in Las Vegas, I touched down back in the Sota and read my notes, processed through pictures and got down with of some of the most critical and thoughtful recaps and reflections:

Trials of a Hip Hop Educator: My Reflections on the 2008 National Hip Hop Political Convention

A Message to the Hip Hop Grassroots from Former Political Prisoner and Black Panther Dhoruba Bin-Wahad

Hip Hop and Academia: Where Do We Go From Here?

Anything is Possible: An Interview with Cynthia McKinney

Hip Hop & Electoral Politics: Are Hip Hop Organizations Wasting Their Time Or Are They Effective?

Movement or Fan Club?

The Green Party VP Candidate: “The Hip Hop Party Has To Go Green”

Find more videos like this on onefamspot

After ciphering and breaking bread with some of the most engaged solders (actually doing real work in the community) and greatest minds of our time, I walked away with more clarity about the importance of young people being politically engaged and the Hip Hop community’s power in this election. We all have a great responsibility. At the very least, we all have a responsibility to vote. More importantly, we MUST be politically active and engaged at the local level in our own ways.

Dr. Marc Lamont Hill, a professor of American Studies at Temple University, and political analyst for FOX News, passionately speaks about the war on young people going on right now, such the law in Flint, Michigan aiming to make sagging pants illegal, and the crucial role that young people are playing in this election. I asked him what young people can be doing right now to make a difference and to stay engaged. He quickly responds, (and if you have ever seen him on FOX News, he is quick with it!) “Whether it’s going to a school board meting, or maybe joining the school board, going into the schools to see what’s going on…demand something locally!…We have to do this work before and after the election.”

So what about Hip Hop? The question has been asked before, but really: can the hip hop generation make a difference in 2008?

The energy, enthusiasm and presence of the Hip Hop community in and around electoral politics will undoubtedly be carried over to both of the upcoming Republican and Democratic National Conventions in the next few weeks. At the DNC in Denver, N*E*R*D will be playing at Rock the Vote’s own Ballot Bash, Boots Riley of the Coup will be firing up the campers at Tent State, the Blue Scholars of Seattle will be throwing down at Cuernavaca Park, and will.i.am will again, be showing his support for Obama. At the RNC in St. Paul, Dead Prez, NAS, GZA, Mos Def, Rage Against the Machine, the Pharcyde, and the hometown talent of Atmosphere, I Self Devine, Tru Ruts, DJ K-Salaam and Indigo will put it down for the underground. Last but not least, Hip Hop activist Rosa Clemente, will be at both conventions, talking her incredible talk, but sure as hell walking the walk.

Of course, throwing a fist in the air, speaking of the revolution, and throwing on that revolutionary t-shirt is simply not enough. The Hip Hop community must hold itself accountable for its actions, just as we must hold elected officials accountable. We all have a huge responsibility in this election to make a difference- that responsibility is bigger than electoral politics, and it's bigger than Hip Hop. It's about action.

What are you doing in your community to create change? What are you doing to encourage sustainable engagement and provide tools for real change after November 4, 2008? I hope you are not putting all of your hope in one man, thinking that change will come overnight. Politics is not only a game, it is a process. It takes time, effort and alot of action on the ground at the grassroots level. So the next time you hear "Yes We Can" or "Si Se Puede," think about what you can be doing right now to make that change real.

Dead Prez asks us:

"You would rather have a Lexus or justice, a dream or some substance? A beamer, a necklace or freedom?”