Hip-hop political activists at Fairfield University | Press Releases

A national tour that is led by hip hop political activists who focus on hip-hop, youth civic participation and the 2008 Presidential Campaign, will stop at Fairfield University's John A. Barone Campus Center on Wednesday, March 12 at 8 p.m. Fairfield is the only stop on the East Coast, other than Boston, for the third annual national discussion tour. Admission is free.

Scheduled to be at Fairfield are hip-hop activist Rosa Clemente, a member of the Malcolm X Grassroots Movement, Black August and The Hip-Hop Caucus; long-time political organizer Angela Woodson, co-chair of the first-ever National Hip-Hop Political Convention in 2004 and director of Faith-based Initiatives for the Ohio Governor's Office; and hip-hop artist M-1, one half of the innovative hip-hop duo dead prez.

The moderator for the panel will be Bakari Kitwana, the executive director of Rap Sessions and the author of "The Hip-Hop Generation," who says, "The 2008 Presidential
Election is the most important election of this generation's lifetime." The goal of the tour, he says, "is to educate youth on their civic rights and responsibilities, and equally important, to help young voters understand ways to place their issues on the national agenda."

Kitwana adds, "The hip-hop voting bloc will be a defining factor in 2008. We want to be sure that our young people are informed on exactly what's at stake for the hip-hop
generation and not be lulled to sleep by the hype of gender, race or simply voting for voting's sake."

This event is being sponsored by the Office of Student Diversity Programs, Office of Residence Life, Office of Student Activities and Facilities, and the College of Arts and Sciences.

For more information, please call Meredith Marquez, assistant director of Student Diversity Programs, (203) 254-4000, ext. 2751.