Hip Hop Caucus
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The Hip-Hop Caucus (H2C) is a unique coalition of hip-hop artists, advocacy groups, labor unions, youth leadership organizations and individuals who believe in the collective power of hip-hop and persons born after 1964. The Hip Hop Caucus is committed to youth empowerment as defined by increases in civic awareness and participation.
The Hip-Hop Caucus, a 501(c)4 non-profit organization, was established to provide a comprehensive agenda for the Hip-Hop community both domestically and abroad. The Caucus’ programs promote social and political equality in the areas of Economics, Education, Health Care, Housing, the Environment and Social Justice.
Rev. Lennox Yearwood Jr. is President & CEO of the Hip-Hop Caucus.He is a former co-creator of P. Diddy's landmark Vote or Die campaign of 2000. In 2003 and 2004 he was the Political and Grassroots Director for Russell Simmons' Hip Hop Summit Action Network in 2003 and 2004, as well as a Senior Consultant to Jay Z's Citizen Change "Voice Your Choice" campaign.
Get out the vote bus tours and other efforts led by Yearwood, Russell Simmons and artists like P. Diddy aimed to empower and their message was heard loud and clear. The 2004 election marked an important political precipice. The younger generation, too often portrayed as apathetic by the media and perceived as insignificant by politicians, stepped up to the plate in unexpected numbers and delivered a vote that forced politicians to rethink their strategies. [1] According to the Center for Information and Research on Civic Learning and Engagement (CIRCLE), 4.6 million more young people cast votes than in 2000.[2] Much of this increase was attributed to a jump in young minority voters. In particular, the turnout rate for young African Americans was 11% higher in 2004 than in 2000.[3]
In 2008, Rev. Yearwood and the Hip Hop Caucus joined forces with hip hop artist T.I. to launch the "Respect My Vote" campaign seeking to add more to the growing momentum[4] of the youth movement. The campaign gained media attention from outlets as diverse as Vogue and The Hill. Respect My Vote successfully empowered and delivered more young voters from the hip-hop community, building on gains seen in 2004 and 2006.[5] Kick-off parties were held across multiple cities and many other celebrities and leading activists came out to help T.I. spread the word to hip hop communities across the nation. 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 once again seen among minority youth voters.[6]
[edit] References
- ^ http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/07/15/AR2006071500685.html
- ^ CIRCLE 2004 data release: http://www.civicyouth.org/PopUps/Release_Turnout2004.pdf
- ^ CIRCLE Report: "Electoral Engagement Among Minority Youth" http://www.civicyouth.org/PopUps/FactSheets/FS_04_Minority_vote.pdf
- ^ http://futuremajority.com/node/1099
- ^ http://www.civicyouth.org/PopUps/FactSheets/FS07_QuickFacts_Midterm_06/metro_07.pdf
- ^ http://projectvote.org/fileadmin/ProjectVote/Blog_docs/Demographics_of_Voters_in_the_2008_Election.pdf
[edit] External references
- Hip Hop Caucus Official Website
- Rev. Lennox Yearwood's Myspace Account
- Grieving Calif mother's war protest gains momentum in Crawford August 10, 2005
- Hip-Hop Caucus Supreme Justice National Bus Tour August 12, 2005
- [ http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/07/29/AR2008072900026.html "Civic Responsibility Set to T.I.'s Hip-Hop Beat," {[The Washington Post]]. Tuesday, July 29, 2008.]
- [ ESPN "Getting Out the Vote" http://sports.espn.go.com/espn/print?id=3621257&type=story]
- [ Newsweek "The Audacity of Hip Hop" http://www.newsweek.com/id/160832]
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