Hip-hop nation

A spokesman for the new generation of African-Americans says hip-hop can ignite a fresh wave of black activism -- but first the civil rights veterans have to get out of the way.

By Suzy Hansen

Jul 10, 2002 | Some young black activists complain that the media marginalizes the good things about hip-hop, choosing to focus on the often misogynistic lyrics, flashy and violent music videos and gangsta image of its stars rather than its more socially conscious messages. But when Russell Simmons' Hip-Hop Summit Action Network helped the United Federation of Teachers and the Alliance for Quality Education draw thousands of people (the estimates range between 50,000 and 100,000) to a recent protest against New York Mayor Mike Bloomberg's $358 million cut in education funding, the press took notice. Stars such as Sean "P. Diddy" Combs, Alicia Keys and LL Cool J showed up to support the cause. A couple of weeks later, a Washington Post headline declared: "We the Peeps: After Three Decades Chillin' in the Hood, Hip Hop Is Finding Its Voice Politically."

Mayor Bloomberg took notice, too; shortly after the demonstration, he restored $298 million to his budget proposal. The Hip-Hop Summit Action Network declared victory. Has a hip-hop power movement arrived?

Not quite, says Bakari Kitwana, author of "The Hip Hop Generation: Young Blacks and the Crisis in African-American Culture." A former editor at The Source, Kitwana argues that although the hip-hop industry has created a far-reaching constituency, and local and student activist hip-hop groups have emerged across the country, there's still a lot of work to do. Kitwana believes that what he calls the hip-hop generation -- made up of African-Americans born between the years 1965 and 1984 -- desperately needs a national organization, and not necessarily one that's spearheaded by rap stars or entertainment moguls. According to Kitwana, such a national group, one that taps into the vast economic power of the hip-hop industry and that focuses on education, employment and incarceration, could be more influential than the '60s civil rights movement.

Salon spoke to Kitwana from his home in Ohio about the tensions between the civil rights generation and the hip-hop generation, why hip-hop stars need to take responsibility for the content of their lyrics and what kind of leader the hip-hop generation needs.

What was your reaction to the New York City protest? The Hip-Hop Summit Action Network had all these stars show up -- Erykah Badu, Foxy Brown, Rah Digga, Common, Noreaga. They brought in the crowds. Is this the start of a hip-hop political movement, and what part will the stars play?

It was meaningful in the sense that it's an important issue. But the important thing about this marriage of hip-hop and politics is not going to be rappers becoming political leaders. What was misleading about the protest was that it undermined the long haul movement of the teacher's federation who have been working on this. It also undermines the political work that the activists in our generation have done.

That's what the articles in the Washington Post and other papers are missing -- the activists that make up this generation. We are immersed in a celebrity culture and when the celebrities show up, it eclipses the importance of the work of the activists. [The press] is getting caught up in the idea that rappers have a role to play. They have a role to play, but they're not leaders.

Russell Simmons, who founded the Hip-Hop Summit Action Network, was quoted in the Associated Press as saying that rappers are the voice of the poor. What do you think of that statement?

That's true to a great extent. Poor black people, especially young blacks of this generation, have not had a voice until the emergence of rap. If you can get past pimps and hos, hip-hop conveys the message of poor people not having jobs and having inadequate education. Most certainly you saw it more during the time of Public Enemy and the Poor Righteous Teachers. Today, it exists with groups like Common. And it does exist in the lyrics of Jay-Z -- but that other message of pimps and hos is overshadowing that.

Do you think the protest was a success?

The fact that the administration turned its position so quickly after the protest makes it seem as though the protest was the turning point. I don't think that's true. It would have been more of a success if it was a long-term protest. And it's misleading to kids. If they think they can show up one day to bring about social change, then they are sadly mistaken. One rally does not a revolution make.

And you think a hip-hop movement could be bigger than the civil rights movement?

Absolutely. For two reasons: One, this generation stands on the success of the civil rights movement. We don't have to fight for the right to vote, for the right to be able to go to college. We can take that foundation and build on it. Hip-hop as an economic force and as a cultural movement has given us foot soldiers. They exist already. This infrastructure gives us unprecedented power. All it needs is a national organization to connect the dots. But so far, they're being blinded by the stars.

The civil rights movement was a giant step in race relations. There hasn't been one since then. This could be a giant step for the country at large, not just for race relations, but for civil rights for all people -- because it's focusing on issues like education and employment. You have a great segment of this country that is not middle class, even though that's what America is supposedly about.

When you talk about the civil rights movement as compared to this one, obviously you have to wonder who the leader will be. If it's not a hip-hop star, and not Russell Simmons, who might it be? What about Benjamin Chavis Muhammad, president of the Hip-Hop Summit Action Network?

A hip-hop generation organization, if it's going to have any lasting impact, has to have leaders born in this generation. Ben Muhammad is a civil rights generation leader. He of all people knows that this generation needs to immerse itself in a movement -- at some point there has to be a changing of the guard. Most of our criticism of the older generation is that they're not making room at the table. The Hip-Hop Summit Action Network has to make the transition too. Dr. Ben has been an important voice, and he still has a role to play, but they have to give way to the generation that they're purporting to lead.

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