Celebrities Urge Black America to Vote Early

Angela Bassett, Kevin Eubanks, Brandy, and LisaRaye among the cast of NCBCP/AURN PSA’s urging African Americans to be first to vote in the upcoming election
ObbaLos Angeles, CA – In an effort to circumvent voter suppression tactics and confusion at the polls, award winning actress, Angela Bassett; Tonight Show bandleader, Kevin Eubanks; actress, LisaRaye McCoy Misick; and singer/actress, Brandy Norwood; are among the list of celebrities voicing public service announcements urging people to vote early or be first in line on Election Day. The joint initiative between American Urban Radio Networks (AURN) and the National Coalition on Black Civic Participation (NCBCP) marks the second phase of their nonpartisan radio campaign aimed at ensuring African Americans cast a ballot that counts on Election Day.

“We’ve already received numerous reports of possible voter suppression. It’s essential to get the word out to vote early or be first in line to avoid the drama on November 4th,” said Melanie L. Campbell, executive director and CEO, NCBCP. “AURN is the largest African American owned radio network company reaching 20 million listeners weekly. We appreciate AURN and all of the celebrities involved, their help ensures that the critical message to vote early will reach our target audience.”

Jerry Lopes, president of program operations and affiliations for AURN adds, “I am pleased to join hands with Unity ’08, a group of prestigious organizations working to protect the rights that our ancestor’s fought and died for. It was also a great opportunity to engage these celebrities and refreshing to see so many who wanted to help in the effort to protect our right to vote. I thank and applaud all of them for donating their time to this vital effort.”

LisaRayeTanya Hart, host of AURN’s “Hollywood Live” coordinated the Los Angeles effort. Other celebrities participating in the campaign include: recording artists, James Ingram, Earth, Wind and Fire’s, Verdine White, Siedah Garrett, Doc Powell and Take 6’s, David Thomas. From the big and little screens: Obba Babatunde, Ernest Harden Jr., Reginald Dorsey, Regina Taylor, Vanessa Bell Calloway, Rolanda Watts, Hattie Winston, LaTonya Richardson Jackson, TV game show host, Mark Walberg and from BET’s “Sunday Best,” Beth Payne. Ambassador Shabazz, the daughter of Malcolm X, Susan L. Taylor, editor-in-chief emeritus of Essence magazine, and political comedian, Shang, also participated in the campaign.

In addition to making an appeal for African Americans to be first to vote in this historic election, phase two of the PSA campaign encourages people to call the NCBCP’s Unity ’08 voter assistance hotline, 866-MYVOTE 1, to locate their polling place in advance. On the ground, NCBCP state coordinators are hosting get-out-the-vote rallies, monitoring the polls, and mobilizing voters in states where early voting has already started.

During the initial phase of the campaign AURN produced and distributed voter education PSA’s, while NCBCP representatives were on the ground in 18 states registering voters, hosting education forums, and making sure eligible voters verified their registration.

For more information about the NCBCP’s Unity ’08 campaign visit www.blackcampaign.org. To receive a copy of the PSA’s contact Lenore Williams at AURN at 412-456-4098 or via email lwilliams@aurn.com.

About the National Coalition on Black Civic Participation
Founded in 1976, the NCBCP (www.ncbcp.org) is a nonprofit, nonpartisan organization dedicated to increasing African American participation in civil society. Current initiatives include Operation Big Vote, Black Youth Vote!, Black Women’s Roundtable, and Voices of the Electorate and Unity ’08: The Black Campaign, a non-partisan civic engagement initiative designed to inoculate, motivate, and mobilize Black voters to participate in the 2008 election.

About American Urban Radio Networks
American Urban Radio Networks (www.aurn.com ) is the only African-American owned radio network company in the United States. It’s the largest network reaching Urban American with more than 20 million listeners each week. Through three programming networks and its marketing division, American Urban Radio Networks reach more African-Americans than any other medium in America and produce more programming than all other broadcasting companies combined.




2008 National Hip Hop Political Convention July 28th – August 3rd: Las Vegas NV

The 2008 Third Bi-Annual National Hip Hop Political Convention (NHHPC) will be held August 1-3, 2008 in Las Vegas, Nevada. The NHHPC is a gathering of social justice activists, organizers, students, journalist, scholars, artists and concerned citizens who come together to define the political agenda of the Hip Hop community.

On July 28-31, 2008, a pre-convention will be held called “The State of Hip Hop”, which will include a film festival, concerts, art exhibits, academic symposium and bboy/bgirl battles. Thousands are planning to come to Las Vegas to discuss the role of Hip Hop culture in political and social activism at the three-day convention from August 1-3, 2008 which will include workshops, trainings, celebrity guest speakers and concerts.

Confirmed Guests and Speakers for NHHPC 2008 include Byron Hurt, Asheru, Davey D, Rev. Lenox Yearwood, Boots Riley, Rosa Clemente, Camp Lo, Haiku D’Tat, Jeff Chang, Gamblers Crew, Knucklehead Zoo, Popmaster Fabel, Rebel Diaz, The Welfare Poets, Supernatural and more to be announced.

The NHHPC has a network of local organizing committees around the United States that are working on the 2008 NHHPC. “This political convention is the biggest gathering of young activists, mostly urban youth of color, who are often ignored and overlooked when policy is developed. What do these young people care about? What is their position on the education system, the criminal justice system, or even on access to adequate healthcare? If policy makers feel these young people do not care about these issues then they should pay more attention to what happens at the 2008 National Hip Hop Political Convention.”, says Troy Nkrumah the NHHPC 2008 Convention Chairperson.

To register for the convention or to find out about sponsorship opportunities, please visit NHHPC.org/08.

2008 NHHPC
LINKS

Register Now
Schedule
Beyond Styles
2008 NHHPC
Purpose
History
Pre-Convention
Lodging
Las Vegas NHHPC LOC

Contact info@nhhpc.org

Venues include:

University of Nevada, Las Vegas (UNLV)
4505 S. Maryland Pkwy
Las Vegas NV 89154

Alexis Park Resort
375 E. Harmon Ave
Las Vegas, NV 89169

2008 NHHPC
Essay Contest
Applicants will write an essay telling how Hip Hop has had a positive influence on their lives. The essay is to be 750 1000 words. Random essays will be used for subjects of future blogs on the IAMHIPHOP4VER Myspace page.

Submit essays to iamhiphop4ever@
gmail.com.

Applicant must have an active myspace.com account. and submit name, address, MySpace url and phone number. The applicant must reside in the United States. The winner will receive a flight, hotel accommodations and entry into the National Hip Hop Political Convention 2008.

National Hip Hop Political Convention 2008 Official Myspace:

myspace.com/nhhpc08

NHHPC MISSION
STATEMENT
Challenged by the silent majority of nonvoters and the influences of Hip Hop, the National Hip
Hop Political Convention (NHHPC) is a project of the National Black United Fund, a non-profit
501c3 organization.

The NHHPC is dedicated to the political, educational, and organizational
empowerment of all disenfranchised individuals, groups and local communities throughout the
nation.

The NHHPC collaborates with national and international partners to increase grassroots
activism and civic participation.

July 30: Beyond Styles: The State of Hip Hop

July 30: Beyond Styles

Wed., July 30: BEYOND STYLES @ The State of Hip Hop
B-Boy/B-Girl Battles, Dance Exhibition, Workshops +

10am-4pm: BEYOND STYLES SUMMIT
Open to the public. Free! All Ages. Workshops, panels, training and 2 on 2 preliminaries. Discussions include: The History and Evolution of Street Dance and Hip Hop Culture, Commercialization and Exploitation of Street Dance Culture, Making a Career Out of Dance, Promoting Events, Marketing and Promoting Your Crew and much more.

7pm-10pm: BEYOND STYLES BBOY/BGIRL BATTLE + EXHIBITIONS
All ages. 2 on 2 bboy/bgirl battle for $800 cash! Exhibition battle: Knucklehead Zoo (Las Vegas) vs. Gamblers Crew (South Korea). Host: Popmaster Fabel of the legendary Rock Steady Crew. Performance by Supernatural, Freestyle World Record Holder. Locking, Popping, Krumping, Hyphy exhibitions. $20 in advance. $25 at the door. Purchase tickets now at nhhpc.org/styles
Thursday, July 31st

HIP HOP ACADEMICS SYMPOSIUM
10am-4pm. FREE! Open to the public! A day long academic conference with panels, workshops and presentations addressing several issues, including the incorporation of Hip Hop elements and culture as a learning tool in grade school, Hip Hop related courses on the College and University level, Hip Hop research related degrees. Confirmed panelists include: Jeff Chang, Marc Lamont Hill, Ph.D, Karine Stanford, Ph.D., Jadiam Wilson and Roderic R. Land, Ph.D and more to be announced. Location: UNLV Campus/Student Union. Host: Hip Hop Think Tank Academic Journal

ART OF INDEPENDENCE CONFERENCE
10am-5pm FREE! Open to the public. One day conference will highlight the benefits and explore the struggles around being independent of mainstream corporate America. This independence has been the bloodline of Hip Hop culture. Starting from within the music recording and moving into every other area of Hip Hop entrepreneurship. Hip Hop has impact the independent development of clothing lines, marketing and promotional companies, artist management, urban schooling, cd distribution, journalism, film, radio, custom car accessorizing, and just about any other area that can be thought of. The AIC conference will consist of panel discussions, workshops and trainings around all of these industries and much more. Location: UNLV Campus and Alexis Park Resort. Host: Bay Area Local Organizing Committee (BayLOC). Performances: TBA

INDEPENDENT ARTIST SHOWCASE & CONCERT
8pm-1am. $5 presale, $10 at the door. Featuring some of the best independent artists from around the country. Organized and hosted by the Bay Area Local Organizing Committee (BayLOC) of the NHHPC.

August 1 – 3: 2008 National Hip Hop Political Convention

Three days of Panels, Workshops, Trainings, Films, Caucusing, Networking and Movement Building.

The National Hip Hop Political Convention is a bi-annual gathering of youth, scholars, artists, professionals and activists, who seek to bring a voice to, expand democracy, educate and mobilize under-represented communities to build progressive social change using the influence of Hip Hop as a medium. The Convention seeks to develop a community free of misogyny, violence, disease/infections, and seeks to influence the values, life practices and creative expression of young people. The Convention works to build a solid constituency that will work towards building a more just and fair society.

Convention activities will include conferences, entertainment, cross-cultural
exchanges, workshops, film screenings, and exhibitions to address the issues and concerns affecting Hip Hop Culture and the Hip Hop Generation. Special invited guests include professionals, elders from the Civil Rights Movement, nationally known artists, elected political figures, as well and internationally renowned writers and scholars.

For more information about the 2008 National Hip Hop Political Convention activities, please visit the NHHPC website for updates: www.nhhpc.org/08.

2008 NHHPC: National Partners, Participating Organizations and Conference Presenters include Ruckus Society (Oakland), Fathers For the Future (Chicago), I Am Hip Hop I Am Health (Virginia), One Hood (Pittsburgh), Malcolm X Grassroots Movement (National), Peoples Hurricane Relief Fund (New Orleans), Hip Hop Sustains/Soul Survivors (NYC), Hip Hop Media Lab (Boston), Hip Hop Caucus (Washington DC), Color of Change (SF Bay Area/National), Ella Baker Center of Human Rights (Oakland), INCITE (National), Critical Resistance (National), Black Radical Congress (National), Cop Watch (Phoenix) ACLU (Nevada, NYC, Texas, CA), New Orleans Worker Center for Racial Justice (New Orleans), Safe Streets Strong Communities (New Orleans), Survivors Village (New Orleans), League of Young Voters (National), Hip Hop Think Tank (Los Angeles), G.A.M.E. (NYC), Universal Zulu Nation, Temple of Hip Hop, Knucklehead Zoo (Las Vegas), Iraq War Veterans Against the War (National), United Students Against Sweatshops (National), Student Labor Action Project (National), Progressive Majority (National), The Network of Spiritual Progressives (Berkeley), YES! Magazine, The AVE Magazine (NYC), Future 5000 (National), Hard Knock Radio (Berkeley), ANKH Marketing (San Francisco), Tools of War (NYC) and many many more!

nhhpc.org/08/Convprogrm.html