Plugged In Cleveland

Panel Discussion featuring Byron Hurt, Tracy Sharpley-Whiting, Joan Morgan, and Mark Anthony Neal. Moderated by Bakari Kitwana April 18th, 7pm, Strosacker Auditorium Throughout the last several years of its 30 year existence, hip-hop has revealed itself as a national cultural movement centered around hip-hop arts that often lends itself to larger role of community development. Much of this movement is local and lacks formal connections at a national level. Hence at times even though many local young activists and artists are helping to forge new directions without a language or framework for revealing the national implications of this, it remains hidden from national view and its impact is minimized. The hip-hop cultural movement is forging a new dialogue around race. However this too exists for the most part in isolated pockets around the country. A national tour of community dialogues on race and hip-hop will bring national attention to the ways this generation is processing race in radically different ways than previous generations of Americans. The dialogues also hope to provide young people involved with hip-hop arts and activism a new language and framework for thinking through the emerging racial politics of our time and thereby assist greater community building. The community centers that often facilitated local discussion in previous eras have been caught up in changing demographics and economies. Community dialogues hopes to serve as a "virtual community center" where we'll debate issues of vital concern to the hip-hop generation. The purpose of the dialogues is to assist community building and social change by helping to evolve new frameworks for thinking through the crises of our time. This year, we're taking on the question, "Does Hip-Hop Hate Women?" This year's Project on Men and Gender is co-sponsored by Case Western Reserve University's University Program Board, Greek Life, Baker-Nord Center for the Humanities, Undergraduate Student Government, Office of Student Affairs, and the Spot, Cleveland State University's Black Studies Department, the Cleveland area Men's Violence Prevention Task Force, the Community Technology Foundation of California, and Campus Progress.

http://www.pluggedincleveland.com/events/14413/rap-sessions-does-hip-hop-hate-women.html