Will the Hip Hop Generation Have an Impact on the 2008 election?

A diverse group of artists,academic and analysts will gather at the University of Chicago on April 5 for "The Hip-Hop Generation: Race, Gender & the Vote" conference.

The conference, which is scheduled from 1 to 4 p.m. at the University's Ida Noyes Hall (1212 E. 59th Street) will engage participants in a wide-range of topics, including the media representation of hip-hop and politics,youth voter mobilization, and new forms of political participation.The conference will specifically examine the role of several national hip-hop organizations in the 2008 campaign, such as the Hip Hop Congress and the Hip-Hop Summit Action Network, a voter registration effort created by Russell Simmons, producer of Def Jam Recordings and the Phat Farm clothing line.

The event is free and open to the public.

Panelists include, organizer Bakari Kitwana, a former editor of The Source magazine,author of The Hip-Hop Generation and Why White Kids Love Hip-Hop,and the 2007-2008 Artist-in-Residence in the University's Center for the Study of Race, Politics and Culture; rapper M1 (aka Mutulu Olugbala), one half of dead prez, the political rap group; Maya Rockeymoore, a former chief of staff to Congressman Charles Rangel (D-N.Y.) and author of The Political Action Handbook: A How-to Guide for the Hip Hop Generation; Hyde Park native William Upski Wimsatt, co-founder of The League of Pissed Off Voters and co-editor of How to Get Stupid White Men Out of Office; and Trinity College professor Vijay Prashad, author of The Darker Nations: A People's History of the Third World.

For more information on "The Hip-Hop Generation: Race, Gender & the Vote," which is being sponsored by several organizations, including the Race Center, the Center for Gender Studies, the Public Square at the Illinois Humanities Council and Kitwana's Rap Sessions, please visit: http://csrpc.uchicago.edu/ [1] or www.rapsessions.org [2].