For nearly an entire week, the Chris Brown/Rihanna alleged abuse incident has dominated major news media headlines. Unfortunately, these sensationalized reports did less to elucidate the national epidemic of violence against women and more to cement into our national psyche the idea that the new face of domestic abuse is young, Black and hip-hop. Instead of accepting sole responsibility for one of America's most neglected pathologies, young Americans should turn this tragedy into an opportunity.
Inthe last two election cycles, hip-hop led the way in making involvement in national elections fashionable among youth. Hip-hop political organizers could do the same in extending that influence into the arena of public policy with the goal of establishing an innovative solution to abuse that shifts the way the nation thinks about its treatment of women....
For the rest, Log on to http://www.huffingtonpost.com/bakari-kitwana/a-hip-hop-response-to-chr_b_177011.html
1 comment:
As a woman Hip Hop artist, and political organizer, this got me to thinking about the issue, the Women in Hip Hop surge, and whether or not this is evidence that such a campaign could be effective.
Hip Hop needed its woman’s movement, and the last few years have been a blast. We needed our voices heard. We wrote books, dropped albums, made documentaries, launched initiatives, built youth programs, nonprofit organizations, conferences, shows, support networks, and Hip Hop Association even declared 2008 the “Year of the Woman in Hip Hop.” It was inspiring. I don’t know how many records or books it sold or how many careers it launched, but I know we all got a little more press. I also know that programs were funded, stipends were dished out by universities, and all of a sudden, everyone wanted a token woman in Hip Hop at their fund raising dinner. I also know that women who were the most active in their communities realized there was a whole network of sisters doing just the same all across the world, all because of this “Women in Hip Hop” spotlight. Was it self-empowering? Yes it was. Did this at all have an impact on domestic violence numbers? I’m guessing not at all.
Please check the rest of my problem with DV and Women in Hip Hop trend at Sheepskin Camo, my blog Thanks for posting.
Post a Comment