Posted on 01/08/2004 10:00:07 PM PST by lewislynn
By WYATT BUCHANAN
Copyright 2004 Houston Chronicle
Political and hip-hop industry leaders are kicking off an effort to register 4 million new voters for the November general election at a "Hip Hop Summit" in Houston scheduled during Super Bowl week.
"There is a new movement. It is hip hop ... it is the civil rights movement of the 21st century," said U.S. Rep. Sheila Jackson Lee, D-Houston, among local political leaders and hip-hop artists announcing the event Thursday at Texas Southern University.
The event will draw top hip-hop artists such as Sean "P. Diddy" Combs, Busta Rhymes, Erykah Badu, Lil' Romeo and Master P and feature DefJam Records founder Russell Simmons, who also started the Hip Hop Summit Action Network.
Houston recording artist and six-time Grammy winner Beyoncé Knowles also is expected to attend the event.
The artists will not perform but instead lead discussions.
The goal of the nonpartisan summit and registration drive is to engage young people in the political process and show them the power of voting, organizers said.
Admission to the Jan. 31 summit is free, but attendees must register to vote to get a ticket. Organizers hope the summit, whose theme is "Taking Back Responsibility: Youth Economic and Political Empowerment," will draw 10,000.
The Houston summit will be followed by similar voter registration and community awareness drives in cities across the country throughout the year.
"Houston is emerging as a major international hub for hip-hop music and culture," said Benjamin Chavis, executive director of the Hip Hop Summit Action Network, a coalition of hip-hop artists and record company executives organizing the event. "We know what we do on that Saturday before the Super Bowl is going to have a long-term impact."
Organizers want the registration campaign to continue beyond the general election and hope to register 20 million new voters by 2008.
Houston was selected in December as the launch city for events in 2004 because of the high number of unregistered voters. Also, event organizers hope to draw some of the national media attention focusing on the Super Bowl, Chavis said.
"When they announced that the Super Bowl was coming to Houston they said there would be wide-ranging effects and wide-ranging impacts beyond football," said U.S. Rep. Chris Bell, D-Houston, who also attended the news conference. "Today we have proof-positive results that that's the case with the hip-hop summit."
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10,000 of them all right. And none of the worth a damn.
| Rank | Location | Receipts | Donors/Avg | Freepers/Avg | Monthlies | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 37 | Kansas | 155.00 |
5 |
31.00 |
159 |
0.97 |
90.00 |
5 |
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The artists will not perform but instead lead discussions.
"Houston is emerging as a major international hub for hip-hop music and culture," said Benjamin Chavis, executive director of the Hip Hop Summit Action Network, a coalition of hip-hop artists and record company executives organizing the event. "We know what we do on that Saturday before the Super Bowl is going to have a long-term impact."
"When they announced that the Super Bowl was coming to Houston they said there would be wide-ranging effects and wide-ranging impacts beyond football," said U.S. Rep. Chris Bell, D-Houston, who also attended the news conference. "Today we have proof-positive results that that's the case with the hip-hop summit."
This sounds important: any volunteers for a Freeper Booth at the hip-hop summit?
The focus of this election should be in getting conservatives motivated to the polls. Houston did lousy at getting any voters to decide the next mayor (in the runoff) and now we will likely have Mayor Bob-White for the next 6 years.
Only 50% of registered voters went to the polls in 2000. 0.52% more were certified as voting for Al Gore Jr. than for George W. Bush (many absentee ballots were never certified, and not just in Florida, because there were some states that weren't in contention).
The Democrats aren't interested in seeing more voters registered. They are interested in seeing more voters register in communities where they are already going door to door knocking (and dragging voters to the polls) 3 times at each door on election day. "I'm not registered" isn't a response that they want to hear.
*PING!*
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Would that be 10,000 "youths" that are currently locked up in Texas prisons? As in 10,000 convicted felons? Or better yet, 10,000 less-than-alive Democrats who are dying to vote?
End of story.
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Compelling speakers one and all, I'm sure.
"Pimps, gangstas, bitches and ho's...we must unite."
But they are interested in a name and address that WILL vote whether the resident leaves the house or not.
And why would that be?
Before I read this article, I also saw another article (highlighted on the SXSW headlines list) about Russell Simmons coordinating "non-partisan" voter registration drives. May want to post that article later (I'm heading to Austin soon to meet Roky Erickson of the 13th Floor Elevators).
Here is some FR posted background on Russell Simmons' "issues"
Russell Simmons, Hip-Hop Pioneer Was Just On Neil Cavuto's "Your World"
Anyone see this guy? What an ass. He think the viewpoint that Saddam's capture was a victory is "dangerous". He thinks the President rules by fear and anger and not "love". He's given money to every candidate in the 'rat race except Lieberman. Sharpton and Kucinich are great guys. He'll break his neck helping Howard Dean if Dean is the candidate. He's vowed to register millions of voters to defeat Bush.
HIP-HOP honcho Russell Simmons - a right-wing darling?
Not hardly, this article is more about how some NY democrats felt rejected when Simmons discussed limiting drug law with Gov. Pataki (R).
Russell Simmons Unites Anti-War Stars
Russell Simmons calls for Pepsi boycott
Non-partisan voter registration drive my ass. This is just so that they can form it as a tax free "non-profit" entity. Rats lie.
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