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Hip-Hop Summit Action Network President and CEO Dr. Benjamin Chavis will participate in the Iowa Brown & Black Presidential Forum, which will feature all eight Democratic Presidential candidates.

The Iowa Brown & Black Presidential Forum is recognized as the oldest, continuous minority forum for presidential candidates in America and was established in 1984.

The two-hour forum will be broadcast live on December 1 on HDNet and will be moderated by Michele Norris, host of the popular National Public Radio show “All Things Considered” and PBS’s Ray Suarez.

In addition to Dr. Chavis, other panel members include Dr. Juan Andrade Jr., President of US Hispanic Leadership Institute, Angel F. Gonzalez Irizarry Vice Chair for State of Iowa’s Commission of Latino Affairs, and Adrien K. Wing, Professor of Law, University of Iowa.

“The Brown & Black Presidential Forum represents the important opportunity for the perspectives of African Americans and Latino Americans to be addressed by candidates seeking to be the next president of the United States,” Dr. Chavis told AllHipHop.com in a statement. “Keep in mind, Hip-Hop is, today, a global cultural phenomenon that was first born amongst blacks and Latinos in the South Bronx, New York forty years ago. Thus, 2008 will be the year that blacks and Latinos will be more involved than ever before in determining the outcome of the presidential election.”

The forum comes at an important time in the electoral process, as it is one of the last debates before Iowa voters head to caucus on January 3.

HDNet’s live coverage will begin at 7:30 pm ET (4:30 pm PT) with a preview show hosted by Dan Rather, Global Correspondent for HDNet’s “Dan Rather Reports.”