Slim Thug, BG Participating in Stop the Violence Hip-Hop Caucus

Houston, Texas-based lyricist Slim Thug is the latest artist scheduled to take part in a Stop the Violence Hip-Hop caucus in New Orleans.The event, hosted by the Hip-Hop Caucus Institute (HHCi), will take place Friday (Nov. 24) and include a dialogue and strategy session to find a solution for the growing violence in neighborhoods populated […]

Houston,

Texas-based lyricist Slim Thug is the latest artist scheduled to take part in

a Stop the Violence Hip-Hop caucus in New Orleans.The

event, hosted by the Hip-Hop Caucus Institute (HHCi), will take place Friday (Nov.

24) and include a dialogue and strategy session to find a solution for the growing

violence in neighborhoods populated with survivors of Hurricane Katrina.The

HHCi is a nonprofit, nonpartisan organization dedicated to strengthening social

movements with independent research, visionary thinking and links to the grassroots,

the Hip-Hop community, scholars and elected officials.In

addition to Slim Thug, survivors will interact with city officials, community

activists, legal advocates and civil rights leaders in a Hip-Hop Town Hall meeting.

Other

celebrities expected to attend include BG, Mia X, Joe Blakk, Head-Roc, DJ Jubilee,

Sess 4-5, Fifth Ward Weebie, and L.O.G. as well as invited artists David Banner,

Remy Ma, Doug E. Fresh, Paul Wall and Juvenile.The

event comes in light of a tragic milestone for New Orleans, which reached its

100th homicide of the year in September. In addition to an increasing

homicide rate, the city has seen an increase in suicides, depression, substance

abuse, and domestic violence."Tragically,

violence is igniting among youth, many of whom find themselves shut out of the

rebuilding process," said the Rev. Lennox Yearwood Jr., HHCi president. "The

increase in violence, which has emerged as a result of despair and desperation,

has been intensified by the failure of the government to adequately and comprehensively

provide access to education, employment, or even hope of a positive future for

young people."Leadership

among youth affected by Katrina will be encouraged at the gathering as a catalyst

towards setting examples for young people in other troubled urban communities.

The

Caucus will also address the national issue of violence in urban communities in

hopes of developing a national youth coalition to advocate for peace and justice

in cities throughout the U.S.Doors

open at noon for the event. The town hall meeting will be 1 to 5 p.m. at the Anirtak

Theater (formally the State Palace), 1108 Canal Street New Orleans.