Dead prez rapper M1 will be among the panelists on hand for a series of townhall meetings addressing the Hip-Hop generation’s stake in the 2008 presidential election.
Presented by Rap Sessions, the third annual national discussion tour will kick off in March and feature a diverse panel of leading Hip-Hop activists, artists and youth politics experts that will visit 10 cities across the United States.
The panelists will discuss ways Hip-Hop generation voters can organize to have an impact on this year’s election with youth and community leaders.
The event, according to Rap Sessions executive director Bakari Kitwana, is designed to inform young voters on the presidential candidates and important issues as well as “educate youth on their civic rights and responsibilities, and, equally important, to help young voters understand ways to place their issues on the national agenda.”
“The 2008 Presidential election is the most important election of this generation’s lifetime,” he said.
In addition to M1, panelists will include BET personality and author Jeff Johnson, Hip-Hop political organizer Angela Woodson, public policy analyst Dr. Maya Rockeymoore, League of Young Voters co-founder Billy Wimsatt and Hip-Hop activist Rosa Clemente.
With the record young voter turnout in caucuses and primaries in Iowa, New Hampshire and across the United States as well as groundbreaking turn-outs in 2004, Kitwana believes the time is right for Hip-Hop generation voters to have a major say in who will sit in the White House.
“The Hip-Hop voting bloc will be a defining factor in 2008, said Kitwana, who will also serve as moderator of the townhall discussions.
“We want to be sure that our young people are informed on exactly what’s at stake for the Hip-Hop generation and not be lulled to sleep by the hype of gender, race or simply voting for voting’s sake,” Kitwana added.
The following is a list of dates for the third annual Rap Sessions national discussion tour:
March 11 Boston, MA March 12 Fairfield, CT March 25 Bethlehem, PA April 3 San Francisco, CA April 5 Chicago, IL April 8 San Luis Obispo, CA April 9 Los Angeles, CA April 18 Milwaukee, WI April 19 Madison, WI April 29 Marquette, MI
