(AllHipHop News) In the past several months, America’s “Occupy Wall Street” movement has expanded golobally, and now, into specific sectors and communities, such as the homeless and the disenfranchised Hip-Hop communities. At Occupy demonstrations, the so-called “The 99%” have been vocal about the unfair corporate and government policies they say have yielded mass joblessness and poverty, along with inadequate healthcare and education.
Within the Hip-Hop community, artists and pundits have joined the conversation, with many taking to New York City’s Wall Street in recent months to show their solidarity with everyday citizens. Russell Simmons, Kanye West, and Lupe Fiasco are just a few of the celebrities who have joined the cause.
Later this week, longtime civil and human rights leader, Rev. Jesse Jackson, will show his support by hosting “Occupy Hip Hop New York,” a discussion that will bring together a “Power Panel” from the music, broadcast, and education sectors for what leaders are calling “a Conversation, a Pledge, and a Plan.”
“All that we have gained in recent years has been attacked,” Rev. Jackson told AllHipHop.com in an exclusive, pre-event interview. “We have to protect ourselves from the tyranny of the majority.”
The January 26 event is part of Rev. Jackson’s 15th Annual Rainbow PUSH Wall Street Project Economic Summit, and includes speakers such as author/Georgetown University scholar Michael Eric Dyson; Hip-Hop journalists and pundits, Chuck Creekmur of AllHipHop.com and Davey D, rapper Master P, politician/activist Adam Clayton Powell IV, and others. There will also be musical performances and workshops throughout the overall three-day summit.
With regards to the Hip-Hop community’s seeming lack of enthusiasm for voting in the 2012 Election, Rev. Jackson said, “To not vote in 2012 is to vote for [Newt] Gingrich, [Mitt] Romney, or someone else who has no regard for civil rights, and no commitment to us.
“When we vote, things tend to come out right,” he added. “No one cares enough to put air in our ball now. Dr. King’s last act on earth was to ‘occupy’ on behalf of the workers he was speaking out for. Now, we need to ‘occupy the streets’ for access to education, healthcare, and more…we have big work to do.”
Check out the flyer below for more information about this week’s 15th Annual Rainbow PUSH Wall Street Project Economic Summit, or visit www.wsphiphop.eventbrite.com.
