Hip Hop Speak Out w M1 and REACHip-Hop
| Hip Hop Speak Out w M1 and REACHip-Hop |
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| Written by Rosa Clemente and M1 ID3078 |
| Thursday, 19 October 2006 00:01 |
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Join R.E.A.C.Hip-Hop (Representing Education, Activism and Community through Hip Hop) and M1, of Hip Hop group dead prez, on Thursday, October 19th, 2006 at 6 pm for a Town Hall Meeting/Public Hearing on Diversity and Ownership of the Media with FCC Commissioners Michael Copps and Jonathan Adelstein, community leaders, media representatives and concerned citizens, at The Kaye Playhouse at Hunter College in Manhattan. Join us as we speak out and provide testimony to the FCC on behalf of our members and the greater Hip Hop community. This is an occasion to show solidarity and represent real Hip Hop culture and music. We will focus on ownership as opposed to reform. The FCC should be granting licenses for new Hip Hop radio stations. We need it! We should already have it! We need to demand it! We go there to claim our space within the larger Media Reform/Justice Movement that claims to be left and progressive but in essence excludes people of color and Hip Hop from the conversation and the planning of activities. We are fed up with the payola induced chokehold that corporate radio giants Emmis Communications and Clear Channel have on our public airwaves. We demand the inclusion of artists whose music would bring a balance to Hip Hop radio from pioneering DJs and Emcees from the 70s, through the decades, to today's underground and unsigned hit makers and beat makers. No one should have to pay for play! We will no longer tolerate the racist, sexist and heartless comments made over the last 18 months by shock jock style morning show hosts. Be there Thursday! Turn off the radio! Demand what is your right! Free Hip Hop music from greedy corporations who have little care as to what poison they broadcast into our communities and into the ears of our youth! This meeting is sponsored by the National Hispanic Media Coalition/National Latino Media Council, the National Association of Hispanic Journalists and the National Institute for Latino Policy and in partnership with Free Press, a national public policy group. R.E.A.C.Hip-Hop acknowledges the elected officials such as Councilman Charles Baron (East New York), Councilwomen Yvette Clarke (Flatbush), Councilman John Liu (Queens), and Assemblyman Ruben Diaz (Bronx) for doing the right thing. Sincerely Rosa Clemente, Spokesperson for R.E.A.C.Hip-Hop & M1 of dead prez Join R.E.A.C.Hip-Hop and M1 at The Town Hall Meeting on Diversity and Ownership of the Media Thursday, Oct. 19th, 2006 at 6 pm at The Kaye Playhouse at Hunter College atEast 68th St. (between Park and Lexington) New York City. As a show of solidarity and unity, R.E.A.C.Hip-Hop is asking everyone coming under the banner of Hip Hop culture to wear something red. Directions: Take the 6 Train to 68th/Hunter College or the F train to the 63rd Street/Lexington Ave. Present Your 2 Minute Testimony! Make your voice heard on issues of ownership, localism and diversity in the media. Prepare a two minute testimony to read at the event on how these issues effect your organization, constituencies and your communities. M1's Lyrics from "Turn Off The Radio" by dead prez "What's on the radio, propoganda, mind control And turnin it on is like puttin on a blindfold Cuz when you bringin the real you don''t get ro-tation Unless you take over the station. And yeah I know it's part of they plans To make us think it's all about party and dancin And yo it might sound good when you spittin your rap But in reality, don''t nobody live like that." "Platinum don''t mean that it gotta be hot. I ain''t gotta love it, even if they play it a lot. You can hear it when you walk the streets, How many people they reach, how they use music to teach. A "radio program" ain''t a figure of speech. Don''t sleep, cuz you could be a radio freak." BACKGROUND Last week, the FCC began a series of public hearings on media ownership that covers issues of localism, diversity and ownership caps. This is a revisiting of a controversial issue stalled by the Third Circuit Court of Appeals in the Prometheus v. FCC ruling of 2004. Many feel that lifting ownership caps will result in greater concentration of media ownership, the loss of local owners and a decline in minority ownership. Critics point to Clear Channel as an example of what happens when ownership limits are removed, Clear Channel now controls over 1400 radio stations and most provide little or no local content. More recently it was revealed that past FCC studies on local ownership were ''buried'' by the previous FCC chair, Michael Power, when the results contradicted his position on the loosening the rules. Los Angeles hosted the first two meetings on October 3rd and hundreds of concerned citizens and media professionals attended and gave testimony. The FCC also has a ''Notice of Public Rule-making'' in process on this issue. Media Alliance has a guide to filing public comments for NPRM Docket 06-121 at their web site (deadline Oct 23). R.E.A.C.Hip-Hop History R.E.A.C.Hip-Hop has been in the forefront of the Hip Hop media justice movement since 2005. Our initial call to action was in late January 2005, when commercially owned Hot 97 aired its now infamous "Tsunami Song." As other communities who were targeted by this incident began to speak out and organize against Hot 97, it became apparent that a crucial voice was missing in this public protest: the voice of the Hip Hop community. Thus, with the help of a few Hip Hop heads, artists, and community organizers, the Hip Hop Coalition was born. Since the birth of our coalition, we have been actively targeting Hot 97 for numerous offenses to the communities they claim to serve. Though we came together in response to the "Tsunami Song," it is understood that our fight against corporate media includes much more than that. It is a fight to reclaim Hip Hop culture from corporate media's co-optation, unbalanced representation, and exploitation, as well as to support and create the balance that is so direly needed on our airwaves and other public media. We assert that our efforts are to not only demand ethical corporate accountability, but also to protect, preserve, and regenerate the great legacy of Hip Hop culture by Representing Education, Activism and Community through Hip Hop. R.E.A.C.Hip-Hop Mission Statement R.E.A.C.Hip-Hop is dedicated to encouraging and creating fair and equal representation of the diversity of Hip Hop culture, including, but not limited to; race/ethnicity, nationality, class, gender, sexual orientation, religion, and disability. We are a pro-active body made up of activists, artists, teachers, performers, organizers, writers, educators, students, parents and individuals all dedicated to positive change within our communities. We believe Hip Hop's true legacy belongs to the people, and we strive to utilize Hip Hop as a vehicle of social and political justice to promote education, information, and empowerment for the masses, while preventing the dissemination of negative stereotypes, discrimination, and violence. For more information please visit: www.HipHopLivesHere.com Christie Z-Pabon Tools of War A Member of R.E.A.C.Hip-Hop email: This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it |
