Thug Life Army

On Monday, August 21, 2006 at 10 pm EDT, the Comcast Network, CN8, will broadcast the Hip-Hop Summit National Town Hall Meeting on Community Empowerment in Comcast homes from Maine to Virginia.

The Hip-Hop Summit National Town Hall Meeting on Community Empowerment special was shot live in Philadelphia on Wednesday, July 12th at the University of Pennsylvania's Irvine Auditorium, where Russell Simmons, Chairman and Dr. Benjamin Chavis, President/CEO of HSAN, CN8's news anchor Art Fennell, hip-hop and rap artists Foxy Brown, Musiq, Jim Jones, Papoose, Jaguar Wright, Queen Pen, R&B great Kenny Gamble and Congressman Chaka Fattah and Philadelphia Mayor John F. Street all convened to empower young people to take action in getting involved in the political process to evoke community change in their neighborhoods by registering to vote and voting. The importance of financial empowerment was also addressed. This initiative was part of registering 10,000 new voters in Philadelphia.

Founded in 2001, the Hip-Hop Summit Action Network is dedicated to harnessing the cultural relevance of hip-hop music to serve as a catalyst for education advocacy and other societal concerns fundamental to the empowerment of youth throughout the United States. HSAN is a non-profit, non-partisan worldwide coalition of hip-hop artists, entertainment industry leaders, education advocates, civil rights proponents and youth leaders united in the belief that hip-hop is an enormously influential agent for social change which must be responsibly and proactively utilized to fight the war on poverty and injustice.

"We are honored to have CN8, The Comcast Network, broadcast the Town Hall Meeting to its almost 9 million viewers," said Simmons. "We are convinced this will reinforce our goal of encouraging young people to get involved in the process, register and vote."

Art Fennell, news anchor for CN8, The Comcast Network, who moderated the panel with Dr. Chavis, will also host the hour-long broadcast special airing August 21 that will showcase the town hall meeting's important messages of empowerment and involvement. CN8 is the nation's leading regional cable network with a reach that spans almost 9 million homes from Maine to Virginia.

"This was an important and very candid discussion held at a critical time," said Art Fennell, CN8 anchor. "The power of the hip-hop industry is real and when these artists speak, people definitely listen. CN8 is honored to share their messages of political and community action with our viewers."

"This broadcast will bring cable television and internet audiences to view, firsthand, hip-hop being utilized as a powerful instrument of empowerment," emphasized Dr. Benjamin Chavis.

In addition to the Aug. 21 broadcast, CN8 will re-air "The Hip Hop Summit" Monday, Sept. 4 at 10 p.m. EDT. The network will also stream the show on its Web site ( www.cn8.tv ) while the broadcast airs. The special will be available for viewing on Comcast Digital Cable's "ON DEMAND" service for 20 days, to watch anytime, day or night, after the initial CN8 broadcast.

The Comcast Network CN8, The Comcast Network (www.cn8.tv) has quickly become one of the nation's largest and most honored regional 24-hour diversified television networks - serving almost 9 million cable homes on the East Coast. The network provides quality, locally produced programming in four main areas: live, interactive television; regional news; entertainment; and coverage of high school, college and professional sports. CN8 has been nominated for 314 regional Emmy Awards. CN8, The Comcast Network is owned and operated by Comcast Cable Communications, Inc., a division of Comcast Corporation and the country's leading cable and broadband services provider.

The National Voter Coalition Founded in 1999, the National Voter Coalition is an outgrowth of the combined century of campaign experiences among its management team, ranging from 5 to 35 years apiece within local, state and national voter registration efforts. NVC was created as a response to the increasingly disturbing consequences of low voter turnout amongst historically disenfranchised Americans, primarily poor, underserved residents of African-American and Latino communities.