Hip Hop Congress

UN Special Rapporteur on Racism Makes Official Visit to Chicago to Address Human Rights Abuses

Willie “Jr” Fleming of the Coalition to Protect Public Housing and Edward “Buzz” Palmer of the People’s Program will host the United Nations Special Rapporteur on Racism, Racial Discrimination, and Xenophobia, Mr. Doudou Diene of Senegal, on May 23 and 24. He will meeting with local officials, including Mayor Daley and members of the Chicago City Council, and victims of racial discrimination. This visit is an important opportunity address the damage caused to families by racial discrimination in a human rights framework with local and state officials, and promote model programs for addressing social issues. Issues that are on our agenda to discuss with Mr. Diene are the lack of affordable housing, homelessness and poverty, health care disparities, police torture (Burge case), police brutality, juvenile justice, unlawful use of the death penalty, education, racial relations in Chicago.

Mr. Diene’s visit to Chicago is highly unprecedented. This visit has been arranged by the U.S. Department of State, and is a rare official visit by the United Nations to monitor, advise, and publicly report on human rights situations in the City of Chicago.

Carol Steele, President of the Coalition to Protect Public Housings “is recommending that there be a moratorium on any more demolition of public housings. Chicago has had a net loss of around 22,000 units of public housings for people in need. Public housing in Chicago consisted of 99% African American women and children. This city lost more housings then any other state in this union. The demolition of public housings has had a devastating effect on people in Chicago. Because of the closing of public housings Homelessness has become so rampant that averages age of a homeless person is seven year old. Under the Universal Declaration of Human Rights article 25 Housings is a Human Right!!!”

Willie Fleming the co-coordinator of the visit and a member of the CPPH , Hip hop Congress and the Poor People’s Economic Human Rights Campaign says, “The intent of American legislative policies-Plan for Transformation and the HUD Moving to Work Demonstration Project”- was supposed to be to build better communities in urban areas. But in Chicago these policies have disenfranchised, discouraged and displaced an participant in this plan: the African American and Latino males. These men are father, brothers, uncles, and sons and it is illegal for many of them to live with there families in their communities. The Special Rapporteur should recommend that African America and Latino men should be allowed to sign on to leases, be hired for Section 3 jobs in their own communities, be provided economic and social services and educational opportunities.”

the Jacka hits Billboard Charts [Artist Program]

the Jacka has hit the Billboard charts, with his current single “All Over Me” which peaked at #15 on the Bubbling Under R&B/Hip Hop Singles Chart.

The single to date has over 220,000 Myspace plays, and is #11 on 106.1 KMEL’s National Playlist. It is currently receiving spins at 8 bds/mediabase reporting stations.

His collaboration with Berner on “Drought Season” peaked at #25 in the Top Rap Album category for the week of May 10, 2008. The project also peaked at
#55 on the Billboard Top Hip Hop Album category.

The Billboard charts aren’t the only charts that the Jacka appears on.

“Drought Season” made noise at Rasputins (Bay Area’s #1 Independent record store), where it topped at #1 for best sellers. Along with this collaboration being #1 at Rasptuins, the Jacka has 3 other current projects in their top 25 best sellers including – “All Over Me” single at #25, “Nuthin But Slap 6″ mixtape (Demolition Men hosted by the Jacka) at #9, and “Outbreak” (the Jacka & Kel) at #19.

Co-Defendants [Artist Program]

Welcome our newest new HHC affiliated artists/members, from the Bay Area Rap, the group Co-Defendants

Davey D: Hip-hop artists standing up against police abuse [Press]

In the spring of 1999, the Rev. Al Sharpton gave an impassioned keynote address to the NAACP. Essentially, he chastised the hip-hop generation for being absent from protests during the aftermath of a serious incident in the Bronx. Amadou Diallo, a young, unarmed West African immigrant, had been shot by police officers 41 times.

Sharpton bemoaned the fact that hip-hoppers weren’t more vocal about the Diallo affair. He said the “big, bad New York rappers” were too busy making money for Clive Davis to stand up for justice.

Sharpton also expressed disappointment that more of the pent-up rage depicted in rap videos wasn’t directed at holding police accountable for their actions. He got a standing ovation for his sobering words.

Unfortunately, not all his views were on point. He seemed unaware of an open letter in February of that year from rapper Mos Def, calling for fellow artists to take a stand against police brutality. The result was the ambitious EP project “Hip-Hop for Respect,” on which more than 25 major artists expressed their outrage.

Mos Def’s efforts were stymied, however, by the refusal of many radio stations to play the song. Even so, it was undeniable that hip-hoppers were concerned, and tried to make something happen.

Fast-forward to April 2008, when an outrageous not-guilty verdict came down for three officers involved in the killing of another unarmed man, Sean Bell, who died in a hail of 50 bullets that also wounded two of his
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friends on Nov. 25, 2006.

Since Bell’s killing, hip-hop artists and organizations have mobilized throughout the country to combat police abuse. The Game, Papoose and Jasiri X have been among the rappers who have released songs about it. Jay-Z set up a trust fund for Bell’s child and family. Dead prez did fundraising concerts.

Two days after the not-guilty verdict came down, Immortal Technique called for fans to mail documentation to him (at policestatechronicles@yahoo.com) about police abuse they have experienced. He wants to present the accounts to the United Nations and ask for a tribunal to investigate patterns of abuse in U.S. police departments.

Here in the Bay Area, Boots Riley from the Coup and my own crew at “Hard Knock Radio” on KPFA put together a mix tape with sound clips from people who have experienced police violence, information about individual rights and resources on ways to protect yourself against abuse, as well as to report it, should it happen. (Information: www.hardknockradio.com.)

Also in the Bay Area, the Hip Hop Congress and the Silicon Valley DeBug have been acting as watchdog agencies. The congress released a video documenting a recent incident during a dead prez show in Olympia, Wash. Now the organization is putting together a CD about police accountability.

DeBug has used its magazine and radio shows to publicize the plight of the marginalized. The organization will hold its regular weekly meeting at 2:30 p.m. Sunday at the San Jose DeBug Community Center (701 Lenzen Ave.). People who have been abused by the police or experienced harrowing encounters in the Santa Clara County criminal justice system are invited to share their stories at the meeting. For more information, go to www.siliconvalleydebug.org., or call (408) 971-4965.