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High School Hip Hop and Politics

Recently, The Rap Sessions Tour came to Oakland Unity High School, in Oakland, CA. The panel has appeared at universities ranging from Harvard to Stanford and we were the first high school they addressed, which was pretty cool. The topic was Hip Hop and the 2008 Presidential Election. The participants tend to vary and for this one performer/activist M-1 of dead prez, political organizer Angela Woodson, professor Dr. Dawn-Elissa Fischer, activist Rosa Clemente, and performer Rico Pabon (whose wife, Ms. Ramos, works at our school) sat in on the discussion while author Bakari Kitwana moderated. The audience was predominately seniors, nearly all of whom were African American or Latino. Topic-wise, everything from sexism to voting was covered. After the panel discussion, a question and answer session took place, which included an impromptu performance by one of our students. Below are student reflections on the panel. The overwhelming response was positive and as a teacher I’m super glad that we were able to make this happen. In the teachers’ defense, as you read the feedback, some students made it sound like this was the first time they ever got to talk about sexism in pop culture or were given inspirational words. That’s certainly not the case, but as long as they responded to someone, it’s good! Hopefully we can do this again next year.

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• High School Hip Hop and PoliticsAcademic Writing Recently, The Rap Sessions Tour came to Oakland Unity High School, in Oakland, CA. The panel has appeared at universities ranging from Harvard to Stanford and we were the first high school they addressed, which was pretty cool. The topic was Hip Hop and the 2008 Presidential Election. The participants tend to vary and for this one performer/activist M-1 of dead prez, political organizer Angela Woodson, professor Dr. Dawn-Elissa Fischer, activist Rosa Clemente, and performer Rico Pabon (whose wife, Ms. Ramos, works at our school) sat in on the discussion while author Bakari Kitwana moderated. The audience was predominately seniors, nearly all of whom were African American or Latino. Topic-wise, everything from sexism to voting was covered. After the panel discussion, a question and answer session took place, which included an impromptu performance by one of our students. Below are student reflections on the panel. The overwhelming response was positive and as a teacher I’m super glad that we were able to make this happen. In the teachers’ defense, as you read the feedback, some students made it sound like this was the first time they ever got to talk about sexism in pop culture or were given inspirational words. That’s certainly not the case, but as long as they responded to someone, it’s good! Hopefully we can do this again next year.
• Inner City MiracleHip-hop Book Review Autobiography of TV's Judge Greg Mathis.
• I Got Thunder: Black Woman Songwriters and Their CraftHip-hop Book Review An insightful review of a book highlighting interviews with prominent singers and songwriters, including Abbey Lincoln, Angelique Kidjo, Brenda Russell, Chaka Khan, Dianne Reeves, Dionne Warwick, Miriam Makeba, Narissa Bond, Nina Simone, Nona Hendryx, Oleta Adams, Pamela Means, Shemekia Copeland, Shirley Caesar, Tokunbo Akinro, Toshi Reagon, and Tramaine Hawkins.
• The Rap on Mr. DueyAcademic Writing Michigan-based teacher puts together a CD to help students learn basic skills and as a teacher and hip-hop fan, it's good! My boy Brandon Greene of Las Vegas shared this piece about Mr. Duey's efforts to educate the youth!
• Locke 1928Hip-hop Book Review I remember walking in Oakland, CA during the 2006 May Day protests against anti-immigration legislation. Never before had I seen so many Latino people waving the U.S. flag. In that moment I realized that the traditional American symbols don’t define us. We define the symbols and places in which we live. The protest was a moment that shifted my perspective from being one of, “Only old U.S. vets wave the flag” to “This country should be proud to see such individuals and families carrying its flag”. Reading Ryan’s book reemphasized the lesson I learned in May 2006. Not because the characters are exceptionally heroic but because their story is unique and specific to California in the early 1900s. Ryan is able to portray the depths to which the characters need one another, even as they seek self –determination. While her book is not politically motivated it is a contribution to the ever involving understanding of our culture and history.
• Hip Hop Education 101Academic Writing Educator Marcella Runell Hall gives an overview of how hip hop is being used in the classroom, across the country, as well as some of the controversy. I'm way late on posting this article, which came out nearly a year ago on Vibe magazine's website. Sorry Marcella!
• Off the CuffIdentity/Culture Journal Entry Oakland teens share their thoughts on growing up in Oakland, including violence, peer pressure, and White people! One thing that has stood out to me over the past three years of teaching at Oakland Unity High School in California is the high level of discussion that we have in class. I really wish that people, including policy makers and other teachers, could hear the students share their thoughts on topics ranging from the war in Iraq to universal health care. Just as important have been the numerous informal conversations that have taken place. During one particular violent weekend in Oakland it was obvious that many of the students I work with wanted to talk about what happened. We decided to get together one afternoon so I could interview them. Interestingly enough, while our school is pushing 80% Latino, the three students who showed up were all African American. They had worked all day and it was a blazing hot so they were a bit more reserved than usual. Yet it was an interesting conversation nonetheless. I was tempted to write an article but decided that it would be best to let them speak for themselves. While it doesn’t really come out in this conversation, these three are quite involved with activities such as Upward Bound, fashion shows, out of state college visits, and Tech Bridge, a science and engineering program for teenage girls. Next time we’ll have to focus on those accomplishments. All three will be seniors for the 2007-2008 school year.
• Drive-ByHip-hop Book Review In-depth look at the conditions that lead to the death of an Oakland teenager at the hands of his peers.
• Oakland high school students share impressions of JapanCurriculum The following are responses to an interview from Japan by some of my students at Oakland Unity High School in California. They were asked to reflect on points that they could relate to or found interesting as the interview covered a range of topics, including immigration and the status of women. Note that this was just one assignment and students were exposed to a variety of perspectives. For example, after reading this interview many felt that Japan was a great place for immigrants. However, they later had readings by non-Japanese who had less than pleasant things to say about their stay in Japan. Some of the facts are incorrect, yet these comments capture a moment, as well as give some insight into the thoughts of Oakland youth on similarities and differences between two seemingly disparate countries and cultures. One thing that I took away from this assignment was a reminder of how influenced people can be by so little. This was one interview, with one person, yet many of the students based their whole impression of Japan off of it. It’s a good reminder of the power of adults and teachers and why we have to be so aware of what information we use and how we use it.
• Letters to 'Mad Mike' BanksCurriculum Students in the music and social justice class at my high school in Oakland recently did a unit with a techno focus. Among other things, they watched a documentary featuring Underground Resistance founder "Mad Mike" Banks and read a recent interview with him. As one assignment they wrote letters to Banks in response to this interview. Here are some letters with more on the way! Hopefully I'll be posting Mike's response as well.
• Techno Research ProjectCurriculum This was a recent project assigned to a high school music class that I teach. It's very Detroit biased, but that's more due to my ignorance and time constraints rather than maliciousness. Students were free to do research on groups, organizations, producers, etc, not on this list and we brain-stormed other ideas. Nonetheless, it was fun to watch students in Oakland, CA download Detroit Jit videos and ask me if I knew "Mad Mike" Bank's e-mail address. BTW, we did lots of prep for this project, including watching videos, breaking down tracks, etc. I teach the lecture portion of the class and the lab (studio) portion is run by my fellow teacher Mr. Castillo, aka DJ Chango'. While researching for this project the students were also responsible for creating their own techno tracks using Garage Band. Advanced students use other software such as Reason. There's some good stuff being created!
• Gangsta RapHip-hop Book Review Read the review!
• Beyond Beats and Rhymes-St. Louis, MOEducation Event This documentary takes an in-depth look at the machismo in rap music and hip-hop culture, where creative genius, poetic beauty and mad beats collide with misogyny, violence and homophobia. Produced in association with ITVS and NBPC.
• Music and Social Justice Writing PromptsCurriculum This was a recent assigment I gave over the Thanksgiving holidays. It's pretty basic, but students enjoyed it. As time permits, I'll post student work. BTW, for some of those films we only watched clips. Our class wouldn't last very long if it was free-for-all!
• Art of Emcee-ing, TheHip-hop Book Review An easy to follow stop by step guide for the aspiring hip-hop artist.
• Journal of Hip HopHip-hop Book Review Collection of hip-hop writings and activities for educators and music fans.
• Weapons of MiseducationEducation Event On August 3rd, student organizers from Making Waves and Youth Speaks will bring together hundreds of young people, community organizers and artists to SF State. The Summit is FREE to youth and provides panels and workshops, followed by an Arts Festival featuring some of the hottest performers, DJs and artists bringing conscious flavor and culture to the stage.
• Dangerous Times, TheHip-hop Book Review Cleveland drug dealer finds redemption.