NEW YORK--(BUSINESS WIRE via COLLEGIATE PRESSWIRE)--Oct 6, 2004--The Hip-Hop Summit Action Network`s Hip-Hop Team Vote GOTV Bus Tour arrives in Miami, Florida, tomorrow at 12 noon at the Caleb Center, in the heart of Liberty City. There are two primary goals for the Hip-Hop Summit Action Network`s presence in the important state of Florida this week:
1) to inspire, educate, motivate and mobilize the largest possible voter turnout of young people 18-35 in Miami and Dade County on Election Day November 2nd, as well as in all the major population centers throughout the state of Florida.
2) During the last several weeks, the Hip-Hop Summit Action Network has been in discussions with Dave Mays of The Source magazine about co-sponsoring a ''Get Out The Vote (GOTV) SIPHA Rally'' in Miami to encourage youth voter mobilization around the issues of overcoming poverty and injustice. The Hip-Hop Summit Action Network has always maintained that all of our sponsored Hip-Hop Summits, conferences, rallies and mobilizations must promote and enhance unity within the hip-hop community, especially unity among hip-hop artists. HSAN`s Mission Statement includes: ''We want greater unity, mutual dialogue, program development and a prioritizing of national issues for collective action within the hip-hop community through summits, conferences, workshops, issue task force and joint projects.'' HSAN will not participate in any event that does not promote and embrace unity within hip-hop culture.
Dr. Benjamin Chavis, President/CEO of the Hip-Hop Summit Action Network, emphasized, ''We are enthusiastic about our GOTV work, particularly in Miami and throughout Florida. Because of what happened four years ago, this is an opportunity for young people to express their voice and their interests by going out and voting in record numbers on November 2nd. In regard to the proposed GOTV rally with The Source magazine on Saturday, October 9th, the Hip-Hop Summit Action Network reiterates what we have previously stated to Dave Mays; that our involvement in the event requires outreach by The Source to Dr. Dre, Jimmy Iovine, Paul Rosenberg, 50 Cent, the G Unit, D12, Eminem, Chris Lighty, Busta Rhymes, and all the other major hip-hop labels and executives. This is an important moment in the evolution of hip-hop and it is part of HSAN`s Mission Statement to foster and encourage inclusive outreach and dialogue in everything we do.''
Russell Simmons, Chairman of the Hip-Hop Summit Action Network, affirmed, ''I believe that HSAN must always promote the oneness of hip-hop, the good in hip- hop. There are many who criticize and judge hip-hop. I`ve decided, as Chairman of HSAN to only operate this organization from the perspective of looking for the high note in each of these artists, taking their best qualities and accentuating them and using their power for the greater good. Although I applaud the efforts of The Source magazine and am looking forward to working with them in the future to promote these goals, I will not participate in this rally unless I can create dialogue between all the members of hip-hop.''
HSAN is a non-profit, non-partisan national coalition of artists, entertainment industry leaders, education advocates, civil rights proponents and youth leaders united in the belief that the ''hip-hop'' phenomena is an enormously influential agent for social change which must be responsibly and pro-actively utilized to fight the war on poverty and injustice.
For more information on the Hip-Hop Summit Action Network or registering to vote, visit www.hsan.org.
|
