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Hip-Hop Political Action Committee
By Robert Nolan
Medill News Service
WASHINGTON - Music and fashion mogul Russell Simmons is taking the success of this summer's Hip-Hop Summit and bringing it to Capitol Hill, where he and other leaders of a newly formed hip-hop political action committee will meet with the Congressional Black Caucus next month.
Celebrities such as Sean "P. Diddy" Combs, the Rev. Al Sharpton and Nation of Islam Minister Benjamin Muhammed, along with executives of the hip-hop industry, comprise the board of the Hip-Hop Summit Action Network, an advocacy group under which the political action committee will operate.
The PAC, based in the New York offices of the Source magazine, one of the first publications to cover the hip-hop industry, will lobby on such issues as parental advisory labels, censorship and political empowerment.
"The Hip-Hop Action Network will be inclusive and representative of the entire hip-hop community, which has emerged on the global scene as the most significant cultural and socio-political force of the 21st century," said Muhammed, the chief executive of the Hip-Hop Action Network.
The PAC will make its first appearance next month before a panel of the Congressional Black Caucus, a group of more than 30 House members who address issues affecting black Americans.
"Congressman Hillard is looking forward to facilitating the hip-hop community towards political empowerment," said Henry Stewart, spokesman for Rep. Earl Hillard (D-AL), a caucus member.
"We've got strong support in the Congressional Black Caucus, whose views are very progressive," said Muhammed. He said the hip-hop PAC will contribute to political campaigns that support its agenda and will also fight against poverty and racial profiling.
The umbrella network will also help to fund the Def Jam Hip-Hop House, a center in Harlem that will mentor and train developing artists in the hip-hop community.
"Members of the hip-hop community have put back more into the community than any other genre of music," said Muhammed. "We will continue to fund such projects as the Hip-Hop House and other programs in the communities that our artists originate from."
The network, whose board members include groups such as the NAACP and other civil rights groups, also said that its agenda would address the needs of the Hispanic community.
"Hip-hop has a growing support base in the Hispanic community, and we will bring up these issues with Congress as well," Muhammed said.
Simmons, who has been active on Capitol Hill throughout the summer and testified about a music rating proposal before a Senate committee, said he was grateful for the support he has received from record companies, civil rights groups and artists.
"The hip-hop community has been incredibly receptive to our attempt to organize and mobilize their efforts toward making young people's concerns a priority in Washington," said Simmons in a statement. "We're very excited and we are sure that their input will help to shape a better America."
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