It's Been Decided....

Hip-Hop is now "officially" an ILLNESS. Or at least so says Professor Alfred "Coach" Powell of State University of New York at Stony Brook.

Dr. Powell who authored "Hip Hop Conspiracy: When Lies Sound Like the Truth" was the keynote speaker at the Youth Empowerment Seminar hosted by Stop The Madness Inc. at the Weisser Park Youth Center. And he ARTICULATED his message with ELOQUENCE. Sad part is...only about FIFTY people were there to hear it. With a city having a black population of around FORTY THOUSAND, you'd "think" a few more than a mere "handful" would have shown the hell up. Granted many blacks already espouse the principles presented by Dr. Powell, but so many MORE should be hearing what the man had to say...and they did not. That alone speaks volumes to me.

Curiously enough, Dr. Powell was greeted by a "Bring Back Black" rap and dance from the youth center. Uh....anyone ELSE see a problem with that already? I think the operative word here would be..."oops". TRADITIONAL African music would have been a much better choice, don'cha think? The Bring Back Black movement is about cultural education and leadership so young people can be proud of their African heritage. Actually, when discussing the Bring Back Black movement, the question blatantly becomes "Where did it GO"?

Dr. Powell challenged the attendees to analyze the words and subject matter hip-hop music often addresses. He talked about the NEGATIVE effect that "gangsta rap" can have on young people, as well as the use of profanity, violence, and sexually-charged lyrics and videos. He even went as far as to challenge the CLOTHING "styles" hip-hop promotes, such as all those "saggy-bottom boyz" we see around the neighborhoods, as well as promiscuous female attire. "In this country", Powell said,"If you don't TRY..you don't count". Now there are some words to live by!

My hat's off to Dr. Powell....at least HE is doing SOMETHING to bring back a level of decency and civility sorely missing from a large portion of the black community these days. Curiously enough, while Dr. Powell was building bridges at Weisser Park, young (mostly white) students were building their OWN bridges....as in STRUCTURAL ENGINEERING type bridges! I saw the event on TV, and didn't catch where it was held (Science Central?), but I saw an interesting dichotomy at work here. On the one hand, certain kids were learning engineering skills and putting them into practice, albeit with sticks, while other certain kids were being told that killing one another isn't a good thing.

Hmm...it MUST BE about education then...what a concept!