The creative landscape is changing. Technologies like Pro Tools, the iPod, and peer-to-peer networks have become mainstream in the digital age, creating a wild frontier of sorts in music. Independent artists can reach mass audiences once forbidden to them. These technologies are fostering the rise of “semiotic democracy”—where more and more people are no longer passive consumers of mass media, but active participants in creating culture. Cops vs Lawyers, Issue 3

الاثنين، تموز ١٩، ٢٠٠٤

The NHHPC Five-Point Political Agenda:

For four days in June, 2004, delegations of young people came together in New Jersey, tasked with a tremendous mission: articulate a political platform for the Hip-Hop Generation. Heads from all around the country were able to work past their differences and put together an agenda for the movement. Here's an abridged list of the first ever declaration of revolution from the hip-hop community. Check the entire platform here

EDUCATION:
Transparent school budgets. Create community committees that ensure proper spending & yearly audits. Require teachers bve district residents. Provide access to higher education for ALL immigrants. Create socially practical, culturally relevant curriculums. Eradicate illiteracy. Preserve affirmative action. Rollback tuition hikes & restore education budget cuts.

ECONOMIC JUSTICE:
No taxation without equitable representation. Rollback tax cuts for the wealthy. Corporations that receive tax breaks from municipalities must give two years notice before moving from those municipalities. Mandatory investments in underdeveloped neighborhoods. Reparations for indigenous peoples & descendants of the African Slave Trade. Living wages and equal pay/opportunities for both women & men.

CRIMINAL JUSTICE:
Provide opportunities for the accused & convicted in the criminal justice system. Separate ALL individuals under 18 from the adult prison system. End mandatory minimum sentences. Give civilian review boards subpoena power & independent prosecutors. Outlaw persecution of youth, drug users, & political activists. Eliminate corporate prison systems. Raise minimum wage/education standards in prisons.

HEALTH AND WELLNESS:
Provide affordable prescription drugs. Increase prevention & treatment efforts of HIV/AIDS, mental illness, heart disease, cancer, drug abuse, & other health issues. Ensure women’s reproductive health. Provide safe access to reproductive CHOICES. Improve education on reproductive issues.

HUMAN RIGHTS:
Investigate ALL human-rights violations committed by the U.S. government & fully disclose the findings. The NHHPC will convene such a commission within one year. Abolish terrorism in ALL areas of human activity. End militarization. Stop recruitment of youths into the military at public institutions. Repeal the Patriot Acts IMMEDIATELY. Oppose ANY military attempts to use hip-hop to recruit youths. Pull out of occupied territories like Iraq, Afghanistan & Puerto Rico. Relieve debt for previously-colonized & -enslaved countries.