Rosa clemente | Hip-Hop and Politics

Obama’s Re-Elected What Next? Michael Skolnik of Global Grind & Hip Hop Activist Rosa Clemente Weigh In

November 11, 2012 By mrDaveyd

With the re-election of President Barack Obama, we been having a series of discussions on Hard Knock Radio with key activists and organizers all over the country about the next steps we should be taking. This is an important conversation considering how concerned and dissatisfied many were feeling in the weeks and months leading up to the 2012 election.

Many felt President Obama had come up short on a number of issues and was dreadfully wrong on others. Many who felt things weren’t headed in the right direction were cautioned that we should give the President time to get his bearings. We were told he inherited a tremendous mess and that change would not come overnight.

We were also told that President Obama was under tremendous pressure from his political opponents who were determined to limit him to one term. The type of obstruction Obama was up against in Congress was unprecedented. he amount of racism directed at him was unprecedented. Hence activist and organizers were encouraged to fall back and rally around the president with the goal of shielding him and getting him a second term.

That has finally happened the other night. In the aftermath of his re-election there should now be strong pushes for him to address issues of poverty, the plight of labor, ending the war and other imperialistic foreign policies, deading mass deportations and eradicating the ramped up domestic spying and erosion of constitutional rights via NDAA.

As Boots Riley of the Coup famously pointed out not too long ago, our vibrant movement for social justice where many of these key issues were being addressed and fought for long before Obama was even a presidential candidate somehow became morphed into a movement to get him into office. That was good for Obama but not necessarily good for the movement. The momentum garnered over the past 8 years should not have dwindled It left us short-changed.

This time around, many are re-thinking, re-tooling and laying out plans of action for the next 4 years and beyond. Many activists are determined not to make the same mistake of jettisoning their respective movements for the sake of an elections. Others are determined to keep themselves and the people around politically engaged beyond 2 and 4 year contest. Still others are finding that its time to build from the ground up, by establishing strong local basis that can withstand any sort of national political storms.

Michael Skolnik

One of the people we interviewed a day or so after the election is Michael Skolnik who is editor and chief of Global Grind, which is an online publication owned by Hip Hop mogul Russell Simmons. Skolnik was also a surrogate for the Obama campaign.

During our interview we covered a range of topics including how to hold this President accountable to why we didn’t see more young people who voted in overwhelming numbers having visible seats at the table.

We discussed some of the problems that many had with Obama on key issues and what would be the best ways to push him and not get be obstructed by supporters who were over defensive.

We also talked about long term strategies and what we should be striving for during Obama’s second term. Skolnik offered some great insight and suggestions Peep the Hard Knock Radio interview below. Let us know what you think…

Rosa Clemente

We also spoke with long time Hip Hop activist and former Green Party vice presidential candidate Rosa Clemente. Rosa has long been pushing that the Hip Hop generation move away from constraints of the democratic party and adopt a more radical and uncompromised politic. She feels Hip Hop has become too much of a mouthpiece for the democrats and has lost a lot of its bite and overall integrity, especially when it remains silent and actually cheerleads a president who embraces policies that Hip Hop folks have long stood against.

She talked about the importance of us focusing on younger voices, creating space for many who have been locked out and highlighting the work of on the ground organizations like the Malcolm X Grassroots Movement who never stopped organizing and pushing even with Obama in the White House.

Clemente noted that there’s been a pressure to vote over organizing and its led to folks believing that’s the only thing needed to be politically changed. This has been too much of an oversimplification in addressing systemic and complex problems and that perspective needs to be changed. With the re-election of Barack Obama, Clemente sees opportunity for endless possibilities for great change. She notes, the focus can now return to us resolving our issues vs getting someone re-elected.

Rosa concluded our Hard Knock Radio interview by sharing her personal vision for change during which includes stepping up and strengthening the Green Party. .. Click the link below.

Podcast: Play in new window | Download

Jared Ball and Rosa Clemente Were Right by Shamako Noble

November 2, 2012 By mrDaveyd

“In 1956, I shall not go to the polls. I have not registered. I believe that democracy has so far disappeared in the United States that no “two evils” exist. There is but one evil party with two names, and it will be elected despite all I can do or say.” -W.E.B. Du-Bois

“The Green Party isn’t the alternative. It’s the imperative.” -Rosa Clemente

“For me, it’s simple. It’s either the Greenhouse or the penitentiary.”-Cheri Honkala

“Four years later and I’m kicking it with the Green Party VP candidate. Again.” -Rahman Jamaal

Sword of the West Shamako Noble

Jared Ball and Rosa Clemente were right. There is something taking place with the relationship between Hip Hop and the Green Party. Maybe it’s because the Green Party, much like Hip Hop, can be blamed for a mess much larger than itself. Maybe it’s because both of them have spent their whole existence fighting corporate media, corporate influence and getting shut out of the conversation. Maybe it’s because they are stuck in a world where the “mainstream” dictates definition, your perspective, and your contribution. Maybe it’s because they both imagine a world where education is accessible to all, there are no more evictions and no more foreclosures, where food production, resolving community challenges and culture is localized and more money is spent on education and housing than war and imprisonment.

Or, as 2004 Presidential candidate for the Green Party David Cobb put it, “maybe it is because Hip Hop and the Green Party are both revolutionary calls for such systemic social political and economic change that you just can’t get it until you get it.” Whatever the case may be, it is a relationship that keeps expanding. That expansion was given to us not just by the natural development of our economic and political situation, but also by leaders like Jared Ball and Rosa Clemente. When they took this route, I did not get that. I get it now. And it looks like a lot of other people are getting it, too. Note: No matter who you are, some of this article will and should be unfamiliar to you. And that’s part of the point.

2008: The Green Party Meets Hip Hop, and Hip Hop meets Obama

Dr Jared Ball

In 2008, Hip Hop had it’s first Presidential and Vice Presidential candidate in Jared Ball and Rosa Clemente. This was significant coming off of the National Hip Hop Political Conventions of 2004 and 2006. At this time they were at the forefront of a process that continues to unfold today. At that time Rosa Clemente famously said, “The Green Party is not only the alternative, it’s the imperative.” Jared and Rosa, and artists like Head-Roc out of the DC Statehood Green Party Chapter were on a curve that continues to expand even as this race between “two-parties”continues to tighten.

When Jared Ball, professor, media activist, organizer, and a leader in the National Hip Hop community ran for President on the Green Party ticket in 2008, a lot of people (myself included) didn’t know how to process that. Still, when Jared Ball ran the “Hip Hop For President” campaign he raised a possibility that hadn’t yet been considered in a lot of circles in any serious way– a Hip Hop presidential candidate on an independent party slate bringing up and championing the issues present in the communities where Hip Hop has impact. Hip Hop had already made some very significant strides with the National Hip Hop Political convention and a plethora of activity that took place on the state and national level. There were also a lot of folks from the Green Party who were interested in further developing that kind of a relationship including Anita Rios, former Co-Chair of the USGP National Committee and Dean Meyerson and founder and Executive Director of the Green Institute.

Head-Roc

Jared Ball had a vision. And he teamed up with the DC Artist Head-Roc to execute a creative and artistic strategy for that. Head-Roc and Jared Ball created a two-man artist/candidate multimedia presentation that would be great indicator of what was to come. His reasoning is simple, “George Jackson remains correct. After the fact of monopoly capital the vote becomes meaningless. Our only hope for electoral politics is to develop viable alternatives to what currently exists. If we are to vote, we must develop a party worthy of that effort and struggle. It is the Green Party that best represents that hope.”

In other areas, the large majority of political activity which took place under the moniker “Hip-Hop” did so either in an independent, non-electoral or non-political party way, or in many cases in a way that made the work seem automatically pro-democratic party in nature even when it was not explicitly taking that position. There are many who believe that the Democratic Party machine engagement contributed to the split of the original collective who helped to organize the National Hip Hop Political convention at the time.

Soon President Obama was winning the nomination, and it was all but sure that the Hip Hop vote would lean in his direction. It was a legitimate position at the time, because every rapper and there mom were taking photo ops with the soon to be President. My position on Obama at the time can be found here (http://debugcommunity.blogspot.com/2008/01/barack-obama-is-new-oj.html). But the Green party delivered a one-two punch that would shock the world. Former Democratic Party Congresswoman Cynthia McKinney became the Presidential candidate for the Green Party, and announced as her running mate, Rosa Clemente.

Both Cynthia McKinney and Rosa Clemente had a great deal of support within the Hip Hop community, although that support would struggle to be organized. Jared Ball and Head-Roc would continue their campaign, only re-focused in a manner that was supportive of Cynthia McKinney and Rosa Clemente, setting their own egos aside long enough to get in line with the Green Party program.

Rosa Clemente at the Poor People’s March 2008

And while Cynthia McKinney had developed a particular platform on a national stage, Rosa Clemente was a new and unexpected element. Rosa, who was a founder of the National Hip Hop Political Convention, a member of the Malcom X Grassroots Movement and one of the people who would help define Hip Hop Activism since it’s inception, added something new into presidential politics. She was a candidate who related explicitly as Hip Hop. Rosa would go on to make appearances at the Hip Hop Congress National Convention in Biloxi, MS and the National Hip Hop Political Convention in Las Vegas, NV. This would be the very same year that, in a moment of movement prophecy, Rosa Clemente would stand with the Poor People’s Economic Human Rights Campaign, marching with National Coordinator of that organization, Cheri Honkala, and thousands more people at the March For Our Lives in St. Paul, MN.

Rosa was also working to get dead prez at the march following a performance taking place at one of the many cultural events during the RNC protests. This march hit many sites in St. Paul including prisons, shelters and significant areas of St. Paul movement history. Halfway through the march Rage against the Machine, who were hosting a concert that was spontaneously canceled, directed their 4,000 attendees to join the March already holding 6,000 attendees being led by Cheri and Rosa. Little did the world know, but that march held both the 2008 and 2012 Vice Presidential candidates of the Green Party. And they were marching for the lives of poor people, Black, Brown, Yellow, Red, White, Women, Men, other gender qualifications, Children, Elders, unborn and ancestors alike. It was a prophetic moment, indeed.

2012: Nowhere to run. Nowhere to hide.

Cheri Honkala

Fast forward to 2011, and Cheri Honkala is running for Sheriff in Philadelphia. And get this– Cheri and the Greens were running on an explicit platform of NO EVICTIONS, NO FORECLOSURES. Imagine for a hot second a sheriff who simply refused to evict poor people from their homes! Now imagine hundreds of them. That’s a good example of what it looks like. Hip Hop culture can get focused about implementing our program, not just envisioning it. On top of that, there are folks in Hip Hop on the ground doing this kind of work locally, nationally and internationally every day.

Fast forward a year later, Cheri is now the Vice Presidential candidate for Green Party running on a ticket with Massachusetts-bred Dr. Jill Stein, whose Green New Deal slides closely with the platforms and concepts first elaborated on in the platform statement released by the National Hip Hop Political convention some eight years earlier in 2004. And Cheri Honkala, as PPHRC-founder & organizer, has a long history of working with other organizers and cultural producers like Mic Crenshaw in Portland, OR, Manny Phesto in Minneapolis, MN and Rebel Diaz in Chicago. The Green Party in general, and Cheri Honkala specifically, have often reflected many of the radical positions that have been expressed in Hip Hop movement and activism. While there continues to be critique and refinement around the value of the Green Party, this presidential and vice presidential campaign continues to embody much of that natural connection.

Just take a look at some of the activity that has taken place over the last two weeks.

George Martinez

We begin with a rally in New York where Global Block Foundation founder, first Hip Hop candidate to win a seat in New York (2002), former Chairman of the Hip Hop Association and current U.S. Ambassador George Martinez. George was also a Congressional candidate from within the Occupy movement. George Martinez performed in support of Dr. Stein and Ms. Honkala and is currently advocating a three-point platform which fits directly into the platform of the Green New deal as well as this past year’s monumental occupy movement. That platform is as follows:

GROAmerica (Grass Roots Organizing America) is an integrated community empowerment and civic engagement initiative that represents the evolution of multiple experimental and collaborative, organizing frameworks. GROAmerica operates with a sense of urgency, as inner city communities everywhere are at a crossroads of economic instability, street violence and failing trust in public institutions. It is designed to promote local activism and resource exchange to connect community members that are not otherwise engaged to local resources. It fosters practical, creative and culturally relevant solutions to address long-term community needs. And can be used to address emergency issues and conditions in any community. The end goal is to build a grassroots system between public, private, civil society and community stakeholders to collectively identify and tackle local issues through the convergence of cultural expression, civic engagement, and community resource management/mobilization.

GROAmerica is an open source, do it yourself (DIY) model with a three-pronged approach:

a) public assemblies that combine culturally relevant dialogues, tool driven workshops and creative expression;

b) issue/needs-based direct actions;

c) Community-resource Mapping Network System (ComMNS®): a GIS mapping and mobilization system connecting community resources and needs

That was followed with the Stein campaign’s Associate Campaign Manager, Erika Wolf attending the “Give a sh*@” Happy hour hosted by Chicago Votes, an organization headed and created by Chicago’s National Hip Hop Political Convention 2006 Co-Chair, TJ Crawford. Later on the week, Cheri Honkala came to the Bay Area where she attended a community Q&A hosted by myself at San Jose’s own Silicon Valley De-Bug with the support of the Santa Clara County Green Party. It taking place there is significant as De-Bug as been at the forefront of culture, justice, labor, immigration and youth work in the South bay since its inception in late 90’s. One of it’s founders, Raj Jaydev is well-known in the community for his work with families, organizations and individuals. He welcomed the event into the space with grace, gratitude and vision. In attendance at the event where some independent Hip Hop notables such as DLabrie, Rahman Jamaal and B-Jada of Hip Hop Congress and RonDavoux Records, Dione Johnson of the Multi-Media Center, Society of Metafizix, Arman Mahoudi of KSJS and Open University and Malcom Lee of The San Jose Zulu Nation Chapter and many others. It was a potent mix of attendee’s who related as Hip Hop, Occupy and the Green Party. She took questions about police brutality, health care, forgiving student debt, the Green New Deal, and how she ended up being the VP candidate.

Presidential debate Roundtable w/ Cheri Honkala

The process continued the next day the following day with a group of 70 plus students at De Anza college in Cupertino, the sixth largest community College in the state of California. That was followed by an event at Youth Uprising hosted by the Hip Hop Chess Federation’s visionary and founder Adisa Banjoko. Honkala couldn’t stay because of traffic concerns with the Giants game, but the movie screening itself, “Brooklyn Castle” portrayed the struggles of public education and programs for our youth. That was followed by a post-presidential debate panel discussion hosted by Hip Hop journalist and historian Davey D, who’s been on top of covering the campaign since the Democratic National Convention. It was there Davey noted that much of the mainstream press wasn’t covering the third party candidates. The Panel included folks like Rob “Biko” Baker of the League of Young Voters, Josh Harley of Youth Together, and Kahlil Jacobs-Fantauzzi

Jacobs-Fantauzzi is a Green Party Candidate for Mayor of Berkeley who is also the founder of Students for Hip Hop at UC Berkeley. Kahlil was also responsible for co-hosting a community event for Cheri Honkala, where they took questions together as local and national representatives. Among many issues they both nailed home from a national and a local perspective, was how both of them were being locked out of the conversation. Cheri elaborated on being locked in a warehouse for over 8 hours with Dr. Jill Stein while nobody knew where they were after trying to participate in the Presidential debates. Kahlil shared how the Democratic Club of Berkeley refused to be democratic when it came to his participation, making efforts to refuse his voice in their public debates. DLabrie performed the powerful cut, “It Ain’t EZ,” while J.R. Valery, noted and respected activist, organizer, journalist and freedom fighter from Oakland dropped science on how candidates can best engage non-profit and public radio stations.

2012 and Beyond-What else is possible?

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Dr Jill Stein

Have whatever opinion you’d like, but here are the facts. The movement and the platform of the Green Party along with the people interested in taking leadership and understanding are increasingly young people, people of color who may or may not identify as Hip Hop but are definitely connected to Hip Hop activity and political action. They are also more and more people interested in supporting the Green Party as a place to challenge the Democractic Party paradigm as the electoral vanguard of the movement.

Taking a look at the Green New Deal, and the work of Dr. Jill Stein and Cheri Honkala, and leaders like Rosa Clemente and Jared Ball, it becomes an unavoidable question. Or even better, an answer to a question that was asked of us four years ago when Jared and Rosa first ran. Was getting Hip Hop involved with Green Party worth the effort? Well, in many ways, it looks more and more like an inevitability with the mere question becoming what role, if any, will you play. Even Bakari Kitwana, Co-Founder of the National Hip Hop Political Convention, and author of the the upcoming book, “Hip Hop Activism in the Obama Age” acknowledges that a functional and healthy relationship between Hip Hop and the Green Party could help resolve some of the Green Party’s challenges with expanding it’s base, reach and community grounding while the Green Party offers a political infrastructure that Hip Hop has yet to develop, and that is still young enough to be open to creativity and leadership.

If you want to vote for Obama, cool with me. Honestly, as a Black man, and a father who wants his children to see that and know that they can have that ambition, I feel that. As a son who was happy that his parents got to live to see that, I can understand that. I can relate to that and respect that decision. As Tina Bell Wright, noted Hip Hop Professor and writer of the “Rise Up, Hip Hop Nation” series said, “in 2008, a vote for Obama was a vote for history.” But we have still got some key questions that need rapid answers.

Kahlil Jacobs-Fantauzzi

If you are in a state that is already going to Romney, or already going to Obama, and you agree with the Green Party platform, why wouldn’t you vote in it’s favor? Why not support candidates like Jill Stein, Cheri Honkala and Kahlil Jacobs-Fantauzzi. If five percent of the electorate voting for the Green Party candidates means 20 million dollars in the next four years to develop the party, what position will you take in that? If you don’t believe in the Democratic Party anymore and you’re only voting for the lesser of two evils, when do we start building something different? What are our plans for making these ideas real in the next two weeks and the next four years? Do the tactics and strategies of electoral organizing and community organizing have to also remain as an either/or or can we begin to use them as a tandem strategy of both/and?

Will there be a space to discuss internalized classism, corporate influence and poverty in US politics or will that be pushed further and further into the margins to be filled with conversations about race, gender and sexuality that, while true, don’t addresses the whole of our challenges as a planet or community right now? When we know that the lesser of two evils aren’t bringing up the education-to-prison pipeline, or ecological disaster, how long will we wait to address them on our own or through other means? What are the daily, weekly and monthly actions that happen on a consistent basis that will build the relationships and credibility for that? What else is possible?

David Cobb

David Cobb is one Green leader excited about the possibilities. “We need each other,” he says. “The Green Party needs the youthful energy, the cultural component, and the multi-racial juice Hip Hop brings and represents. And frankly, we need Hip Hop to push and challenge us on important issues like white supremacy, the school-to-prison pipeline, and a host of subjects. We don’t know what we don’t know in the Green Party, and we need to be schooled by Hip Hop.”

Cobb also reminds us the need goes both ways.

“Hip Hop also needs the Green Party,” he continued. “Hip Hop needs the institutional capacity we have developed, the fully developed political program that incorporates peace, justice, ecology and democracy. And frankly Hip Hop needs the focus that a serious, radical electoral campaign can provide.”

written by Shamako Noble of Hip Hop Congress

Filed Under: 2012 Daily News Tagged With: Barack obama, Cheri Honkala, Cynthia Mckinney, Democratic Party, Election 2012, Green Party, Head-Roc, Jill Stein, national hip hop political convention, Rosa clemente

Explosive Report from MXGM Reveals: Every 40 hours Police in the US Kill a Black Person

July 9, 2012 By mrDaveyd

Some of the families of loved ones slain by police in Northern California

This past weekend at Everett & Jones restaurant in Jack London Square, there was a gathering of more than 10 mothers and members of their family who have all lost sons, daughters and husbands to police violence over the past 2 years…It was sobering, powerful and healing. It was also shocking to see so many families and hear story after story of how they lost loved ones to police terror. We heard from the mothers of Kenneth Harding, Derick Jones, Derrick Gaines, Rahiem Brown Jr, James Rivera and Oscar Grant..all gunned down by police.

The families came together for the second anniversary of Oscar Grant Verdict Day.. This was the day that a jury in Los Angeles, handed down their controversial decision about Johannes Mehserle, the killer cop who shot an unarmed handcuffed Oscar Grant in the back at point-blank range in front of hundreds of BART subway riders in Oakland, Ca on New Years morning 2009. Millions of people all over the world saw the shocking video and just knew that Mehersle would go to jail for a long time over his egregious actions.

On July 8th 2010, the LA jury came back with a verdict of involuntary manslaughter which left thousands of people who had gathered in downtown Oakland stunned. Adding insult to injury, the Grant verdict was overshadowed by another ‘controversial decision’ being made that day-What basketball team NBA star Lebron James would choose. Many in the national media gave their time and attention to James and the NBA while folks in Oakland and the Bay Area were left pondering the injustice that was served before them after 18 long months of organizing and jumping over legal hurdle after legal hurdle.

Many that day walked away thinking that while the verdict was unjust that hopefully police got the message and would change their ways. There would be more caution and concern exercised by police departments, not just in Oakland, but all over the country. This weekends gathering was proof that if anything the Grant verdict emboldened police to act with reckless abandon.

Unarmed Rekia Boyd was shot in the head by a Chicago Cop

Instead of a decline in police violence we seen a marked increase. Since the Grant verdict day, we’ve seen an outrageous 680 thousand people stopped and frisked in New York with over 90% of those stops being Black and Brown men with less than 5% resulting in any weapons recovered. Stop and Frisk led to the shooting death of unarmed Ramarley Graham We’ve seen police shoot a motorist Hernendez L Dowdy in Memphis, Tn after someone falsely accused him of car jacking. We’ve seen police in Pasadena shoot 19-year-old Kendrec McDade falsely accused of stealing a computer. We seen an officer in Chicago shoot an innocent bystander named Rekia Boyd after he mistakenly thought the man standing next to her had a gun.. We seen police in White Plains New York shoot unarmed army vet, a senior citizen named Kenneth Chamberlain Sr.. who accidently set off his medical alert pendant. The officer at the center of the killing has a sordid history of brutality and racism. .. We seen Oakland police shoot high school senior Alan Bluford in the back and then lie about the self-inflicted wound the officer suffered. He shot himself and blamed Bluford. OPD has still refused to officially identify the officer.

We could go on for days citing story after story along with the fact that in many cities all over the United States police brutality incidents and police killing civilians are on the rise..For example, in Los Angeles which was supposed to have drastically reformed their police department, we seen a huge increase in police shootings. The department tried to blame it on citizens attacking them more. That assertion has since been disputed.Whats crazy about LA is that police pushed to get the city council to support a law that will keep officers records sealed from the public.

The bottom line is this.. Police are out of control and when it comes to Black people they are even more so..Today the Malcolm X Grassroots Movement released a Report on Extrajudicial Killings …Its pretty detailed and extensive.. It shows that since Jan 1 2012 , they have documented 110 Black people being killed. That amounts to one Black person being killed by police every 40 hours.. Since the shooting death of Trayvon Martin police and shot and killed over 80 Black people..This is outrageous and unacceptable..

Here’s the official press release and links to the report..

“Report on Extrajudicial Killings of 110 Black People since January 1st, 2012.”

Every 40 hours in the United States one Black woman, man or child is killed by police, and by a smaller number of security guards and self-appointed vigilantes. These are the startling findings of a new Report on Extrajudicial Killings of Black People released July 9, 2012.

What motivated the round-the-clock research for this new Report? More than two years ago, on New Year’s Eve, police killed two innocent men: Oscar Grant in Oakland, Adolph Grimes in New Orleans and shot Robert Tolan in a Houston suburb. Based on research started in 2009 after those murders, we learned there were a lot more killings that had not yet been uncovered. Then, after Trayvon’s murder, there was a huge public outcry and a few headlines about more killings. More grieving families and more calls for investigation. Further research became urgent and it demonstrated that Trayvon’s death was not an isolated tragedy. Between January 1, 2012 and June 30, 2012, at least 110 Black people were killed by police and their “deputies”.

“Any one of these people killed could have been my son or your husband or daughter”, says Arlene Eisen, member of the Malcolm X Solidarity Committee and co-author of the Report.

Rosa Clemente of the Malcolm X Grassroots Movement elaborates, “Nowhere is a Black woman or man safe from racial profiling, invasive policing, constant surveillance, and overriding suspicion. All Black people – regardless of education, class, occupation, behavior or dress – are subject to the whims of the police in this epidemic of state initiated or condoned violence.”

The Report, produced by the Malcolm X Grassroots Movement (MXGM) and the “No More Trayvon Martins” campaign, is part of a larger effort. Kali Akuno, MXGM member and report co-author explained, “The Report shows how people of African descent remain subjected to institutionalized racist policies and procedures that arbitrarily stop, frisk, arrest, brutalize and even execute Black people. The killing will continue despite calls for investigations and lawsuits. We urge people to read this Report and join us in demanding that the Obama administration implement a National Plan of Action for Racial Justice to stop these killings and other human rights violations being committed by the government”.

To read the report visit www.mxgm.org. For information on the petition visit http://www.ushrnetwork.org/content/webform/trayvon-martin-petition.

Jasiri X

On Tuesday July 10th we will be doing a special broadcast on 94.1 fm KPFA at 8am PST.. www.kpfa.org This broadcast will include members of MXGM as well as family members who lost loved ones to police violence.. There will also be information on upcoming actions to take place around police violence. We will also be premiering a new song from Pittsburgh rapper Jasiri X called Riot which addresses the police violence and this report..

Podcast: Play in new window | Download

Filed Under: 2012 Daily News Tagged With: Alan Bluford, BART Police shooting of Oscar Grant, Every 40 Hours, Kenneth Chamberlain Sr, malcolm X Grassroots Movement, Oscar Grant, Police brutality, Ramarley Graham, Rekia Boyd, Rosa clemente, Stop and Frisk

Thoughts on State of the Union: Great Speech, Great ACT-Key Word ‘Act’

January 26, 2011 By mrDaveyd

Thoughts on President Obama’s State of the Union address last night?

It was a great campaign speech. It took me back for a moment to 2008 when all the euphoria and desire for hope and change kicked in..

Was it a lot of hot air?

At the end of the day it was..

Am I mad at him for delivering it?

No.. I’m not

In thinking about Obama’s speech I was reminded of a conversation I had last summer with rap artist KRS-One. He said people need to be get one thing clear when dealing with President Obama; ‘He’s not your man.. He’s not your homeboy. He’s the president’, KRS said.

He’s not your buddy he’s the commander and chief, and as President he will do what they all do… protect and manage this system as corrupt as it is.

KRS added it was important to not project too many things on him and get too emotionally attached. He urged us to see him as he is and move accordingly. In short make sure your interests are protected… KRS was on point..

It was clear last night with all the flowery rhetoric, President Obama was concerned about one thing… getting himself into political position to be re-elected. That’s his agenda. That’s his interest. As former Vice presidential candidate Rosa Clemente pointed out in our round table interview the other day, ‘President Obama’s job was to make a good speech to make everyone feel better even as things are progressively getting worse for many’.

His job is to prop us up. keep the proverbial natives from being restless and run some more game that takes us further down the hole. That’s his goal. What’s ours?

My goal is to figure out how to make rent. My goal is to figure out how to pay this whooping 900 dollar electric bill which is the result of these new fangled smart meters and 2 weeks of bitter cold weather during from last month.

My goal is to figure out how I can avoid paying 39 dollar late fees to a bank that absolutely refuses to change my due date to the end of the month when I do a get a pay check that has been slashed 20% and may have to take another hit.

Wells Fargo was one of those bailed out banks who got their chance to rebound, and then turned right around and smashed on their customers who are seeking to get back on their feet. We won’t even talk about the credit game these institutions are running. Pay late, get bad credit. Get bad credit, no job or stay stuck in the one you got until you can repair your credit, which is constantly being upended by fees, fees and more fees. Thats the battle millions of us our waging. That wasn’t talked about last night during the State of the Union.

My goal is to get away from this sort of madness. My goal is to escape this indentured servitude and to no longer be a sharecropper to a bank, gas company or some other entity that is ‘air-lining’ (charging all sorts of fees) me to death.

My goal is to see what can be done to make sure my neighbor who owned her spot for 30 years doesn’t lose it because she had to refinance a few years ago to send her only child to a college that was charging more than most homes cost. When all was said and done her situation was upside down…Her husband died suddenly, money got funny and the next thing you know a bailed out bank is at her door talking about her home is now owned by them. Was she able to get bailed out by one who was bailed out? Hell naw. It’s hard watching an elder in our community who struggled for years to make sure we get our civil rights lose out in the end. It’s almost like it was payback from a system that is resentful and refuses to change.

Again, such stories are not unusual. They’re typical for far too many who live in my world and sadly it’s not something that was or would ever be addressed in any real way during the State of the Union.

Nope President Obama while he may bear some resemblance to the Black men in my neighborhood with his beautiful wife and kids at the end of the day is not my man. When I don’t hear him pushing for policies that are designed to clear a path to serious economic relief, then this point is underscored even more.

It was frustrating to watch him stand before us and tell us about how we can all go on-line and be innovators and entrepreneurs knowing that he sat back and let his boy who chairs the FCC Julius Genachowski gut Net Neutrality protections, after getting over 3 million letters saying keep them in place. Watching him gloss over that and casually suggest that we could be innovators in cyber space knowing that the large telecoms will forever be in our way thwarting our every effort , something that Netflix is seeing happen right now, than its clear President Obama is nowhere near being a friend.

Hearing him say go online and be innovators while Homeland Security has been steadily shutting down seizing and shutting websites without a hearing or due process didn’t sit well. I kept thinking to myself, a true friend, a real homeboy doesn’t lie to his peoples. The guy on stage last night did.

And no we should not have to charge his transgressions off to some half ass wisdom that states: ‘that’s what politicians do’ or ‘that’s how the game is played’.. That’s all nonsense.

I’ve heard president Obama speak on numerous occasions to folks in our community where he’s demanded that we ‘pull up our pants’ and strive for excellence. I’ve heard him demand dead beat dads stand up and be counted. I pretty much heard him last night call for all of us to make a commitment to excellence and to not settle for being mediocre.

Maybe someone needs to tell our President its mediocre when you lie and omit truths. That’s not excellence. That’s called pimping. It cheapens the lofty ideals he puts forth. It’s like praying to God to help you be good at committing a sin.

Anyway, after last night, things hit a point where I no longer care if crazy white folks are running around carrying signs with him eating watermelons, or dressed like Hitler. He’ll be alright. He’s got money. Both him and Michelle are lawyers..plus he’s the Commander and Chief so he has the military at his disposal and they got Secret Service protection.

Many who I know don’t have any protection. They’re not protected from increased foreclosures, increased deportations, increased police brutality and increased prices for basic things like food, heat and shelter. There’s no protection from the outright lies being told by TV pundits who make a few thousand for a speech telling us the flowers are starting to bloom when we know damn well it ain’t.

What’s the solution? many say we needed to get out and work for the Hope and Change.. That’s a pimp game gone awry. That’s an attempt to refocus us and dismiss the truth. People need to be reminded, long before president Obama came along, we were working for Hope and Change.

We did this in 2000 when millions of voters were disenfranchised in Florida as we watched all 100 senators including the fool we voted for Al Gore, not raise their hands to fight for further investigations and recount counts. Y’all remember that right? Y’all remember the opening scene in Michael Moore’s documentary Fahrenheit 9-11?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pQv_M_WQAxU

We saw folks take to the streets only to watch a lot of Hopes dashed on that one.

In spite the immense disappointment we regrouped, got ourselves together endured 4 years of hell under George Bush and came back swinging in 2004.

We had large anti-war rallies, some which numbered in the hundreds of thousands.

We saw artist step up and record at last count over 200 anti-war songs. Folks forget what went on back in those days.

We all came together pushed for more change… We stepped up and brought out record numbers of voters (the most for any presidential election). We saw folks standing in long lines in the rain in some cities ready to do what needed to be done to turn things around..

Sadly at the end of the day, we saw our hopes dashed by voter disenfranchisement in Ohio..I recall talk show host Tavis Smiley sitting on ABC News speaking to this.. We saw some of our champions like the late Congresswoman Stephanie Tubbs speak to this..but there was no change and no real fight to correct the wrong.

Instead we saw many criticize P-Diddy and his Vote or Die campaign for not bringing out the Youth Vote when in fact young people not only came out, but was the only demographic to vote in the majority for John Kerry.

Nevertheless we all got up dusted ourselves off, regrouped and went back to work. We organized, strategized and in doing so, we got behind one of the emerging bright stars who were first introduced to in 2004. We voted Barack Obama who electrified us during his speech at the 04 DNC into the US Senate. Impressed that he was speaking out against the war and echoing many of the ideals we had fought for since 2000 we saw him as another catalyst for the change we were pushing for.

Around that time, we saw millions of Brown folks take to the streets, flexing potential political power demanding immigration reform. We saw a proposed Draconian bill The Border Protection, Anti-terrorism, and Illegal Immigration Control Act of 2005 that would’ve criminalized undocumented folks defeated.

We saw our Hope and Change manifest itself when we gave the Senate and Congress Democratic majorities with the expectation that those who were newly minted with power would stop the war, impeach the President (GW Bush), bring about election reform to stop things like Swift Boat campaigns. We gave folks in power the tools and mandate to start correcting a lot of wrongs

We saw impressive sea changes locally all over the country. This was best symbolized in a city like Dallas, which is notoriously known for being red. We saw it flip to blue. We saw folks vote in a new DA named Craig Watkins who started looking into questionable cases where folks were wrongly convicted and he started to correct things. he was overturning cases and making moves to bring about justice.

We elected Nancy Pelosi, a long time liberal from San Francisco to be the Speaker of the House. She was the first woman to ever hold that seat and many figured since she came from place that was a key epic center to anti-war fever she would exercise her power to wheel and deal.

The stage was set. Tools were given. Folks were anxious for the change to began. We were told to hold off and wait just a bit longer. Everything would be set once we put in a president. This would ensure us not being vetoed. So everyone bit their tongue and got behind the election of the man who personified the Hope and Change. He was the crowning jewel and the key to putting everything in motion.

Many of us worked, gave money and followed the game plan to get him into office. Once elected he had the excitement and enthusiasm of the people. He had Democratic majorities in both houses. He had all the tools.. All that was squandered. Very little has happened. There’s been surface changes at most, lots of lip service, and tons of excuse making. The cold part about it is that there’s been an attempt to erase the hard work that was put in for the past 8-10 years to turn things around.

So last night’s State of the Union was hollow and the realization that as much as I would like and naively expected, this president is not trying to address the realities that are impacting my world on a daily. There is obviously another audience he feels needs to be reached. Maybe its corporate backers, or some phantom independent voters in the middle of the country. Whatever the case it’s certainly not the activists who was leading those huge marchers or organizing to bring about the changes I described.

So God Bless to those he was speaking to.. For the rest of us, we understand this script. We dust ourselves off, regroup and come up with a better game plan…one that ensures the interests of poor and working class are not only protected but pushed forward. That’s the goal for 2012 Support and votes are not guaranteed

That’s how President Obama is playing it. He doesn’t see us as friends, his homies or anything like that. He sees us as potential voters who need to be seduced or conquered into buying his agenda which bears little reflection of our realities. I understand.

Great Speech, Great show.. President Obama deserves an Oscar. His act is convincing. key word ‘Act’

Something to ponder

‘Davey D

Filed Under: 2011 Daily News Tagged With: BarackObama, Congresswoman Stephanie Tubbs, Great ACT-Key Word 'Act', Homeland security, P-Diddy, President, Rosa clemente, State of the Union 2011, State of the Union address, Thoughts on State of the Union: Great Speech, wells Fargo

Should We Feel Bad for Charles Rangel? Immortal Technique, Rosa Clemente & Rep Barbara Lee Weigh In

December 3, 2010 By mrDaveyd

Charles Rangel

Yesterday many of us saw how long time Congressman Charles Rangel and former chair of the powerful Ways and Means Committee stand on the floor of Congress and get censured. This came on the heels of him recently being found in violation of 11 house ethic rules in a 9-1 vote by the House ethics committee members. Being censured was the strongest punishment aside from expulsion that could be applied a man who served Harlem for over 40 years.

In recent years especially after President Obama got elected many have seen, felt and experienced the effects of what is often described as a highly racially charged climate. Hence to see a Black man who was arguably one of the most powerful men in the country and definitely congress be reduced in such a public way was more than bothersome. Adding to Rangel’s censuring is the fact that 8 other members of the Congressional Black Caucus including long time congresswoman Maxine Waters are being investigated or also facing a hearings on ethic violations. One can’t help but think that Black elected officials are being targeted and hence the wagons must be circled.

Many of us including myself immediately thought of elected officials who have done far worse and haven’t gotten as much as a slap on the wrist. The violations range from Congressman Joe Wilson shouting at the president during the state of the union to former vice president Dick Cheney shooting his friend Harry Whittington in the face and then being accused of trying to cover things up. Years later we come to find out that Cheney didn’t even apologize. We think about those elected officials who were negligence behind the Hurricane Katrina catastrophe or those who deliberately misled us into to war and one can only ask why aren’t the people behind those transgressions being censured?

Long time Harlem resident Immortal Technique said we should not feel bad for Charles Rangel

I’ll be the first to say a guy like Rangel has been no angel and his tenure as Congressman has drawn mixed response.One thing that can’t be denied is the fact that his 40 years of services means enough people from what was known as the Black Mecca liked him enough to keep sending him back.

However longtime Harlem residents like rapper Immortal Technique have publicly stated that one should not feel bad for Rangel and the punishment he’ll be getting because he sold Harlem out a long time ago. It’s not the first time we’ve heard this critique from residents who feel like as Harlem has been massively gentrified with lots of poor folks having been literally kicked out withRangel leading the charge.

Just as word came down that there would be no leniency as requested shown for Congressman Rangel. I posed the question on my twitter feed and Face book Page as to how Harlem residents felt? Did they think it was unfair Congressman Rangel was being censured?

I made the comparison between his ethic violations and the transgressions of others.. Very few came to his aid on my often overtly opinionated timeline which includes many people from my former uptown stomping grounds of Harlem.

Rosa Clemente goes in on Charles Rangel

Long time activist, journalist and former Green Party Vice presidential candidate Rosa Clemente weighed in and gave us all serious food for thought …It was in response to this statement I made..

Dick Cheney can shoot a man in the face and not apologize and he’s good but Charles Rangel misuses some stationary-gets censored

Rosa responded:

Well Charles Rengal did not just do that..the man has three rent stabilized apartments in Harlem, where half the population is poverty poor. You can’t use Dick Cheney as an excuse. Rengal deserves to be censured, as most of those cats do.. The problem is particularly black men in politics think they can act like white men.. History shows that never works, but being from NYC him and 90% of all Black and Brown politicians need to go. They are rich ass millionaires pimping our communities….You do not get a pass cause your Black. How many brothers right now living in Rangel’s district are being stopped, frisked and arrested for a nickel bag or for other petty crime. I bet they wish all they were getting was a tongue lashing

Rosa’s sentiments resonated with a lot of folks who feel that far too many officials are disconnected from the communities they serve and that when they get into office they start catering to big money interests and not the people who voted them in.. After 40 years did Rengal lose his way? Should he have been extra careful in such a hostile climate or was he unfairly being made an example? The fact that all he is getting is censured versus jail time is something we might also keep in mind, but does that reflect badly on Harlem or us as Black folks?

Here’s what Oakland Congresswoman Barbara Lee who heads up the Congressional Black Caucus had to say on the matter.She issued a statement that read as follows..

“Today’s vote by the House of Representatives to censure Congressman Rangel was an overly harsh sanction, especially considering that after a 2-year investigation the Committee found no evidence of corruption or personal financial gain. Under House precedents, a reprimand would have been a fairer sanction for the lapses that he has long since admitted and corrected.

“The censure sanction is a departure from the customary sanctions in other cases that have been adjudicated over the years. According to the Committee’s counsel, Congressman Rangel’s misconduct resulted from overzealousness and sloppiness, not corruption.

“Today’s action in no way diminishes Congressman Rangel’s distinguished 50-year history of service to his country and constituents who again overwhelmingly returned him to office in November. Members of the Congressional Black Caucus are proud to call Congressman Rangel our colleague and friend.”

Something to Ponder

Davey D

Return to Davey D’s Hip Hop Corner

Filed Under: 2010 Daily News, Political articles Tagged With: Barbara Lee, Congressional Black Caucus, ethic violations, Immortal technique, Rosa clemente, Should We Feel Bad for Charles Rangel? Immortal Technique & Rosa Clemente Weigh In

Media is Mind Control: Afrika Bambaataa vs Hot 97

October 8, 2010 By mrDaveyd

Media is mind control has long been a sentiment held by folks who felt that deliberate distortions and mischaracterizations my broadcast media was a weapon that led to entire communities being dehumanized. We saw this take place in winter of 2004 when Hot 97 deejays got on air just two days after what many considered to be the worst natural disaster in history and made fun of the 200 thousand people who perished.

The Hip Hop community was outraged and came after Hot 97 led by an organization called REACH.. a big rally was held in front of the station where all sorts of artists and activists came out and spoke truth to power. Among the speakers was Hip Hop pioneer Afrika Bambaataa and long time activist and former Green Party Vice presidential candidate Rosa Clemente. We married their powerful words to some remarks made by Minister Louis Farrakhan on media and the way it influences people’s thinking.. Opening up the mashup is media justice advocate Malkia Cyril

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A4Yv1ay0CmM

Return to Davey D’s Hip Hop Corner

Filed Under: 2010 Daily News, Political articles, Southern Shift Tagged With: Malkia cyril, Media is Mind Control: Afrika Bambaataa vs Hot 97, media justice, REACH, Rosa clemente

A Look Back at Hurricane Katrina-The Sights & Sounds w/ Public Enemy, Kanye West vs George Bush & DJ Chela

August 27, 2010 By mrDaveyd

Another take on the classic PE cut “I” that originally featured on THERE’S A POISON GOIN’ ON. Inspired by a trip to New Orleans in 2007, Chuck wanted to create a new version of the song and shoot a video as he explored the ruins of the lower 9th ward.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=suzg1tRa9kM

Public Enemy

Below are the audio archives from our last two Hard Knock radio Shows that focus the plight of Katrina survivors and their trials and tribulations..

Our guests on this show are New Orleans natives Rev Lennox Yearwood of the Hip Hop Caucus who was in New Orleans leading a march for poor people.. Our other guest is author Jordan Flaherty who wrote an incredible book called Floodlines. In his book he starts off by giving in depth accurate accounts of what really took place in the days after the Katrina. he dispels many of the myths about violence, rapes and lotting in the superdome. He points out who the real ‘First Responders‘ were during that time period. Click the Link below to hear the show..

http://www.kpfa.org/archive/id/63583

Below is our Hard Knock Radio show with katrinba survivors… Spoken word artist Safari Ra and Black Dot Cafe owner Marcel Diallo. Safari relives the horric moments when his house was flooded and how he and his family stood on rooftops for several days desperately seeking help. We talk to him about what took place in the aftermath and what the climate was really like. He noted that the community in the 9th Ward came together. There wasnt all this drama that mainstream media lied about.

Marcel Diallo is a long time property owner who lost his home on the 9th Ward. he explains what its been like to recover and rebuild. He talks about all the red tape and all the drama that many have had to endure. Its haeratwrenching and frustrating..

http://www.kpfa.org/archive/id/63558

Below is an audio mix that speaks for itself.. 5 years ago.. Monday August 29 2005 Black America got her own 9-11. She was hit with an act of terrorism in New Orleans that was just as devastating if not more than what took place when those Twin Towers were felled by planes… Yes, you read that correctly.. Most people mistakenly believe that the city of New Orleans was destroyed by Hurricane Katrina. Lets make sure folks understand this once and for all… Much of neighboring Mississippi was destroyed by HurricaneKatrina which hit the state with its full level 5 impact.

Click HERE to Listen to Audio Mix

http://www.swift.fm/mrdaveyd/song/60030/

DJ Chela’s Katrina Mix Testisfy ’05

Here’s an incredible collage of sounds..A *testimonial* to the struggle and devastating injustice experienced by the people of New Orleans in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina. With spoken clips from Kanye West, David Banner, Rosa Clemente, New Orleans residents, Al Sharpton, Ray Nagin, George W Bush, and news journalists. From Dj Chela‘s 2006 mixtape “High Treason” hosted by M1 of dead prez.

Click HERE to Listen to DJ Chela's Hurricane Katrina Mix

http://soundcloud.com/djchela/testify05

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Filed Under: 2010 Daily News, Political articles Tagged With: A Look Back at Hurricane Katrina Sights & Sounds w/ Public Enemy, A Look Back at Hurricane Katrina w/ Public Enemy, Black Dot Cafe, Floodlines, George Bush, Hip Hop Caucus, Hurricane Katrina, Jordan Flaherty, kanye West, Kanye West vs George Bush, Kanye West vs George Bush & DJ Chela, Marcel Diallo, Public Enemy, Rev Lennox Yearwood, Rosa clemente, Safari Ra, There's Poison Going On

Rosa Clemente Gives keynote at Hip Hop Congress Convention in Detroit

June 28, 2010 By mrDaveyd

Rosa Clemente at Hip Hop Congress Convention

Rosa Clemente gave the keynote address this evening (June 26, 2010) at the national conference of the Hip-Hop Congress in Detroit, MI. Taking place adjacent to the U.S. Social Forum this gathering of what Clemente described as, “the only real national hip-hop political organization,” happens at yet another moment of crisis in what is the permanent moment of crisis for oppressed and exploited communities. And that which also goes by “the hip-hop community” is indeed among them.

Rosa Clemente is among only a few who are able to, with a severe relatively, speak so often and so publicly of the many issues confronted by the hip-hop community. Those issues are, of course, the issues which face us all and include political prisoners and mass incarceration. They are the struggles over poverty, police brutality, as well as, rampant and violent misogyny – to the point, as Clemente made clear tonight, that death at the hands of spouse or loved one is the third leading cause of death for women in this country. These issues include capitalism, colonialism, zionism, pan-Africanism, Puerto Rican nationalism and sound responses to the simple ridiculous claims of hip-hop’s electoral power shown in its ability to elect Obama. Clemente addressed all these and more issues in a way that young people too often are kept from and too often at the hands of the cultural expression or the loudest hip-hop spokespeople, authors and academics. Who is to define our struggle and the avenues we take to develop a future world that itself is defined by us? This was the fundamental question asked and it is a question that demands a strong and collective answer.

Hear the entire speech at: http://www.voxunion.com/?p=2776

by Jared Ball

Filed Under: 2009-Daily Hip Hop News Tagged With: Hip Hop Congress, Rosa clemente, Rosa Clemente Gives keynote at Hip Hop Congress Convention in Detroit, voxunion

America’s New Racial Boogieman-An Interview w/ Rosa Clemente

April 1, 2009 By mrDaveyd

dbanner1newparis

America’s New Racial Boogieman-An Interview w/ Rosa Clemente

by Davey D

Listen to this Breakdown FM Interview w/ Rosa Clemente

http://odeo.com/episodes/24390751-Rosa-Clemente-The-nation-s-new-Boogieman

rosaclementepr-225 We sat down with former Green Party Vice Presidential candidate Rosa Clemente to break bread about a number of issues. First and foremost we wanted to talk about the current speaking tour she is on that addresses the issue of America being a post racial society in the aftermath of the election of President Obama.

Rosa gives an in depth breakdown about this notion and concludes that racism is alive and well and may in fact if the patterns of history hold true, things may get progressively worse because of the economic downturn.

Rosa then talked about how the racism conversation needs to be extended beyond the traditional ‘Black and White paradigm. She says with 40 million Brown and Afro Latinos in this country, that we simply can not ignore the challenges they face. Some issues overlap while others like ICE raids and immigration detention centers seem to specifically target folks in Brown communities.

She expounded upon this and talked about how America’s new Racial Boogieman is Brown in particular Mexicano. She also acknowledged that racism amongst Black folks hasn’t stopped as evidence by the rash of questionable police shootings from Oscar Grant in Oakland to Adolph Grimes in New Orleans

We talked to Rosa about her thoughts around President Obama and US boycotting the Durban Conference on Racism in Geneva because of strong objections by the Isreali lobby AIPAC. She shared with us her experience of attending the first Durban Conference on racism in South Africa and what it was like to see Colin Powell lead the US delegation out the conference when the body declared slavery was a crime to humanity.

Rosa talked about how she was glad that president Obama was honest and upfront about his reasons for boycotting the conference. She said now we all know that he is powerless when it comes to standing up to Isreal which obviously control much of his agenda.

She noted that he has taken great strides to de-racialize all issues and that in many ways its easier for him to not talk about problems confronted by Black men.

We talked to Rosa about her experience in running for Vice President and what lessons she learned and what challenges she faced. She noted that she will not be leaving electoral politics and will keep her options open to run for another office down the road.

She talked about the current crises we are facing including not having Single-payer health-care and not seeing the foreclosure crises be adequately addressed. She talked about the 14 Tent cities around the country and how that was inexcusable for a country that has so many resources.

She talked about the opportunities and challenges facing the Green Party and what she would like to see happen for them in the future. She says with the Republican Party imploding and the democrats behaving more and more moderate the Greens have an opportunity to fill a big void for people yearning for more progressive politics.

We concluded by talking in great detail about the work she is doing with Amnesty International around the issue of Immigration and Detention. She talked about all the new policies, resources and laws being put in place to target those who fit the description of being undocumented. She talked about how many US born citizens are likely to be caught up in sweeps and other types of detaining procedures and may even be connected and accused of helping others come into the country ‘illegally’.

We ended our convo with Rosa talking about the role Hip Hop organizations have been playing in the political arena.

Rosa was very thorough and insightful in this must hear interview.

Listen to this Breakdown FM Interview w/ Rosa Clemente

http://odeo.com/episodes/24390751-Rosa-Clemente-The-nation-s-new-Boogieman

Return to Davey D’s Hip Hop Corner

Filed Under: 2009-Daily Hip Hop News, Breakdown FM Interviews, Political articles Tagged With: America's New Racial Boogieman-An Interview w/ Rosa Clemente, Breakdown FM, Davey D, Durban Conference on Racism, Hip Hop news, Rosa clemente