The relationship between hip-hop and politics has always been a relatively strained one, but folks are working very hard today to rectify that history. Moreover, Democrats in the U.S. House of Representatives announced a partnership with the Black Music Action Coalition (BMAC) on Wednesday (February 14) to launch the Congressional Hip-Hop Power and Justice Task Force. Its leaders include Reps. Jamaal Bowman (New York), Hank Johnson (Georgia), André Carson (Indiana), and Delia Ramirez (Illinois). Bowman in particular remarked how hip-hop is what made him a congressman, and underscored the task force's mission to work with the culture to legislatively protect and support the art form, the Black community, and hip-hop's wider members.
"[BMAC]'s mission is to work with business leaders and lawmakers to utilize the music industry’s influence to impact federal policies that address racial and social justice,” Willie “Prophet” Stiggers, the organization's co-founder, remarked during a press conference. "The RAP Act is just one example of how aligning BMAC’s efforts in tandem with the Congressional Hip-Hop Task Force is a natural extension of Black Music Action Coalition’s work.
Jamaal Bowman Speaks On Congressional Hip-Hop Task Force: Watch
"[We're] supporting solutions to mass incarceration, justice reform, and economic hardships disparately impacting marginalized communities…" Stiggers went on. "BMAC looks forward to centralizing our energy with the first-ever Hip-Hop Power and Justice Task Force to activate legislation that protects the Black community." "Hip-hop has ingrained itself in our culture and continuously called upon us to fight for civil and racial justice," Jamaal Bowman added. "Hip-hop is why I support the movement for reparations, an end to discrimination and corporate greed in the housing industry, and access to healthcare and economic opportunity for everyone.
"That is why I am proud to stand with my colleagues in bringing the advocacy and ideology of hip-hop to Congress in this moment and continue our urgent calls for peace and justice across the world," he continued. This initiative also has the support of the non-profit organization Hip-Hop Caucus. Its CEO, Rev. Lennox Yearwood Jr., hopes that it will address struggles that Black, Latine, and indigenous communities face on a disproportionate level. Meanwhile, for more on the intersection of hip-hop and politics, come back to HNHH.