What is the Teach-In? A brief history
The Remixing the Art of Social Change: A Hip-Hop Approach teach-in is designed to outline the tools and resources necessary to develop curriculum, programs, and work (artistic and scholarly) based on hip-hop culture. The teach-in also addresses how to retain and attract high caliber hip-hop artists and build sustainable organizations.
Our field is made up of organizations that use hip-hop culture to promote social change and push the envelope of what hip-hop culture can produce artistically, academically, politically and socially. The presenters at Remixing the Art of Social Change are the artists and educators who never gave up on hip-hop and are still actively working through it to promote love, peace, unity and having fun. The teach-in is for people who move beyond hip-hop as a purely aesthetic art and see it as a vehicle to build organizations and to educate youth and families along with their communities through the arts.
Words Beats & Life, Inc. (WBL) is spearheading the move to the next stage of our field’s development by creating a strategic development plan for excellence, scale, and sustainability to strengthen the network of hip-hop based youth-serving organizations. This process is being initiated though a teach-in called “Remixing the Art of Social Change: A Hip-Hop Approach”, and through a series of subsequent gatherings of board members, youth, front line staff and executive directors of hip-hop based organizations and programs. WBL is working towards hosting the teach-in in four different geographies from 2009-2011. The first of these will mark the second annual national “Remixing the Art of Social Change: A Hip-Hop Approach” teach-in. This will take place June 12-14, 2009 in Washington, D.C. The second, third, and fourth will be hosted in St Paul, MN, Chicago, IL and San Francisco, CA, respectively.
The planning of these four teach-ins follows our groundbreaking, inaugural West Coast teach-in in the Bay Area or California in October 2008. The California teach-in was inspired by the release of “The Blueprint for a Movement” issue of our peer-reviewed journal, Words. Beats. Life: The Global Journal of Hip-Hop Culture. As a part of the release of the issue in November of 2007, the staff of WBL organized the first “teach-in” in November 2007 at Howard University to showcase the work being done around the country through the medium of hip-hop culture to transform individual lives and whole communities. It included presentations about best practices, artist exhibitions, panel discussions, and both fundraising and interactive workshops. The event has initiated the creation of a forthcoming publication called the “The Counter Balance: The Impact of Hip-Hop Non-Profits on Communities.”
Where is the Teach-In headed?
Our most recent teach-in in DC (2010) was be the fourth time we hosted this event and the third time in the District of Columbia. In 2009, we had more than 250 individuals from around the world register to attend our DC teach-in. Due to the success of our national and West Coast teach-ins—the San Francisco event convened 45 organizations from all over California—we anticipate that the number of registering organizations will continue to increase.
Who does the Teach-In serve? Three tracks for Teach-In
The 2009 DC teach-in was a three-day event with three tracks 1) Organization Track for those that operate as Hip-Hop Non-Profits, Non-Profits Organizations using Hip-Hop, Non-Profits Working with the Hip-Hop Generation(s); 2) Youth Track for emerging youth leaders participating in/benefiting from the activities of these organizations; 3) Scholar Track for professors, students, and freelancers doing research related to hip-hop culture. Although not a separate “track”, the teach-in can also benefit independent hip-hop artists through networking opportunities, especially for those considering building a non-profit or for-profit venture, those working with/for youth, and/or those interested in further research and personal and professional development.
Definition of Audience for Organization Track
• Hip-Hop Non-Profits
• Non-Profit Organizations using Hip-Hop
• Non-Profits Working with the Hip-Hop Generation(s)
Definition of Audience for Scholars Track
• Published Authors (focused on Hip-Hop)
• Graduate and Undergraduate Students
• University Professors
• Individuals being published in upcoming or past issues of the WBL journal
• Emerging and established scholars
Definition of Audience for Youth Track
• Emerging youth leaders participating in/benefiting from work of non-profits and other hip-hop centered organizations
• Youth wanting to learn about funding, research, and other elements of the field
• Urban Arts Academy Students (required for all participating in the Swagger Expo in Sept. ’09)
The Untitled Issue is dedicated to taking its readers on a journey through the many ways in which hip-hop scholars, artists and activists are archiving and evaluating the meaning and impact of this culture all over the world. This issue is good for at least two stamps in your passport and some frequent flier miles. Order yours today.
