20-50,000 Rally for Education in NYC!

Also see: http://www.nyc.indymedia.org
http://www.nytimes.com/2002/06/05/education/05RALL.html

Subject: FNV: Hip Hop/Education Rally Draws Thousands


The FNV Newsletter
In Today's Issue: June 5 2002

*BREAKING NEWS: R KELLY INDICTED
*SHUT 'EM DOWN SHUT'EM DOWN: RALLY DRAWS THOUSANDS
*SUGGESTIONS TO MAKE HIP HOP BETTER
*CONFESSIONS OF AN INTERNET BOOTLEGGER by SOHH.COM

Send comments, questions and concerns to

mrdaveyd [at] aol.com
misterdaveyd [at] aol.com

The FNV Newsletter
written by Davey D

http://www.daveyd.com
http://www.rapstation.com

c 2002 All Rights Reserved
===================================

...
===========================

SHUT 'EM DOWN SHUT'EM DOWN: RALLY DRAWS THOUSANDS

'Put Education First' was the theme although yesterday's massive rally
in front of New York City's city hall was billed by local media as
'Hip Hop vs. City Hall!' or 'Russell vs. The Mayor.' Whatever the
case, the teachers union, Russell Simmons' Hip Hop Action Network,
dozens
of big name rap stars and anywhere from 20-50 thousand people showed
up to shut things down... From P-Diddy to Dougie Fresh. From Chuck D
to dead prez. From Jay-Z to Alicia Keys to LL Cool J. Even my boy JT
the Bigga Figga from out here in San Francisco showed up. The biggest
names in Hip Hop came out in support of an event designed to send a
strong message to NY's Mayor Michael Bloomberg... 'Do NOT front on
Our Kids'. Do NOT put more money into prisons versus schools'.

The show of force obviously worked because the meeting to finalize the
budget cuts was postponed. Although I must admit watching Bloomberg
at press conferences he seemed to downplay the rally and act like
it was no big deal. He gave some sound bites about how this a great
country and its nice that everyone gets to voice their opinion. When
tens of thousands show up at your front door its more than just folks
voicing their opinion. It's the people demanding that you be
accountable to a job they elected you to do. And if they don't want
education cuts then they don't want education cuts.

Chuck D said it best both on stage and later to TV news reporters;
'You've got a mayor who's a billionaire, who wants to take the
opportunity away from you to become the same type of person.'

So how did the rally go? To say the least it was massive and pretty
successful. As should be expected there were more than a handful of
folks who tried to find ways to completely hate on it. First, when it
was announced that all these big name Hip Hop artists were coming out,
you heard all sorts of criticisms. Some said it was hypocritical,
since many of the artists never finished high school themselves.
Others questioned whether or not it was a rally or a concert. When
the local TV stations showed the rally they kept showing the footage
where eager kids rushed through a barricade to see Jay-Z. They tried
to
paint a picture of out of control crazy, rioting kids which was far
from
the case.

Also you had some news agencies trying to suddenly downplay
the numbers. When I first saw it on CBS at 4:30pm they announced that
at
least 50 thousand kids showed up. Later you heard estimates ranging to
70
thousand. Today when I read the local papers and they're saying only
20
thousand people showed up. Yet the entire area downtown was completely
shut off and packed with people. It was definitely more then a stadium
filled with people.

I didn't understand the first two criticisms. We hear so many people
complaining that big name Hip Hop artists don't do anything. 'How
come P-Diddy doesn't come to these rallies'? 'How come Jay-Z don't
speak out'? Well, they showed up and spoke out. To me that's a good
thing. Can you imagine what people would be saying if they didn't
show up? One young woman said it best; 'We support them by buying
their music. I'm glad they showed up to support us.'

It's obvious these artists have the attention of our youth for
everything else. Did we not want them to come to the rally? Do you
think all those people would've showed up if they didn't come? Do you
think all this attention and news coverage would've happened if they
didn't come? It's a sad situation, but one that we collectively
created.
This is a celebrity driven society. Unless you're famous and on TV,
way too many aren't trying to hear you. Remember, the first time many
people even became aware of the education budget cuts was when HBO's
Cynthia Nixon [Miranda] stepped up and allowed herself to get arrested
during a protest last month. There had been protests prior to that,
but it was her visibility that caught everyone's attention. Russell
and all the Hip Hop involvement took it step further.

Let's be real, many Hip Hop artists are not organizers or day to day
activists. That's not what they do. It would be great if they did,
but why spin wheels and hold our breath waiting for them to move in
that direction? That's not their best position. They're good at
bringing attention to a particular issue and in some cases putting
some financial backing to a cause. So we have to create the platform
where their talents can best be used. They speak and a lot of people
who
you and I would like to reach suddenly listen. After they get
everyone's attention it's up to the rest of us to follow through with
something
of more substance.

People complain about our youth being sucked up by too much P-Diddy,
Jay-Z and Ja Rule. Hopefully, those same people were out there
at the rally handing out flyers, CDs, tapes, etc., with some viable
alternatives. If we don't like the fact that celebrities have so much
juice over our kids ask yourself what steps are you taking to change
that.
Don't turn on Hot 97. Don't watch BET and don't give your kids money
for an
album that you never sit down and talk them about. If we're not out
there trying to hold those media outlets accountable or be strong
presence
in the lives of young folks, then let's not act surprised when Pookie
says
he relates more to Snoop Dog or Magic Don Juan the Pimp than his own
parents,
teachers and local minister.