Undaground Railroad 2 Hip=Hop Newz

           In light of their dark past, African-Americans, the offspring of the slaves, are honored the entire month of February to celebrate their Black Heritage. Black History month traditionally, is considered a time to resurrect the revolution, crank up the old Underground Railroad and march for freedom down memory lane, remembering ancestral martyrs who shed blood so that the legacy could be long lasting.

However, lack of attendance and participants to Black History Month events concludes that Black History is irrelevant to the interest of its very own children. “They don’t think it’s relevant. Maybe the history is not being passed down at home, or they didn’t learn about it in high school, or maybe were not doing a good job at teaching it, I don’ t know what it is, but I’m not willing to give up. It’s necessary to remember our history,” Pradell Frank, chairman of the Black Heritage month committee at Miami Dade College Wolfson campus.

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 A race which has once undergone educational restrictions (Brown vs. Board of Education), now face educational resistance at MDC and abroad. “I do not like going to those events because black people don’t know how to act” anonymous MDC black female student says.


 Has the revolution resigned? Did Civil rights stop movement? Is Black History alive or is it hibernating in Hip-Hop?  

A calendar was published on the MDC website detailing the itinerary of activities scheduled at the various campuses. Spoken Word Poetry, Jazz, Blues and Gospel concerts, discussions and films were a few of the many opportunities available for engagement. Problem is performers and panelists often go before an audience absent of African-Americans. 

“I was disappointed more than anything. Seven out of seventeen audience members were Black and I was the only Black male,” David “King” Cain Radio Personality at Excitementradio.com and host of the Jazz and Poetry Café held Feb. 13, 2014 at MDC Medical Campus says.

Similar scenes of scanty turnouts were observed at MDC Wolfson campus Spoken Word café February. 5, 2014. Devon Dassaw, New World School of the Performing Arts Theatre Alumni, struggled to inspire a handful of spectators to step onstage and “speak from the heart.” A silent response of reluctance and blank stares led Dassaw to randomly select 3 out of the 7 audience members, forcibly putting them onstage by sticking the microphone in their hands and ushering them onto the platform.

Accusations circulate in several directions searching for someone to blame for these poor attended events. Some suppose there is insufficiency within the Black History committee while others suppose it’s the students’ lack of interest in history versus Hip-Hop culture. “It seemed to be a lack of promotion and disorganization as if it was a last minute attempt to throw something together,” Cain says.

Frank explains that budget planning begins as early as October in preparation for February’s festivities. The African American mindset is accused of being so blinded that they are not able to relate with their ethnic prefix which gives hint of their place of descent.  “That’s not me, my parents didn’t sit in the back of the bus neither did I so why do I have to learn about it?” Franks view of the Afro-American mindset in regards to their Black History. “If you’re going to consider yourself an educated person, you have to know where you come from,” Frank says.

Although some events were more attended than others, Frank believes that the trick to drawing a crowd was highly contributed to encouraging professors to invite their students to the events for a grade. The Wolfson Gospel Ensemble was promoted in this manner and as a result, 175 people were in attendance on February. 25, 2014 at MDC Wolfson campus.

Frank also believes that giving the people what they want is the best way to draw them out. In comparison to the educational content events, the music and concert events were much, more, well attended. Speculation regarding the IQ of African-American youth and their lack of knowledge of Blacks in History versus Blacks in Hip-Hop, leaves one wondering what impact does Hip-Hop have on black history? 

 "This gangster-rap, ghetto talking thug 'culture' that certain  segments of society flock to is intolerable," Michael Dunn, a 47-year-old white man who fired 10 rounds into a parked SUV with 4 unarmed African American teenagers  after arguing over loud rap music blaring from a vehicle.

 Rap music has roots that trace back to the civil rights movement when artists such as 2Pac, Public Enemy, Russell Simmons and Afrika Bambaataa (to name a few), used Rap Music to broadcast messages of social injustice within the African-American community. Frank, a Hip-Hop fan since the late 80’s, says “Hip-Hop is a part of black culture, it is a part of the African-American experience; it used to be revolutionary music.” 

Becky Blanchard reports in her article The Social Significance of Rap &Hip-Hop Culture, that ‘Rappers are viewed as the voice of African-American youth, whose lives are dismissed and misrepresented by the mainstream media.’  Blanchard further explains that commodification of Hip-Hop music has steered its listeners away from its heritage of politically charged conscious awakenings and has sold it back in the form of violence, black on black crime in particular.

“We [African-Americans] were a product of what hate produced. We were taught to hate ourselves, so a lot of [intraracial conflict] is breemed off of ignorance,” Rapper Chuck D says.

         Hip-Hop music dictates the decisions of its listeners (African-American youth in particular) instructing how to dress, how to make money, who to vote for, and many other things.  Organizing for Action reported that the seven-time Grammy award winning recording artist Jay-Z  and Multi-Platinum recording artist Wyclef Jean performed at the “Last Chance for Change,” a voter registration rally and concert at Miami’s Bayfront park and Amphitheater to encourage young people to get involved in making history by electing Barack Obama.

          More recently, Jay-Z signed a deal with Barneys (a high end fashion retailer) NYC to display his collection and as a result a black college student Trayon Christian was jailed under suspicion of fraud after making a legitimate purchase; shopping while Black.    

              “In the past we used to have Showtime at Wolfson an open mic format whereby students were self- motivated to step onstage and share their talents (mostly Rappers),” Frank.  Frank vows to use Hip-Hop as a means to draw crowds in the future, but not just for entertainment, but for edutainment. Combining educational content with music and talent, Frank invites students to join forces with the Black History Committee and bring ideas that will keep the attention of the students and increase attendance to Black History events in the future.  

“A history unlearned, is a future doomed to repeat itself,” Philip Lane Basic Reporting Professor Miami Dade College Wolfson Campus says.

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