Hip-hop’s ghetto culture has passed into the mainstream

National Conference of Black Mayors to Host 33rd Annual Convention in Baton Rouge, La. on May 2 – 7

The National Conference of Black Mayors (NCBM) is hosting its 33rd Annual Convention in Baton Rouge, the capitol city of Louisiana, from May 2 through May 7 at the Baton River Center. As 2008 presidential candidates have announced their intentions earlier than usual, and as Louisiana is still coping with the aftermath of Hurricanes Katrina and Rita, this year’s Convention promises to be one of the most significant for NCBM and the more than 640 black mayors who will assemble in Baton Rouge, La.

Mayor Melvin “Kip” Holden, Baton Rouge’s first African American mayor, will join NCBM in welcoming the more than 2,000 attendees — including mayors, municipal staffs, other elected officials, educators, business people, and foreign dignitaries — who will gather to acquire leadership development, discuss key topics impacting communities of color, and discover resources they can take back to their respective cities. In total, Convention attendees represent more than 38 million American residents.

“The theme of this year’s convention is ‘Leadership Is’, reflecting NCBM’s commitment to empowering the mayors who represent communities of color and equipping them with the accurate information, practical skills and applicable resources they need to better serve their constituents, ” says Vanessa Williams, executive director of NCBM. “This Convention is so much more than another chance to gather; we get work done — from discussing our communities’ priority agendas with presidential candidates and learning about new research relevant to our communities to gaining skills and resources that will influence local policies.”

Throughout the Convention, mayors and other notable politicians and community leaders, will engage with presidential hopefuls, including plenary sessions and luncheons with Senator Hillary Clinton, Senator John Edwards, Senator Barack Obama and Governor Bill Richardson of New Mexico. Other prominent influencers scheduled to appear at the Convention include: Prime Minister Portia Simpson of Jamaica; renowned actor Danny Glover; author, academic and radio host Dr. Michael Eric Dyson; athlete and entrepreneur Earvin Magic Johnson; and singer/actor Harry Belafonte. The conference will also feature entertaining performances by musicians Erykah Badu and John Legend, and comedian Rickey Smiley.

During Convention workshops and seminars, mayors and NCBM leadership will discuss the following key NCBM topics:

– Greening Communities of Color: A 2005 Associated Press analysis found that Africans Americans are 79 percent more likely than whites to live in neighborhoods where industrial pollution is suspected of posing the greatest health danger. This Convention will shed light on the latest statistics and the startling physical and economic consequences within communities of color. NCBM will unveil a partnership with researchers and the historically black colleges & universities (HBCUs) to further study the significance and impact of landfills in minority communities, and will educate mayors through a series of workshops.

– Building Sustainable Families: The U.S. Census revealed that, on the whole, African Americans have lower rates of marriage and marital stability than all other ethnic groups. They also have higher rates of single-headed families than other groups. NCBM will establish a dialogue about strategies to reverse this trend and will announce a partnership with the Department of Health & Human Services to focus on building stronger black families.

– Establishing Effective Emergency Protocols: Through Hurricane Katrina, mayors and city officials all over the nation learned the hard way about the value of established, effective communications systems and protocols during a state of emergency. At the Convention, NCBM will roll out a partnership with Connect-CTY to establish technological systems that will enable real-time communication during an emergency via cell phones, text messages and email alerts, as well as a partnership with the American Red Cross to provide disaster preparedness training to all mayors.

“Baton Rouge is ready to roll out the red carpet for mayors, prime ministers and other visiting officials, many who will be visiting our city for the first time with the National Conference of Black Mayors,” says East Baton Rouge Parish Mayor-President Melvin L. “Kip” Holden. “Our city has a diverse group of people who are working together to make this conference one of the most successful ever.”

In addition to the workshops and programs for mayors, Mayor Holden will host NCBM attendees at the festive FestForAll Outdoor Celebration, featuring live blues music and Louisiana cuisine. Also, the Convention will feature a daylong Youth Day on Saturday, May 5 focusing on educating and empowering youth.

Recommendation to the Recording and Broadcast Industries

The following is a statement from Russell Simmons and Dr. Benjamin Chavis on behalf of the Hip-Hop Summit Action Network:

The theme of the Hip-Hop Summit Action Network (HSAN) is “Taking Back Responsibility.” We are consistent in our strong affirmation, defense, and protection of the First Amendment right of free speech and artistic expression. We have recently been involved in a process of dialogue with recording and broadcast industry executives about issues concerning corporate social responsibility.

It is important to re-emphasize that our internal discussions with industry leaders are not about censorship. Our discussions are about the corporate social responsibility of the industry to voluntarily show respect to African Americans and other people of color, African American women and to all women in lyrics and images.

HSAN reaffirms, therefore, that there should not be any government regulation or public policy that should ever violate the First Amendment. With freedom of expression, however, comes responsibility. With that said, HSAN is concerned about the growing public outrage concerning the use of the words “bitch,” “ho,” and “nigger.” We recommend that the recording and broadcast industries voluntarily remove/bleep/delete the misogynistic words “bitch” and “ho” and the racially offensive word “nigger.”

Going forward, these three words should be considered with the same objections to obscenity as “extreme curse words.” The words “bitch” and “ho” are utterly derogatory and disrespectful of the painful, hurtful, misogyny that, in particular, African American women have experienced in the United States as part of the history of oppression, inequality, and suffering of women. The word “nigger” is a racially derogatory term that disrespects the pain, suffering, history of racial oppression, and multiple forms of racism against African Americans and other people of color.

In addition, we recommend the formation of a music industry Coalition on Broadcast Standards, consisting of leading executives from music, radio and television industries. The Coalition would recommend guidelines for lyrical and visual standards within the industries.

We also recommend that the recording industry establish artist mentoring programs and forums to stimulate effective dialogue between artists, hip-hop fans, industry leaders and others to promote better understanding and positive change. HSAN will help to coordinate these forums.

These issues are complex, but require creative voluntary actions exemplifying good corporate social responsibility.

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Sara Lee Corporation Names Two Law Firms as Preferred Partners in Company’s Diversity Initiative

Sara Lee Corporation (NYSE:SLE) today announced that is has designated two law firms as “Sara Lee Preferred Partners” for 2007, based upon these firm’s overall superior quality of legal services and diversity performance.

Sonnenschein Nath & Rosenthal LLP and Reed Smith LLP will receive preferred consideration from Sara Lee’s legal department when seeking legal service assistance. Both firms have demonstrated superior diversity performance as assessed under Sara Lee’s review standards. As a result, the firms may use their “Sara Lee Preferred Partner” status in their marketing materials.

Sara Lee’s diversity program, which focuses on women and minorities, is well-known in the legal industry and regarded as a corporate model. In its fifth year, the program continues to evolve and to carefully monitor the efforts and improvements of law firms seeking the Preferred Partner status with Sara Lee.

“We expect our firms to be excellent in all categories of service and performance, including talent and diversity,” said Roderick A. Palmore, executive vice president, general counsel and secretary, Sara Lee Corporation. “At Sara Lee, we strongly believe that performance should be rewarded. Consistent with that belief, firms that distinguish themselves in all service and performance categories will have enhanced opportunities to represent Sara Lee in matters in which they have expertise and experience. I commend Sonnenschein and Reed Smith for their superior results.”

This is the second consecutive year that Reed Smith has earned Preferred Partner status from Sara Lee and Sonnenschein Nath & Rosenthal’s first time in receiving this designation.

Sara Lee annually analyzes several years’ worth of data from its primary law firms, including information on the number of minorities and women in each firm, the numbers of such by level and the firms’ attrition rates. In addition, external recruiting and promoting of female and minority lawyers is assessed as is the composition of each firms’ most senior leadership. Each firm is classified into one of three categories based on the analysis, with the Preferred Partners representing the uppermost category.

Firms in the middle category are deemed by the company to have provided excellent legal services but to have had inconsistent diversity performance. While the company commends these firms and recognizes their efforts, it also challenges them to show improvement.

The third category consists of those firms which, despite having provided legal services of a very high quality and espousing a commitment to diversity, have failed to demonstrate what Sara Lee deems to be a sufficient degree of accomplishment in diversity. Firms which fall into this category for more than one year put their relationship with Sara Lee at risk.

via BusinessWire

Papa John’s and Alpha Restaurant Group Deliver Pizza Partnership for Economic Growth in Motor City

Papa John’s International, Inc. (NASDAQ:PZZA) and the Alpha Restaurant Group, LLC today announced a joint venture to open up to four Papa John’s restaurants in Detroit by year’s end, with a total build-out plan of 30 Papa John’s restaurants in greater Detroit within the next six years.

“Quality is the common thread that drives the Papa John’s and Alpha Restaurant Group franchise relationship,” said Nigel Travis, Papa John’s president and CEO. “The caliber of highly motivated and experienced investors combined with their experience and commitment to the community is an unparalleled match that promises growth for all parties involved.”

Day-to-day restaurant operations, facilities management, staffing and training will be the responsibility of The Alpha Restaurant Group. Papa John’s will serve as a best practices and management consultant and the two entities will partner on all marketing-related aspects of the restaurants.

“We believe the Detroit urban market offers a tremendous growth opportunity for high quality restaurant brands and Papa John’s delivers a quality product to the table of our community,” said Paul L. Hubbard, Sr., president and CEO of The Alpha Restaurant Group. “It is our desire as a 100 percent owned and operated group of African American business professionals to give back to the community, provide jobs and training, and to contribute to a more viable and robust business environment.”

New Book Considers Hold of Hip Hop on Young Black Women

In hip hop music and videos, young black women are consistently portrayed as sexually insatiable vixens willing to debase themselves for the privilege of even the shortest ride on the music industry party train.

Still, young black women play an enthusiastic part in hip hop culture, as do youth of all races who continue to make hip hop a worldwide phenomenon.

Tracy Sharpley-Whiting — a Vanderbilt University professor, young black woman, former model, feminist and a hip hop fan — researched this paradox and responded with “Pimps Up, Ho’s Down: Hip Hop’s Hold on Young Black Women.” The book, published by New York University Press, offers an insightful look into the strip clubs, groupie culture and other aspects of hip hop that have given a voice to the disenfranchised while raising troubling questions about what those voices are saying and doing.

“As disturbing as I find some of what’s going on around gender in hip hop, there are also things that we need to celebrate,” Sharpley-Whiting said. “It’s the soundtrack of black life in the United States, and it’s absolutely astonishing that it became such a cultural force globally.

“We have to revel in that kind of creativity coming from such a marginalized group.”

“Pimps Up, Ho’s Down” features chapters on the maneuvers of groupie-rap star relations, the sexual abuse of black women and strip club culture. The book paints a complex portrait with one constant: Black women always at the bottom of any pecking order.

“That doesn’t mean I find hip hop depressing,” Sharpley-Whiting said. “I find the state of gender and race relationships depressing. Just because aspects of hip hop may be misogynistic and sexist doesn’t mean that misogyny began with hip hop. Hip hop just happens to be the youth culture of the moment and therefore takes the wrath on a lot of issues.”

Any solutions will involve changing society rather than stifling hip hop’s blunt articulation of what’s going on, Sharpley-Whiting said.

“I do urge young women to be more politically conscious about the choices they make and the opportunities they take,” she said. “They’ve become reducible to dispensable and exchangeable commodities of sex and beauty in commercial hip hop, and I hope that space can be created for opportunities beyond that.”

T-Pain Sophomore Effort ‘Epiphany’ in Stores June 12

Konvict/Jive Records recording artist T-Pain will release Epiphany, the follow up to his gold-selling album Rappa Ternt Sanga, on June 12th. The single “Buy You A Drank (Shawty Snappin’)” is the #1 gainer at Rhythm Radio for four straight weeks outdistancing artists such as Fergie, Lloyd, and Bow Wow; previously T.I. was the last artist to accomplish that feat. The single is also moving furiously to the top of several other charts – #3 on the Urban/Hip-Hop Monitor chart, #7 on the Rhythmic Monitor chart, and #10 on the Billboard Hot 100 Singles chart. In the video world, the video’s been added to BET in heavy rotation and to MTV2, MTV Jams and to the # 1 Countdown “Hip-Hop” show on Fuse. In the digital realm, the single has sold over 157k ringtones and the online sales have increased, jumping from # 21 to # 12 this week alone.

His new single “Buy You A Drank (Shawty Snappin’)” features Yung Joc and borrows from four different snap records to create one hot track. “Basically, these days lots of people begin their relationships in the clubs,” explains T- Pain. “Whole conversations begin with some guy buying a young lady a drink. I wanted to make a song for those folks.”

After catching the ear of songwriter and producer Akon, he was quickly signed to Akon’s label Konvict Records and rapidly followed in his footsteps to the top of the charts. T-Pain has had two successful singles from his gold-selling debut album Rappa Ternt Sanga. The first single “I’m Sprung” sold over one million ringtones and “I’m N Luv With A Stripper” sold in excess of 5 million ringtones. The sophomore album Epiphany is produced, written and arranged by T-Pain.

James Prince, Owner of Rap-A-Lot Records, Accused in Lawsuit of ‘Threats, Intimidation and Violence’

In a lawsuit filed today in Harris County state district court, Ronald “Ronnie” Bookman owner of 7303 Records and Studio 7303 claims he was savagely beaten in an assault ordered by competitor James Prince. Bookman alleges his beating was part of an ongoing effort by Mr. Prince and his Rap-A-Lot 2K Records, Inc. to snuff out Bookman’s fledgling record label.

According to the lawsuit, Mr. Prince a/k/a J. Prince directed a half-dozen of his associates to attack Bookman at a Houston recreation center owned by Prince. The alleged beating took place on Jan. 25, 2007. Bookman says he was lured to the gym after he was advised that Prince wanted to “make things right” regarding a dispute between the two men. When Bookman arrived at the gym, he says he was led to a weight room where he met with Prince. The lawsuit says that Prince became angry with Bookman and directed the men to enter the room and assault Bookman. Bookman suffered severe head trauma, a broken nose and injuries to both eyes. He was treated the next day at the Park Plaza Hospital emergency room and is still receiving treatment for his injuries.

“This was a vicious act of intimidation, plain and simple,” says John B. Thomas, lead counsel for Bookman and a name partner in Houston’s Hicks Thomas & Lilienstern, LLP. “We believe Mr. Prince’s plan was to eliminate competition in the Houston Rap and Hip Hop music business through the use of threats, intimidation and violence.”

The dispute arose out of a common industry practice in which artists, otherwise bound by exclusivity arrangements with their record companies, make guest appearances or “features” on other artists’ records. Consistent with this practice, several well-known artists including Bernard Freeman (a/k/a “Bun B”), Mike Jones and Stayve Thomas (a/k/a “Slim Thug”) had in 2005 agreed to record on 7303 Records’ first release, by the artist Javon “JV” Daniels, entitled, Rap or Die.

According to the lawsuit, Prince and Rap-A-Lot Records had agreed to allow Bun B to record the feature Wrong for Dat and assign all rights to 7303 Records in exchange for substantially discounted or free studio time at Bookman’s recording studio. Bun B recorded his CD, Trill at Studio 7303 from June to September 2005. In late 2005, Rap-A-Lot, in conjunction with Warner Brothers’ Asylum Records, released Trill. Trill has since earned gold record status.

The lawsuit alleges that Prince and Rap-A-Lot Records reneged on their promise to release the Bun B feature after Warner Brothers approached Bookman with a proposed “label deal” to develop, record and promote rap and hip hop artists.

“We believe that Mr. Prince feared that his influence and financial well- being would suffer if Mr. Bookman and 7303 Records were successful,” says Thomas. Ultimately, Warner Brothers would not proceed with the distribution and marketing of JV’s CD without the Bun B artist release.

“We believe that Mr. Prince feared that his influence and financial well- being would suffer if Mr. Bookman and 7303 Records were successful,” says Thomas. Ultimately, Warner Brothers would not proceed with the distribution and marketing of JV’s CD without the Bun B artist release.

Mr. Bookman is a longtime fixture of the Houston music scene, and has operated Studio 7303 for five years. Studio 7303′s clients represent a Who’s Who of the music industry, including top-selling artists such as 50 Cent, Timbaland, Justin Timberlake and Missy Elliot.

The lawsuit alleges breach of contract, battery, unfair competition, duress, conspiracy and unjust enrichment. Bookman is also seeking a court order barring Prince and his business associates of coming within 500 feet of his home and business.

via PRNEWSWIRE

Bishop T.D. Jakes’ Official Statement Concerning Racist Comments by Radio Talk Show Host Don Imus

The following was released by Bishop T.D. Jakes, Senior Pastor/Founder, The Potter’s House of Dallas,
Inc.:

“Trying to be funny” is a justifiable excuse for calling a group of distinguished young African-American women “nappy-headed [whores],” or so says radio talk show host Don Imus about his racial slurs April 4 toward the young ladies of the Rutgers University women’s basketball team. Given that Imus and his producer are still employed, one must assume that NBC, their employer, agrees. With this attitude, is it any surprise that racism continues to poison America?

Jesus taught that “What goes into a man’s mouth does not make him ‘unclean,’ but what comes out of his mouth, that is what makes him ‘unclean.’” (Matthew 15:11 NIV) The fact remains that Imus’ unprovoked racial slurs — which sadly appear to be part of a personal pattern over the years — clearly reveal a deeper malignancy of the heart. But it is the lack of immediate and meaningful response by his employer that reveals a deeper cancer in America. Press statements and public appearances are mere bandages when someone’s daughter is called a whore for fun. True healing will come only when individuals honestly address the root of their remarks, rather than making excuses for them, and only when employers and advertisers in our society respond immediately and decisively. Hall of Fame baseball player Cal Ripken immediately canceled his forthcoming appearance on Imus’ show; others should do the same.

Imus is a broadcast industry professional, who I hold to a higher standard. Imus’ employers are broadcast conglomerates that I also hold to a higher standard. And the advertisers that spend millions on Imus’ show should also be held to a higher standard. Allison Gollust, senior vice president for news communications at NBC, has stated: “We take this matter very seriously.” If so, Imus and Bernard McGuirk should be unemployed today and the excuses should stop, so that the healing can begin.

On behalf of decent moral people of all backgrounds, and specifically for women of color, we heard the so-called joke. But now the entire media, advertisers and industry executives should deliver the punch line.

100 Black Men of America Statement on Don Imus

The 100 Black Men of America, Inc. demands of MSNBC and CBS Radio the immediate dismissal of Don Imus for his racist, demeaning, derogatory, and sexist comments concerning the Rutgers University Woman’s Basketball Team. The 100 Black Men of America, Inc. finds that this calculated utilization of the public air waves to promote racial stereotypes, bigotry and hatred through the veiled shield of humor is repugnant, and unacceptable to our community. We submit to MSNBC and CBS Radio that a two week suspension doesn’t serve as a severe enough punishment.

We at the 100 Black Men of America express our proudest congratulations to Coach C. Vivian Stringer, the assistant coaches and the women of The Rutgers University Scarlet Knights for their outstanding season. Their achievement of earning their way to the NCAA Women’s Basketball finals can be attributed to their hard work, dedication, determination, acumen and pride. We salute you, your coaching staff and your families for helping guide you, nurture you and develop you into the beautiful young women that you are.

Albert E. Dotson Jr. Esq.
Chairman of the Board
100 Black Men of America, Inc.

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