A "State of Young Black America" panel broke down the key issues and concerns currently facing young blacks last night at a event hosted by the University's chapter of the NAACP.
The panel included Dr. Thabiti Lewis, professor of English at Washington State University, Angela Clements, a 2006 University graduate and a master's candidate in Public Health at Emory University, and Alwin Jones, a post-doctoral candidate in English at the University. Each panelist gave their opinions on a series of themes, including hip-hop music, the AIDS crisis in the black community and the use of popular social networking tools in organizing the black community.
Lewis talked at length about the influence of hip-hop music on American culture and emphasized the need to understand "the power of the music."
He said hip-hop emerged as a response to the civil rights era and draws on many traditions from within the black community. This, he noted, makes hip-hop a potentially valuable resource and outlet for many young black Americans.
"Certainly, when we think of hip-hop culture there are many critiques," he said, noting, however, "hip-hop is really the next step after the black power movement ... Hip-hop is certainly a good thing, and if we harvest it correctly, we can certainly make a statement [because] hip-hop is taking everything and making it do something."
According to Lewis, hip-hop is a "work in progress" and a focal point for political and social action.
One of the problems with hip-hop, though, according to Lewis, is that "there is a sense that we have lost some sort of control over the music" because although blacks write and record most of the music, they do not own the record companies, which exert a great deal of control over what music is recorded and released. Future hip-hop artists, he said, must be able to gain more control over their art.
Another problem, Lewis noted, is that early hip-hop "emphasized the notion of 'us' and the community, but now there is a sense of self."
Efforts must be made, Lewis maintained, to reunite hip-hop with this past history.
"As a hip-hop community, we need to come together," he said.
Lewis also said hip-hop has the unique power to potentially change current, problematic social realities within the black community.
"Black boys and girls listen to hip-hop, and they are better prepared for safe sex as a result of the music," he said, adding that "rap does have a potential and has shown that it can continue to facilitate social innovation."
Clements, meanwhile, focused her remarks on the AIDS epidemic and its impact on the black community. She noted that when the AIDS epidemic first began, it mainly affected white gay males and drug users, but now it heavily affects blacks.
"The impact on our community is still very severe ... This is particularly important for our generation," Clements stated, adding that within the 13- to 24-year-old age bracket, blacks account for 61 percent of new AIDS infections.
Clements stressed the importance of education, prevention, early treatment and the need to eliminate the stigma attached to being HIV-positive. She also emphasized that there are many encouraging things happening within the black community to combat the spread of HIV and AIDS.
"There is more education, there are national campaigns -- some sponsored by celebrities -- and advances in medical technologies," Clements said. "This is not a hopeless cause."
She also cited statistics showing black teenagers are reporting less sexual behavior and increased condom use.
To halt the spread of HIV, Clements added that the black community needs to take what it already knows and put it to good use.
This call to action was echoed by Jones, who stressed that the new generation of young black Americans can "no longer depend on [the older generation] to take charge, to give us our purpose and continue to lead."
The use of social networking sites, such as Facebook, has contributed to the "decentralization of leadership," Jones maintained. Facebook, e-mail, blogs, text messages and other technological inventions can empower the individual to mobilize, Jones said, but they must not be seen as the end; rather, they should be seen as means to an end.
"If [creating Facebook groups] is the extent of the organizing, then technology is serving to limit the social imagination and stifles the efforts to organize," Jones said. "If this is so, then [social networking tools] are widening gaps they allegedly bridge."
Jones also questioned whether the black community is more prominent, outspoken and visible on Facebook than it is in real life. If organizing efforts to overcome social problems becomes "more about cyber relationships than real-life interactions, we're in trouble," Jones said.
Modern technology, Jones added, has given many the ability to call for change, but today's youth must follow through if anything is to really happen.
"The millenial generation is [both] a gift and a curse," Jones said.
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