The Political Action Handbook: A How-To Guide for the Hip Hop Generation [Paperback]

Maya Rockeymoore (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: September 2004

The Political Action Handbook: A How To Guide For The Hip Hop Generation is an engaging book designed to politically empower the Hip Hop Generation. Through personal observations and other stories, Rockeymoore highlights the political and socioeconomic challenges facing youth today and urges the Hip Hop Generation to transcend these hurdles by mastering the tools of political engagement. This one-stop-shopping guidebook also highlights useful websites, publications, organizations and other political resources while providing basic, easy to follow steps for exerting power within the U.S. political system.

Editorial Reviews

Review

"...a hard-hitting step-by-step analysis of what it takes to become politically active..." -- Michael Moore, Author of Stupid White Men and Director of Fahrenheit 9/11

"A powerful voice seeking to empower the voiceless...This book throws down the gauntlet..." -- Congressman Elijah E. Cummings, Congressional Black Caucus Chair

"Political primer, policy roadmap, a seasoned voice of experience, and an urgent call to action, this is a wonderful book..." -- Dr. Julianne Malveaux, Economist and Author

From the Publisher

Perhaps it is only a coincidence that the dawn of Hip Hop occurred at the same time the nation began its "Reagan Revolution." With the election of "The Gipper" in 1980, urban America received a sharp right hook that sent already struggling communities reeling into deeper despair. The stark politics of the era resulted in harsh public policies that undermined worker rights, promoted a warped war on drugs, and took a xenophobic attitude towards the threat of a new disease known as AIDS. It was in this environment that Hip Hop introduced itself onto the national stage. Likening life in the United States to living in a jungle, Grandmaster Flash and the Furious Five placed a national spotlight on grinding poverty, inadequate schools, rampant crime, and the consequences of life in prison in their 1982 hit "The Message." Their desperate lyrical observations mirrored the disturbing reality of urban communities across the country.

As the gains of the Civil Rights era have been rolled back, the children of the spiritual warriors who fought those battles have passively observed as national leaders have employed the tools of "democracy" to effect laws that leave some communities distinctly better off than others. Their passivity has ironically left them voiceless in the world of politics at just the time they have gained a deafening voice in the sphere of popular culture. This sociological imbalance has relegated an entire black and brown generation of Hip Hop B-boys and girls to stereotypical and minstrel-like representation in the mass media, as well as the greater public imagination, resulting in an overarching attitude of dismissive contempt towards this population when it comes to political participation. At the same time, their incentives to vote and participate in the electoral process have been overshadowed by the commonly held perception that politics are shady, as are the politicians that engage in the process, and that voting is a waste of time and effort.

The Hip Hop Generation is now facing a full-blown crisis as apathy and diminishing economic and educational opportunities have become widespread. Menial labor service sector jobs that do not appeal to the bling-bling consumed consumers of the hip hop generation have become the mainstay of many urban, suburban and rural regions as politicians herald the end of Recession and the onset of a newly revitalized American economy. The media-driven hype surrounding Hip Hop serves to overshadow the day-to-day realities of most members of this generation, birthing dreams and aspirations that are, in all actuality, possible for only a few. Reality has been overshadowed by a dream.

Educational disparities add to the mix, as generations make do with sub-standard schools, textbooks and teachers. Mis-education and under-education are the order of the day and there is no end in sight. In fact, the prognosis only worsens as the outlook broadens into future scenarios.

The remedy to this crisis of representation can be nothing less than dramatic, considering the potential power and strength of the generations of black and brown youth just waiting for the proper stimulus that can awaken and focus their political consciousness. In service of this greater cause, Dr. Maya Michelle Rockeymoore has answered this call with the publication of her book, The Political Action Handbook: A How-To Guide for the Hip Hop Generation. Her experience in the field of political action and representation is nothing short of extraordinary, for one so relatively young. The book is filled with personal anecdotes, as well as easily understandable advice through which H2G voters and political activists can make a real and lasting difference at the local, state and national levels. Dr. Rockeymoore does much more than just point out the problems. She points out the problems and then, painstakingly, offers very specific remedies that, if followed, will produce positive results for individuals, groups and communities alike.

Her Verses, or Chapters to the less lyrically-inclined, read like calls to action, producing the desire to make a difference in the Reader, to actually get up, go out and do some of the things that she writes about in their own communities, which is exactly the type of stimulus that is required at this critical juncture of American and world history. Each Verse builds upon the knowledge of the previous Verse, culminating in a broad and detailed understanding of the political processes of the American system of checks and balances, as well as the options available to individuals interested in affecting that process to the advantage of their local communities and organizations.

Perhaps the most profound insight to be gained from this book is the fact that inclusion within the political process can be gained by anybody with the focused will and desire to make a difference. That any individual, organization or even loosely-bound group, can come together for a specific purpose and time in order to represent theirs and others viewpoints in a manner that their political representatives must listen to, and perhaps even obey, if enough people represent. That politics is the American birthright, and equal representation is a right that can only be guaranteed by conscious choice and involvement by each individual.

Perhaps the present international situation that the United States currently finds itself in is enough to awaken the sleeping giant. War has served to solidify the political aspirations of many a generation, dating back, at least, to the founding of this nation and the heroic exploits of black, brown and white patriots alike. A nation that seeks to live up to the high aspirations of documents such as the Bill of Rights and the Constitution must, at some point, return to its philosophical roots, while continuing to fight against the seeping decay and inevitable corruption represented by the excesses of avarice, selfishness and xenophobia. The H2G must take a stand. And the time to make that stand is now. Mark Rockeymoore, Graduate Assistant Texas State University Department of Geography

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Paperback: 116 pages
• Publisher: Fourth Generation Press (September 2004)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0975988603
• ISBN-13: 978-0975988602
• Product Dimensions: 8.6 x 5.8 x 0.3 inches
• Shipping Weight: 6.4 ounces
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #816,611 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)