Wednesday, May 13, 2009

300 WOMEN IN HIP HOP

AS LISTED BELOW THE HIP HOP ASSOCIATION IS WORKING ON RELEASING A BOOK NAMING 300 LADIES IN HIP HOP AND I AM PROUD TO ANNOUNCE THAT DESDAMONA IS ON THE LIST!!!!

Thursday June 25, 2009 7:00 pm EDT

The Hip-Hop Association, in collaboration with the Center for Multicultural Education and Programs at New York University, proudly presents the Womanhood Passage Fundraiser, a special evening acknowledging the strength, beauty, leadership, challenges, and successes of women in Hip-Hop.

Special guests represent Hip-Hop artists, as well as executives, activists, media makers, and entrepreneurs. Confirmed speakers include: MONIE LOVE, ROCKAFELLA, BARAKA SELE, TOOFLY, MARCELLA RUNELL HALL, DJ BEVERLY BOND, KIM OSORIO, DJ JAZZY JOYCE, RACHEL RAIMIST, THEMBISA MSHAKA, DR. ROXANNE SHANTE, MARTHA COOPER, and CINDY CAMPBELL, the Mother of Hip-Hop. The Womanhood Passage Fundraiser is meant to serve as a safe space where we can address issues affecting women. The youngest guest speaker is 15 year-old P-STAR, who will talk about her documentary P-Star Rising, recently screened at the TriBeCa Film Festival. The event kicks off the Hip-Hop Association’s 2009 Womanhood Learning Project (WLP) initiatives.

The Womanhood Learning Project magnifies women’s roles and leadership positions within Hip-Hop culture and the community. The two main goals for the WLP in 2009 are a resource book entitled, FRESH, BOLD, AND SO DEF: WOMEN IN HIP-HOP CHANGING THE GAME and THE LADIES FIRST FUND, the first grant for women in Hip-Hop. Fresh, Bold, So Def: profiles over 300 artists, activists, and entrepreneurs, while the Ladies First Fund is an initiative that offers a $5,000 grant to a candidate dedicated to social entrepreneurship in the Newark, New Jersey area. The WLP is supported by the likes of the New Jersey Performing Arts Center, The Center for Urban Entrepreneurship & Economic Development at Rutgers Business School, New York Liberty, Ford Foundation, Union Square Awards, and the NYU Office of Lesbian Gay Bisexual Transgender Student Services (LGBTSS).

“This event is more than just honoring those that have paved the way, it is also promoting intergenerational healing amongst women,” says Martha Diaz, Founder of the Hip-Hop Association. “Too often the negative associations of women in Hip-Hop go unresolved; we hope to have the Womanhood Passage Fundraiser move us toward a resolution while promoting some of the most positive women in Hip-Hop.”

About the Hip-Hop Association: Formed in 2002, the Hip-Hop Association [H2A] is an award winning 501(c)(3) non-profit community building organization. The H2A fosters social change through the use of media, popular culture, social entrepreneurship, leadership development and diplomacy. We are dedicated to facilitating social justice, education reform, cross-cultural unity and civic engagement, while preserving Hip-Hop culture for scholarship and future generations.

For more information on the Womanhood Learning Project initiatives and to receive Press Credentials for the Womanhood Passage Fundraiser please contact Shana Louallen at Shana@hiphopassociation.org or 646.359.8448


Peace, Desdamona