NAACP Youth & College Division Director Stefanie L. Brown will join entertainment mogul and philanthropist Russell Simmons, R&B artist Ciara and many others as a panelist at Sunday’s “Turn Up the Vote” National Hip-Hop Summit in Philadelphia. The summit, being held at Temple University, aims to educate young adults on the issues in the upcoming presidential election.
The summit will focus on topics that effect American youth, including: overcoming poverty, healthcare, education, alcohol and drug prevention, stopping violence in urban communities, ending the war in Iraq and the importance of civic engagement.
“This event will further boost the interest and energy young people are displaying this election year,” said Brown. “‘The ‘Turn Up the Vote’ National Hip-Hop Summit will underscore the power of the vote and provides another opportunity for the hip-hop generation to be vocal and act in the development of a common agenda that strives toward bettering our communities and allowing every individual to reach their fullest potential.”
NAACP units have engaged in various voter registration and empowerment activities this election season. All across the nation, NAACP units have conducted voter registration training, registered voters, sponsored candidates’ forums and provided rides to the polls during the various primary elections. The NAACP Youth & College Division and NAACP National Voter Fund’s ‘Vote Hard’ campaign seeks to empower voters within the youngest part of the electorate. Similar efforts have been organized in communities and on college campuses around the country with a goal of registering 50,000 young voters. The campaign has included step shows, concerts and has a mass media outreach component.
Additional summit panelists will include entertainment and industry personalities Clifford “T.I.” Harris, Jr., Jim Jones, Rosci and Terrence J (hosts of BET’s 106 & Park), Flo-Rida, Webbie, Lil Boosie, Chrisette Michelle, Rich Boy, Styles P, Lyfe Jennings, Lil X, Green Lantern, Gorilla Zoe, Latino hip-hop/reggaeton stars Alexis y Fido; O’Neal McKnight and Emily King.
The summit is sponsored by The Hip-Hop Research and Education Fund, PowerPAC and the Hip-Hop Summit Action Network (HSAN). Doors will open at 12:30 p.m. For more information and to download free tickets, log onto: www.hsan.org.
Founded in 1909, the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People is the nation’s oldest and largest civil rights organization. Its more than half-million adult and youth members throughout the United States and the world are the premier advocates for civil rights in their communities and monitors of equal opportunity in the public and private sectors.
--For more information contact: rmcintire@naacpnet.org
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