Still Nuthing Ta F’ Wit: Examining the Power of Hip-Hop to Advance Justice for Youth

Session Type: Symposium

Abstract

In the early 1990s, ten youth refused to get stuck in the web of anti-Black ideologies and systems pervading their lives. Finding a way out of no way through Kung Fu, Five Percenter, and Black liberation ideologies, they would come together to form a supergroup. The Wu-Tang Clan would go on to become one of the most well-known acts to hit a stage, anywhere, ever. Aiming to honor how the Wu-Tang Clan and oppressed youth across the world have innovated, carried on, and enacted Hip Hop as African freedom culture, this symposium gathers five educators, scholars, and heads. In its 50th year, we examine the power of Hip Hop to advance justice for youth from the streets to the school.

Sub Unit

• SIG-Hip Hop Theories, Praxis & Pedagogies

Chair

• Casey Philip Wong, Georgia State University

Papers

• Al Kofeyye Arabiyyeh: How Hip-Hop Became a Shelter for a Palestinian Girl Fighting Colonialism - Casey Philip Wong, Georgia State University

• Exploring Youth-Developed Frameworks for Teaching and Learning Through Hip-Hop Culture and Community - Lauren Leigh Kelly, Rutgers University

• Hip-Hop Homeplace - Ian Levy, Rutgers University

• “I Don’t Spit Dope No More, I’m Pushing Medicine”: Hip-Hop for Healing at a Community School - Joaquin Noguera, Loyola Marymount Universtiy

Discussant

• Venus E. Evans-Winters, The Ohio State University