In response to the R.E.A.C.Hip-Hop call for action to achieve balance in Hip-Hop, I propose this action plan for establishing a nationwide volunteer Hip-Hop Awareness Street Team.

This plan is not set in stone, and is merely one citizen’s open-ended suggestion of a possible way to disseminate critical Hip-Hop action alerts on a ground level to those who may not have internet access or are unaware of where to find critical Hip-Hop information on the net. Additionally, the Hip-Hop Awareness Street Team may serve as a vital link to breach the perceived gap between ”Hip Hop elites” and “the streets” and may have other possible positive applications.

The skeleton of the plan is as follows:

1. Establish lead figures for overseeing the Street Teams. These Lead Figures form a council which oversees representatives of each region in the US who serve as “regional coordinators”.

2. These regional coordinators oversee (hate to use that word…) all the states in their respective regions. They actively recruit one-two Street Team Leader(s) per state from a pool of hard-working persons already known for their activism work in each state.

3. The Street Team Leaders actively recruit five-ten (or more) Street Team members statewide to disseminate the action alert information on a ”standby” basis. I.e., everyone should just be aware that they are part of this network so be ready and able to spring into action when alerts come from the top.

4. Once action alerts come from the Lead Figures, they e-mail printable versions of the action alert (flyers) to the Regional Coordinators and Street Team Leaders, and perhaps even the Street Team Members directly.

5. Street Team members, Leaders and coordinators all volunteer to print out the action alert flyer to dispense as handbills in their hoods, bodegas, libraries, events, on cars, etc. within 24-48 hours of receiving it. Of course this means everyone involved would have to be willing to pay for these flyers, which for100 flyers, cut into four parts/handbill size is 400 flyers at 5-15 dollars or less for black and white copies depending on where you get copies made, per “Action Alert”. Monies must also be spent for car fare, gas, tokens, etc. necessary to disseminate said flyers. Considering that these action alerts do not come with great frequency, the cost should not be prohibitive for those willing to help heal the Hip-Hop nation on a volunteer basis.

6. If the Hip-Hop Awareness Street Team achieves synergy, sponsorships for the flyers may allow eventual payment for the time of Street Team members, coordinators, etc. Sponsorship opportunities could even grow to include the printing of t-shirts, paying for gas, etc. *As this develops a council to handle sponsorship monies may have to be elected.*

7. All the members of this Street Team and interested heads in each state could stay in touch through one forum or website, with perhaps sub-forums for each state, where members can post “Hip-Hop or Black media watch” postings for media or other issues of importance in their respective state.

Again this is just a spark, an idea I would like very much to build on and perfect with others who may be interested. We GOTTA include folks on the other side of the (digital, academic) divide to bring us all to the promised land…and I am willing to work with anyone who thinks this is a decent idea towards making it a great, and sustainable one. I also offer to serve as one of the North Carolina Street Team Leaders or Regional Coordinators, and am willing to help recruit heads in other states for the cause, etc.

POSSIBLE ISSUES:

1. Who decides who will be the Lead Figures? Should the Lead Figures be persons solely affiliated with the Zulu Nation and the R.E.A.C.Hip-Hop network?

2. How will the “Hip-Hop Nation” collectively be able to respond to this proposal?

In my opinion, the Lead Figures who announce action alerts should be Afrika Bambaataa, etc. persons of that ilk and history. But how would that resolve the issues organizers have in communities outside of New York or communities where no Zulu chapter exists? Hip-Hop is in great need of some sort of official council on matters, where people from all states can present matters to an official “sounding board” of some sort who can offer advice and other resources for resolving these community issues. I believe the Zulu Nation already strives towards this, but many more people have to get involved. Hip-Hop needs one board or website that links to all hip-hop based sites regardless of the site’s viewpoint or affiliation, and offers space for building and dialogue regardless of how much ad money can be made from it.