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For
Immediate Release: |
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For
Further Information Contact: |
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September
19, 2005
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Office
of The Attorney General
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Peter C. Harvey,
Attorney General
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Tracy
Munford
973-504-6341 or 609-571-5101
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“BE
POWERFUL, BE HEARD – VOTE NEW JERSEY”
NJ High School
and College Students Compete To Encourage
Young People to Vote in the Gubernatorial
Election
Perth
Amboy High School Student To Appear on Same
Stage as Hip-Hop Artists as Part of New
Jersey’s “BE POWERFUL, BE HEARD
HIP-HOP SUMMIT II”
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Michele
Cruz, a student at Perth Amboy High School
will be joined by 14 spoken word artists
at the New Jersey “BE POWERFUL,
BE HEARD – VOTE NEW JERSEY”
Hip-Hop Summit II. The Summit will be
held at the Sovereign Bank Arena in Trenton
on Friday, September 30, 2005 from 10
a.m. to 2 p.m.
The
Summit will feature hip-hop entrepreneur
Russell Simmons, hip-hop artists, celebrities
and other advocates of voter education
and registration. The Summit is a panel
discussion, with music, about the importance
of voting and issues of concern to young
voters. According to the Hip-Hop Summit
Action Network (HSAN), Hip-Hop Summits
are held across this country but New Jersey’s
Summit remains the only one nationally
that is web cast live to school districts
across the state. The Summits are designed
to foster initiatives aimed at engaging
the Hip-Hop generation in community development
issues with special emphasis on voter
education and includes questions from
the audience.
The15
Spoken Word artists perform at the beginning
of the Hip-Hop Summit and were selected
from a field of youth between the ages
of 16 and 21 who participated in competitions
in Newark, Camden, and Trenton in May.
Each participant created and presented
a three-minute poem about the importance
of voting. Five winners were selected
from each competition. The overall winner
on September 30 will appear on Black Entertainment
Television’s “Rap City,”
and will have the opportunity to audition
for Russell Simmons’ HBO series,
“Def Poetry Jam.” In addition,
the winner will participate in a Public
Service Announcement about the importance
of voting, which will air across New Jersey
for the month of October preceding the
New Jersey gubernatorial election.
New
Jersey is the first state to utilize the
popularity of hip-hop to motivate, encourage
and educate young people about the importance
of voting. The 2005 “BE POWERFUL,
BE HEARD – VOTE NEW JERSEY”
initiative began at Perth Amboy High School
in April.
New Jersey Attorney General Peter C. Harvey,
“Today’s young people, like
those participating in the Spoken Word
Competition, provide a youth perspective
on issues that affect them. Their contribution
is very important in shaping the message
and incorporating youth into voting.”
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Subscribe
here to receive the Attorney
General's Weekly Update via
e-mail |
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