TRENTON,
NJ – SEPTEMER 27. 2005 - New Jersey
Attorney General Peter C. Harvey, Russell
Simmons, Chairman of the Hip-Hop Summit
Action Network (HSAN) and Dr. Benjamin
Chavis, President/CEO of HSAN - today
unveiled details of the “BE POWERFUL,
BE HEARD – VOTE NEW JERSEY HIP-HOP
SUMMIT II,” the state’s largest
statewide youth voter education and registration
initiative, in preparation for the October
11 registration deadline and the November
8 General Election. SUMMIT II will take
place on Friday, September 30, 2005 at
the Sovereign Bank Arena on Broad Street
in Trenton, New Jersey. Doors open at
10 a.m. and the Summit runs until 2 p.m.
The event is free and open to the public
with a special emphasis on high school
students (who can only attend with their
respective school) and college students
from across the state.
This
year’s Hip-Hop Summit on Voter Empowerment
will also include 15 high school and college
students from across the state of New
Jersey performing winning spoken word
poetry on the power of the vote. The 15
students were selected after participating
in regional spoken word competitions in
Newark, Trenton and Camden in May. Winners
hail from Douglass, Montclair State, Princeton,
Rowan and Rutgers Universities in New
Jersey and Temple University in Philadelphia
and from high schools in Camden, Essex,
Mercer and Middlesex Counties.
The
Hip-Hop Summit on Voter Empowerment will
be broadcast via the internet to schools
throughout the state through web casting
provided by New Jersey Network. “BE
POWERFUL, BE HEARD – VOTE NEW JERSEY
HIP-HOP SUMMIT II” is the only Hip-Hop
Summit in the nation to use the technology
of the web to include students in the
classroom across the state, giving it
the potential to reach an additional 800,000
students. To tune into the webcast, go
to www.NJElections.org
.
New
Jersey Attorney General Peter C. Harvey
said, “The “BE POWERFUL, BE
HEARD” campaign is a comprehensive
approach to voter education and voting.
The Attorney General said, “By creating
partnerships, like those with HSAN and Rutgers
University – one of our primary partners,
we are raising awareness and advancing the
cause to register voters in New Jersey.
We have an opportunity to raise awareness
and educate New Jersey residents, particularly
young people, about the power of their vote.”
Russell
Simmons emphasized, “Once again,
we are pleased to be in partnership with
New Jersey Attorney General Harvey to
encourage young people to vote. Youth
education on the power of the vote is
an important responsibility of the hip-hop
community.”
The
New Jersey Hip-Hop Summit on Voter Empowerment
will feature Russell Simmons, hip-hop
artists Reverend Run, Doug E. Fresh, Def
Poets Black Ice, Lemmon and Suheir, and
a number of other hip-hop artists and
voter education and community activists.
The New Jersey Hip-Hop Summit is an interactive
panel discussion about the importance
of voting and issues of concern to young
voters. According to HSAN, Hip-Hop Summits
are designed to foster initiatives aimed
at engaging the Hip-Hop generation in
community development issues. One of those
issues is voter education.
Dr.
Benjamin Chavis, President/CEO of HSAN
who will be moderating the Summit, concluded,
“Other states should follow New
Jersey’s lead. Millions of young
people across America will be inspired
by the example now being set by the youth
of New Jersey. Over the last year alone,
there was an unprecedented 15 increase
in the number of young people who voted.
This is hip-hop at its best.”
Over
40 Hip-Hop Summits have been held around
the country in cities such as Los Angeles,
Detroit, Atlanta, Miami, Washington, D.C.,
Kansas City, Philadelphia, Seattle, Birmingham,
Dallas, and others. The “BE POWERFUL-BE
HEARD” voting initiatives were developed
through the HELP AMERICA VOTE ACT (HAVA)
and the Division of Elections. HAVA is
the federal law that provides for federal
monies to assist states in upgrading voting
equipment and election procedures to protect
the right to vote of all citizens. New
Jersey has been recognized as national
leader in the HAVA procedures to protect
the right to vote of all citizens. The
New Jersey HAVA State Plan is administered
under the Office of the Attorney General.
According to Attorney General Harvey,
there are three primary requirements with
the HAVA program; 1) to replace outdated
voting machines; 2) to create a statewide
data base; and 3) voter education and
awareness.
The
HAVA initiatives also include Public
Service Announcements (PSA’s),
sporting and community events, and an
informational web site. The PSA’s
include Queen Latifah, Fat Joe, Doug E.
Fresh, MC Lyte and others. PSA’s
featuring celebrities with a New Jersey
connection; including actors Michael Douglas
and Jason Alexander, actor, producer and
singer Queen Latifah and former New Jersey
Nets basketball player Kenny Anderson
were recently nominated to receive an
Emmy Award.
According
to the Attorney General, voters should
be aware of new registration requirements.
Voters should be informed about new identification
requirements at polling place when they
vote, including what types of identification
are required and accepted. Voting registration
deadline is Tuesday, October 11. Election
Day is Tuesday, November 8. Lastly, absentee
ballots are available by visiting www.NJElections.org
or your local county of elections For
questions, call 1-877-NJ-VOTER
(1-877-658-6837).
About
Hip-Hop Summit Action Network
HSAN
is a non-profit, non-partisan national
coalition of artists, entertainment industry
leaders, education advocates, civil rights
proponents and youth leaders united in
the belief that the "hip-hop"
phenomena is an enormously influential
agent for social change which must be
responsibly and pro-actively utilized
to fight the war on poverty and injustice.
For more information on the New Jersey
Hip-Hop Summit or HSAN, go to www.hsan.org.
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