Community Organization Hip Hop Government Takes Anti-Sagging Campaign National and Will Battle it Out with the Ying Yang Twins on the ''Dr. Phil'' Show
Dallas organization Hip Hop Government has expanded its ''Pull 'Em Up'' billboard campaign and has launched new community initiatives for 2008.
Dallas, TX (PRWEB) January 22, 2008
Community organization Hip Hop Government (www. hiphopgovernment. org) has expanded its ''Pull 'Em Up'' billboard campaign to additional cities in the Dallas Fort Worth Metroplex and is taking the campaign national. The organization's co-founders Jay Scroggins, Damon Wofford, and Chris Williams have been invited to appear on the nationally syndicated ''Dr. Phil'' talk show, which will bring the anti-sagging campaign to a national audience when the show airs on Monday, January 28, 2008. Dallas Deputy Pro Tem Mayor Dwaine Caraway, Rev. Al Sharpton, and rap duo Kaine and D-Roc of the Ying Yang Twins will also appear on the show with the Hip Hop Government co-founders. The featured guests were invited to discuss the controversial topic of whether government should regulate the way people wear their clothes and will also discuss hip hop artists accepting responsibility for the effect of their music and lyrics on the hip hop culture. "We are excited for the opportunity to address issues that concern our culture," expressed Williams. "Too often, when members of the hip hop community are in the media, it's for something negative. It feels good to know that we are being invited because we are recognized for our positive contributions to the community."
Hip Hop Government (http://www. hiphopgovernment. org) caught the public's attention in October 2007 with the initial roll-out of its ''Pull 'Em Up'' billboard campaign, which was launched as a public education campaign against sagging pants and the need for improved public image within the hip hop community. The organization believes that despite the popularity of this boxer-baring fashion trend within the hip hop community, it is often misinterpreted and can leave young people stereotyped as well as hurt their chances for securing employment. Hip Hop Government initially reached out to Deputy Mayor Pro Tem Dwaine Caraway and Dallas city officials in response to a proposed anti-sagging city ordinance which sparked concerns about constitutionality. The organization joined forces with Caraway and eventually encouraged the city to implement a public education campaign in the form of a man law instead of a city law. "Hip Hop Government is not for legislating how people wear their clothes. But we are in support of people having self-respect and respecting people around them," explained Scroggins.
Hip Hop Government was the creative force behind the artwork and slogans, and Clear Channel Outdoor generously agreed to donate the billboards. The original set of 17 billboards featured illustrations of young men wearing sagging pants that exposed their boxers, accompanied by various slogans. The billboard campaign expanded during the first week of January with the unveiling of 30 additional billboards in cities across North Texas. The latest set of billboards includes a depiction of two grandmothers offering stern advice to youngsters to ''Pull 'Em Up!''
About Hip Hop Government:
Hip Hop Government (http://www. hiphopgovernment. org) was founded 2005 in Dallas, Texas by Damon Wofford, Jay Scroggins, and Chris Williams. The three young entrepreneurs saw a need to get the local hip hop culture involved in the political process, because the issues of that community were not being addressed politically due to their lack of involvement. Seeing themselves as leaders of Dallas' southern sector, Wofford, Scroggins and Williams sought to form a group that would encourage political representation of hip hop culture to benefit all members of that community. The group would serve as an avenue to recruit, groom and promote political leaders within the culture. In addition, the organization's founders wanted to show society and the hip hop community that the mainstream symbols of the culture are not necessarily its leaders. Hip Hop Government's mission is to mobilize the people of the hip hop culture to use their vote for positive change for political, social and economic concerns. In September 2007, the organization helped to organize and mobilize over 1,800 people traveling by bus and car to Jena, Louisiana to protest the incarceration of six black teenagers. Additionally, in recent months the organization's weekly Party with a Purpose has recruited thousands of diverse members to the organization who have registered to vote. Hip Hop Government is also working in collaboration with Obama Dallas Youth & Young Adults to sponsor the First Annual Hip Hop Government Power Summit. The event, scheduled for Saturday, February 23, 2008, will address the political and social issues facing the hip hop generation and its communities. The focus of the first annual event will be urban revitalization, entrepreneurship and education. The half-day event will be a lead-in to the Take It to the Streets Voter Registration March sponsored by Dallas City Councilwoman Carolyn Davis.
For more information, visit www. hiphopgovernment. org].
Media Contact:
Ngozi Mba
MINC Media
323.544.1450
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