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Hip hop as a cultural movement has captivated the imagination of youth worldwide, and more teachers than ever are realizing the energy and spirit of hip hop can excite and engage students unlike any other teaching tool. This month -- March is Music in Our Schools Month -- Teaching Tolerance encourages educators everwhere to bring hip hop into their classrooms.
Public commentators routinely, and rightly, criticize some hip hop artists' embrace of misogyny, homophobia, racism and consumer culture. Left out of such critiques, however, is affirmation and exploration of hip hop's longstanding tradition of social resistance. In the words of Chuck D, founder of Public Enemy, hip hop is "the CNN" of today's youth, offering commentary on persistent societal ills.
"Nothing else, currently, allows for you to talk about race, class, gender, sexuality, nationality, politics and the economy like hip hop music and culture," says Michael Barnes, a doctoral candidate at the University of California at Berkley, whose dissertation examines hip hop DJ culture.
In this edition of the ABCs (Anti-Bias Classroom), Teaching Tolerance encourages teachers to join with students in exploring the history of hip hop and the political and social contexts that support this dynamic global movement for social change.
Ilouise Bradford, Tafeni English, Jennifer Holladay, Carrie Kilman, Lavie Raven, Jeff Sapp, Rhonda Thomason and Victoria Williams contributed to this edition of the ABCs.
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