H.I.P. H.O.P.

What is H.I.P. H.O.P.?

WHO is H.I.P. H.O.P.?

H.I.P. H.O.P. stands for H.ighly I.ntelligent P.eople H.ealing O.ur P.lanet. Since '07, this movement has brought together young performing artists from around Westchester County to learn about and produce hip hop music with a "positive vibe."

While commercial hip hop glorifies violence, sexism, drug use, and materialism, H.I.P. H.O.P. is out there continuing the legacy of "roots" hip hop, it's original form, where the beats and the rhymes made social commentary on inner city conditions and struggles.

What does this have to do with the Institute?

The Westchester Martin Luther King, Jr. Institute for Nonviolence is in partnership with H.I.P. H.O.P. to study the legacy of Dr. King with the participants and explore how the principles of nonviolence and the steps to nonviolent social change are relevant and indeed vital to today's social issues. The lyrics the youth write themselves spring from an understanding of civil rights history and the responsibility we have as individuals and as citizens of the world to continue to strive for safe, just communities, as Dr. King strove to do in launching the War on Poverty.

H.I.P. H.O.P. participants go beyond writing music to spread the lessons they've learned through studying Dr. King's messages. They serve as peer educators, performing at schools, community centers, cultural events and faith institutions. They share their skills and their knowledge by leading workshops, particularly at the Institute's "Ending Violence, Building Hope" conferences.