The
powerful of hip-hop impart word that voting makes youthful
voices heard
Saturday, October 01, 2005 • BY
RICK HEPP • Star-Ledger Staff
It may have been the most exciting civics
lesson these students ever got.
More than 6,000 high school and college
students repeatedly jumped up from their seats at Sovereign
Bank Arena in Trenton yesterday and screamed every time one
of their favorite hip-hop artists talked about -- of all
things -- the importance of voting.
The message resonated with Montclair High
School senior Camille Bouknight, who registered to vote
during the "Be Powerful, Be Heard" summit sponsored by the
Attorney General's Office.
"It's important to just get out and vote
because you want your voice to be heard," Bouknight said.
"Voting is a privilege and I feel like everybody should
voice their opinion."
The idea behind the summit is simple: Get
teens as psyched about their right to vote as they are about
getting their driver's license.
"We want to create an excitement for
voter registration," Attorney General Peter Harvey said. "We
are telling them that their lives matter and their ideas
matter. We should not write off our young people as if they
don't matter."
The lineup featured New Jersey residents
Russell Simmons and Jaheim as well as hip-hop artists The
Game, Doug E. Fresh, and Freeway. The summit, which was Web
cast live to school districts across the state, also
included a spoken-word competition in which 15 finalists
performed a three-minute poem about the importance of
voting. The winner, James Pendergrast of East Brunswick
Vo-Tech, earned the chance to perform on HBO's Def Jam
poetry show and BET's "Rap City" as well as film a public
service announcement on voting that will air in
October.
Simmons, the founder of the Def Jam
record label, said sometimes it takes more than a civics
lecture on voting to get teens to the polls.
"Kids get inspired," Simmons said. "You
can hear it from a prophet, but if you hear it from a rapper
it might be easier to digest."
Rhythm and blues singer Jaheim, 28, who
was born in New Brunswick and lives in Hillsborough, used
the summit to register himself to vote for the first
time.
"My message to the youth is to get out
and register to vote so we can have good government and so
our voices can be heard," he said. "We need somebody to look
out for us."
© 2005 The Star-Ledger. Used by NJ.com with
permission.
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