Hip-Hop Love Project

We ran into our friend Lonnae at NABJ and she told us about this Hip-Hop Love Project in Prince George's County, Maryland. It seems like its right on time. If you will be in the D.C. area please support! Below is the text of the letter being circulated via email:

Dear Friends:

We're off to a wonderful start with the Prince George's County Women's Collective.Our purpose, to begin to change the most corrosive aspects of the popular culture by empowering local girls and young women to promote anti-violence messages, encourage educational achievement,encourage respect for women and girls
is well underway with the planning of our inaugural event, the Hip-Hop Love
Project"

To recap, we intend to let young women know that they have a voice and the power to counter some of the negative messages and degrading images in commercial hip-hop music. We believe that by speaking out and using that power, young women can be most effective in influencing the behavior of young men because much of the misogyny, posturing and violence in the culture wouldn't happen if our young women were not silently complicit.

The Hip-Hop Love Project is an initiative to wear and distribute free (cute) tee-shirts at the Shops at the Capital Centre in Largo in late September. The shirts have already been designed and trademarked and will include the following slogans:

***You look better without the bullet holes. Put the guns down
***I auditioned for the video, but my MIND was too big
***You want this? Graduate!
***Record Label Gangsters are wack-so are real ones
***Smarts-show me yours and I'll show you mine


The back of each tee will say "Bring Back the Love. The Hip-Hop Love
Project." If you are interested in participating in this project, please consider donating to the effort to purchase the tee-shirts and/or volunteering to wear the shirts and show your support at the Boulevard at the Capital Centre on the designated date.

For our friends in distant places, please feel free to use this model to begin your own women's collective and possibly your own free tee shirt distributions. We are asking for a minimum donation of $75, but more is welcomed. The more support, the more tee-shirts, the more love. To be a part of this effort, please make checks payable to: Masai Design and send to the attention of Lynda Green at PO Box 6795 Largo, MD 20792. Because of the time constraints involved the printing process, checks must be received no later than Friday, Sept. 1 to be part of this initiative.

We hope you heed this call to activism--this chance for black women to step into our light and begin to reclaim our culture, and our children. In the names of black women who have always struggled to better their communities, their nation and this world, please help us Bring Back the Love! Please feel free to forward to your friends and family.