On Saturday, March 19, 2016, 47 cities around the world will participate in a global fundraising initiative bringing together the hip-hop community in partnership with the non-profit Prince of Peace Missionary Baptist Church, in solidarity and support for the people of Flint, Michigan. Hip-Hop 4 Flint will gather local, national, and international hip-hop artists, journalists, activists, educators and supporters to raise funds to purchase water filters for the homes of the residents of Flint, MI. This event is being led by YoNasDa Lonewolf, emcee, published writer, and activist who focuses her work on human rights, indigenous rights, and social justice. She was the creator of Hip-Hop 4 Haiti, and an executive committee member of the Justice or Else! 20th Anniversary of the Million Man March, which was led by the Honorable Minister Louis Farrakhan.
The city of Flint, MI is home to 100,000 residents, of which 40% are living in poverty, with an average income of $25,000. In 2014, while the city was under the control of a state appointment emergency manager, the city switched its water source from Lake Huron to the Flint River. The city saw a sharp increase in lead levels that were well above the EPA’s standards of safety, exposing the city’s 9,000 children to water that was classified as toxic waste. This city deemed the water unfit for consumption and declared a citywide state of emergency. The children of Flint have been hit the hardest with some experiencing permanent and devastating health defects from lead poisoning. In addition to lead contamination, there is a larger problem looming in Flint with a recent outbreak of legionella bacteria which infects the lungs, causing pneumonia, otherwise known as Legionnaires Disease. To date there have been 10 deaths due to Legionnaires Disease.
To help address the situation, the Hip-Hop 4 Flint coalition will host a global fundraising event on March 19, 2016, to raise funds to purchase home water filtration systems for residents that will filter both lead and bacteria throughout the entire home, making the water safe for both consumption and washing. Each city will gather their leaders and youth in the hip-hop community to host an event to collect monetary donations to purchase water filters. All donations will go towards the purchase of filters which will be delivered personally, home by home, to the residents of Flint by the Hip-Hop 4 Flint delegation.
This event is modeled after Hip-Hop 4 Haiti which took place on January 30, 2010 with a gathering of 32 major cities who hosted events on the same day. The youth and hip-hop community hosted events to raise money, relief, and awareness for the loss and suffering for the survivors of the devastating hurricane that hit Haiti in 2010.
Hip-Hop 4 Flint will bring together notable hip-hop artists such as Du “Doitall” Kelly of the Legendary Lords of the Underground, Hakim Green from Channel Live, Jon Connor of Aftermath, and local artists from each city to join hearts and hands in support of the people of Flint. Events will take place simultaneously in Flint, Detroit, and Grand Rapids, MI, New York City and Long Island, NY, Chicago, Philadelphia, Newark and New Brunswick, NJ, Baltimore, Atlanta, Miami, Orlando, Tampa, and West Palm Beach, FL, Dakar, Senegal, Toronto and Montreal, Canada, Boston and New Bedford, MA, Charlotte, Winston-Salem and Durham, NC, Providence, Phoenix, Washington, D.C., Austin, Dallas, Houston, and San Antonio, TX, Oklahoma City, New Orleans, St. Louis and Kansas City, MO, Minneapolis, Little Rock, Los Angeles, Cincinnati and Columbus, OH, Hampton and Richmond, VA, Greenville, SC, Ashkelon, Israel, Memphis and Nashville, TN, Denver, Bridgeport, CT, and Montgomery, AL, and will be streamed online via UStream and broadcast through media partner allhiphop.com.
To help the cause, we have partnered with emcees OCKZ, SKYZOO, and QUADIR LATEEF who will donate 20% of the proceeds from the “Rise Up” iTunes single to #HIPHOP4FLINT – the single sells for $.99 on iTunes. “RISE UP” is also an emcee’s lament on the State of America and recent atrocities like the #FlintWaterCrisis. The lyrics are a perfect fit for the discussions being had in Hip-Hop and beyond about how American governments and law enforcement agencies are failing some of its most vulnerable and precious citizens – young lives of color.
The strength that Hip-Hop encompasses around the world will bring together the community like no other, because Hip-Hop is UNIVERSAL!
If you would like to organize your city for this historic event, please email National Convener YoNasDa Lonewolf at hiphop4flint@gmail.com. For more information visit www.hiphop4flint.com.
