The Hip-hop Generation Fights Back: Youth, Activism, and Post-civil Rights Politics

Andreana Clay

NYU Press, Jul 2, 2012 - Social Science - 230 pages

From youth violence, to the impact of high stakes educational testing, to editorial hand wringing over the moral failures of
hip-hop culture, young people of color are often portrayed as gang affiliated, “troubled,” and ultimately, dangerous. The Hip-Hop Generation Fights Back examines how youth activism has emerged to address the persistent inequalities that affect urban youth of color. Andreana Clay provides a detailed account of the strategies that youth activists use to frame their social justice agendas and organize in their local communities.

Based on two years of fieldwork with youth affiliated with two non-profit organizations in Oakland, California, The Hip-Hop Generation Fights Back shows how youth integrate the history of social movement activism of the 1960s, popular culture strategies like hip-hop and spoken word, as well as their experiences in the contemporary urban landscape, to mobilize their peers. Ultimately, Clay’s comparison of the two youth organizations and their participants expands our understandings of youth culture, social movements, popular culture, and race and ethnic relations.

Contents

• Keep Your Eyes on the Prize: 23
• Its Gonna Get Hard: 55
• HipHop for the Soul: 91
• Queer Youth Act: 121
• Big Shoes to Fill: 153
• Conclusion: 181
• Appendix: 191
• Notes: 199
• Bibliography: 215
• Index: 223
• About the Author: 230

About the author

Andreana Clay is Associate Professor of Sociology at San Francisco State University.

Bibliographic information

• Title: The Hip-hop Generation Fights Back: Youth, Activism, and Post-civil Rights Politics
• Author: Andreana Clay
• Edition: illustrated
• Publisher: NYU Press, 2012
• ISBN: 0814717160, 9780814717165
• Length: 230 pages
• Subjects: Social Science / Anthropology / Cultural & Social; Social Science / General