Convention events in Boston encourage women, hip hop generation to vote

With the most recent polls showing Senator John Kerry and President George W. Bush in a near dead heat, the Democratic National Convention in Boston this week has taken on a sense of urgency.

In addition to the usual rousing speeches and lavish parties, this year's Democratic Convention arrived with a focus on turning out people to vote in November, especially the elusive and oft-mentioned "swing voter" -- which most political pundits say will determine the outcome.

The Democrats seem to be targeting young voters, women and the African-American community with events and rallies targeted specifically at these significant populations in the hopes that they will vote for Kerry in November.

On Monday afternoon, the Hip Hop Summit Action Network (HSAN) came to Roxbury -- an impoverished neighborhood of Boston -- to turn out the youth vote with a Hip Hop Summit featuring current rap and R&B; stars as well as TV and radio personalities.

Created by Russell Simmons, who founded Def Jam records and is credited with bringing rap to the mainstream, HSAN is an attempt to use hip hop as a catalyst for putting education advocacy and other social issues that affect at-risk youth in the spotlight. The non-profit organization believes in hip hop music as an influential agent for social change and targets specific policies as well as broader goals.

Monday's event in Roxbury at the Reggie Lewis Track and Athletic Center was organized around the specific goals of registering people to vote and educating youth on the importance of politics in their life.

The summit featured an all-star lineup that included Lloyd Banks from Cash Money, Free from Black Entertainment Television's "106 and Park," Wyclef Jean, Farnsworth Bentley and others.

The participants stressed the importance of working to achieve one's dreams and taking advantage of every opportunity.

"I started out as an intern and eight years later I am president," said Kevin Liles, president of Def Jam recordings.

Although the messages were varied, the main focus of the summit was getting out and registering to vote in the upcoming election, and taking responsibility for electing officials.

"You guys are going to choose the next president of the United States because they don't think you go to the polls, but I know from traveling around this country that you do," said Simmons. "And whoever you choose will be accountable to you."

Another heavily targeted audience throughout this year's convention has been women -- especially young, single women or single mothers between the ages of 20 and 40.

In the 2000 election, women voted at historically low levels, as many women did not even register, and many more women simply avoided coming to the polls. It is for this reason that the Convention has been catering to the women's vote, as evidenced by Tuesday's day-long inaugural event for Revolutionary Women.

Started by philanthropist Barbara Lee, Revolutionary Women is a non-profit organization dedicated to advancing the leadership role of women in today's society.

Tuesday's event consisted of a series of workshops covering topics like "View from the Governor's office," "Getting Started in Politics at a Local Level," and "Women and the Political Media." A large exhibition hall was dedicated to featuring information from many national and local activist organizations including Planned Parenthood, Women's Action for New Direction (WAND), and The White House Project dedicated to putting a woman in the White House.

Following the workshops and exhibition galleries, a powerhouse lineup of women speakers addressed the audience, including the first woman sheriff in the country, Suffolk County Sheriff Andrea Cabral, Ambassador Carol Moseley Braun, Secretary Madeleine Albright, House Democratic Leader Nancy Pelosi of California and Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton of New York.

The speakers stressed political involvement, activism, and education. There was also an emphasis on increasing women's participation in representative government.

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