We all are very familiar with our well known Hip-Hop artists in the movement, but we often times leave out our Hip-hop advocates that spit a little bit more advocacy in their lyrics. You might have read David Wall Rice’s open letter to Vibe Magazine addressing the magazine and their comments towards the 2010 dress code at Morehouse College that targeted homosexual students or maybe you were blessed with the chance of being apart of his class at Morehouse College. David Wall Rice is not only the associate professor and Chair of the Psychology Department at Morehouse College in Atlanta; additionally, he is also an advocate for human rights, the development of Hip-Hop, and the development of males of African descent.
Not only has Rice implemented his talents into the education system, but he also executes his strong journalism background and abilities in his writing. “Visible humanity” is one of Rice’s main focuses. He focuses, primarily, on the image of men of African descent in the media, which is often altered into a sort of propaganda or false symbolism in the societal racism. Rice is very interested in the behaviors of individuals in the Hip-Hop culture that is often times confused as “pop culture”. Rice dissects the behaviors and the culture of the community that is stereotyped and stigmatized by those who choose not to understand, rather choose exploit and degrade.
One of Rice’s most applauded analyses is his excerpt on Blaze: 50 Greatest MC’s . He does an outstanding comparison of D.C.’s former mayor, Marion Barry, as one of the best MC’s for his advocacy for black empowerment, which is what Hip-Hop is all about. This weekend, A3C has the honor of having David Wall Rice as one of the panelists for Get Centered, an event that will be held at The Center For Civil and Human Rights June 23, 8-11pm. With Rice’s advocacy for human rights and great knowledge and experience with Hip-Hop, this panel should be one of the best cyphers this summer along with performances by Soul Food Cypher.
