Abiodun (of The Last Poets) Joins Hip Hop Theater Festival TONIGHT

Ms. Baraka Sele, Producer
Kitab Rollins, Associate Producer

APRIL 1 - 4, 2009
ALTERNATE ROUTES HIP HOP FESTIVAL

From April 1-4, local, national and international hip hop artists will come together in Newark, NJ for the 2009 Alternate Routes Hip Hop Festival -- four days of panels, performances and presentations by some of the most profound and promising urban artists. The Alternate Routes Hip Hop Festival will focus on artists who are activists and, therefore, committed to the artistic, cultural, economic, educational, political, and social concerns of their communities. We want to reflect how artists react to the issues and conditions of contemporary society. Also, come to have fun at open mics and informal gatherings!

The remaining program:

FRIDAY, APRIL 3 / 8:00PM
Sacred Circle Café: Hip Hop Griots
Spoken Word • Urban Theater
Curated and hosted by: Purple Haze & Rob Hylton
Artists: Abiodun Oyewole, Baba Israel, D-Black, D-Cross, Queen Godis, Rahfeal Gordon, Uninvited
ALL SEATS $16

FRIDAY, APRIL 3 / 11:00PM
Late Nite Open Mic
Aljira, a Center for Contemporary Art
591 Broad Street, Downtown Newark
Curated and hosted by: Elijah Brown
Artists: DJ 360 Degreez, Infinite, Rutgaz Poets, Soulful Jones and others
FREE

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SATURDAY, APRIL 4 / 11:00AM
The Hip Hop Project
Film Screening • Panel Discussion
Curated and Moderated by: Natasha Dyer
Panelists: Chris "Kazi" Rolle, Clayton Walton, Robin "Kheperah" Kearse, Ryan Kelly
FREE

SATURDAY, APRIL 4 / 2:00PM
The Other Side of Hip Hop: The Sixth Element
Film Screening • Panel Discussion
Curated and Moderated by: Audrey "Egypt" Blanc
Filmmaker: Dion Ashman
Panelists: Dion Ashman, Ernie Paniccioli, Kangol Kid, Lin Que
FREE

SATURDAY, APRIL 4 / 8:00PM
Hip Hop Fundamentals 101
Breaking • Beat Boxing • Turntablism
Curated and hosted by: Andreas Thai-yan & Max-Jerome
Artists: Conscious, Rob Swift, John Robinson, KR3TS, Rabbi D
ALL SEATS $16

Sponsors: American Express/Alternate Routes Sponsor, The Ford Foundation, The Geraldine R. Foundation, National Endowment for the Arts, allhiphop.com

For more information, visit njpac.org or call 1-888-GO-NJPAC
NJPAC is located at One Center Street, Newark, NJ

WBAI Is Going Off The Air!

THIS JUST IN Regarding WBAI 99.5 FM
(Listener-Supported Radio, www.wbai.org)

According to a memo from the WBAI General Manager Anthony Riddle an order to change the lock on the WBAI transmitter room in the Empire State Building has been issued that would be effective today, Thursday, April 2, 2009. This will mean that WBAI Radio, as you know it, will no longer exist.

Note this URGENT CALL TO ACTION for ALL members and supporters of WBAI:

1. Email GRACE AARON (Interim Executive Director, Pacifica) to seek clarity about this issue. The email address is graceaaron@ca.rr.com

2. Call GRACE AARON at 510.849.2590 to seek clarity about this issue.

3. Join the new rally to Save WBAI Radio!
Convene Saturday, April 4 at 11:00 am. Rally begins at 12 noon. Gather at these corners: Leonard Street, Franklin Street, White Street (all between Broadway and Lafatyeete). For more info, go to the organizers' website: www.unitedforpeaceandjustice.org. Or call 212.868.5545.


More about WBAI Radio (from the official website, www.wbai.org)
The Pacifica Foundation was launched by pacifist Lew Hill in 1949 with the first ever listener funded radio station - KPFA, Berkeley. The Pacifica Mission called for radio that would foster understanding amongst nations and individuals, encourage creativity, and promote innovative, uncensored distribution of news.

In 1960, WBAI 99.5 FM in New York joined Pacifica when philanthropist Louis Schweitzer gave the station to the network, which now has 5 radio stations (the other four are in Berkeley, Los Angeles, Houston, and Washington, DC) and more than 50 affiliate stations across the U.S.

The Pacifica Foundation is a California non-profit corporation. Its governance procedures are laid out in its bylaws and Articles of Incorporation (which includes the Mission Statement). The board of directors, referred to as the national board, has fiduciary responsibility over the network. On and off over the years, there have also been local station boards with varying degrees of responsibility that were to work with the national board.

In December 2001 a settlement agreement was reached with regard to several lawsuits that had been brought against the then Pacifica National Board. The suits were filed by Pacifica listeners, various Local Advisory Board members, and several National board members charging the board with taking Pacifica away from its mission and other illegal activities destructive to the network.

The settlement mandated that an interim Pacifica National Board composed of people from both sides of the conflict revise Pacifica's bylaws. The new Pacifica bylaws were required to establish membership status for listener-sponsors and station staff along with a process for network-wide elections of somewhat empowered Local Station Boards in the 5 listening areas. After an extended period of discussion, debate and drafting, the new bylaws were adopted in September 2003. The first elections for Local Station Boards under these bylaws were held in January-February 2004.