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My Visit to Ocean County Public Library

09/01/09

Bigger Than Hip-Hop, Education, Events, Felicia's News, Hip-Hop

I had the pleasure to visit Ocean County Public Library system for three days in July. It was a packed few days. During my time there, I facilitated four interactive workshops for teens at a juvenile detention center and at three branch libraries. The theme of the workshops was "This is Me" and the young people had the opportunity to create soundtracks to their lives.

I also had the chance to facilitate a workshop for librarians that focused on using hip-hop as a tool of engagement.

I had a great time, met some wonderful teens and librarians.

Check out a writeup by the library system about my appearances in Ocean County:

Author, lecturer and a voice of her generation, Felicia Pride spoke to OCL staff Wednesday July 22 in Mancini Hall at the Toms River branch.

"My goal is to show you a fuller face of hip-hop," she said as she began her program. "There are a lot of powerful and rich elements in hip-hop."

Her talk and book ("The Message") told of life lessons that can be drawn from the music, the art and the literature of hip hop culture.

In discussing the background of hip hop, Felicia noted that it was started by teens from the South Bronx.

"They started with nothing but they wanted to change their environment," she said. And she added that she finds motivation in their example of people having nothing and yet successfully dealing with their life circumstances.

Hip hop has changed over the years and become commercialized as well as more sophisticated in its presentation. It has migrated into other art forms, she said, such as theater, film, dance, art and literature.

Hip hop also lends itself as a tool of engagement for libraries looking to include teens in its programs. She pointed out that hip hop was started by young people for young people, it is global and crosses ethnic cultures, and it is one of the most dominant aspects of youth culture.

Read the rest on the Ocean County Library blog.

posted by Adminposted by Felicia Pride

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