Congressman Jamaal Bowman (NY-16) and Senate Majority Leader Charles Schumer announced Thursday that the Senate unanimously passed a resolution designating Aug. 11, 2021 as “Hip Hop Celebration Day,” August 2021 as “Hip Hop Recognition Month,” and designating November 2021 as “Hip Hop History Month.” Congresswoman Maxine Waters (D-CA) joined Bowman as an original co-sponsor of the resolution in Congress.

 

According to the congressman’s office, Hip Hop, now a world-wide phenomenon, had humble beginnings in New York City. On Aug. 11, 1973, at a “Back-to-School-Jam,” held in the recreation room of 1520 Sedgwick Avenue in the Morris Heights section of the Bronx, a new innovative style of disk jockeying and engaging the crowd with rap was introduced by Clive “DJ Kool Herc” Campbell. Since then, Hip Hop culture has spread across the nation and the world, uniquely infusing itself into the roots of communities everywhere.

 

Bowman said that the art and culture of Hip Hop, an original American creation, has transcended boundaries and has been reinvented many times over since its creation in 1973. Hip Hop artists and supporters were originally of African heritage but Hip Hop art and culture has become a melting pot, with its artists and supporters transcending ages, ethnicities, religions, locations, and socioeconomic statuses.

 

He said Hip Hop has spawned a multi-billion dollar economy in various industries from high fashion to social media platforms, and that this influence has arguably placed Hip Hop at the center of American culture, both directly and indirectly influencing other genres of music and parts of American social life.

 

The congressman said despite these invaluable contributions to American culture and social life, Hip Hop has struggled to receive the recognition and admiration it deserves on a national level, and government officials have even banned the sale of certain rap albums and disparaged the music altogether. Bowman’s resolution aims to reverse the lack of public recognition of Hip Hop by unequivocally recognizing Hip Hop as a critical part of American culture as it has long deserved.

 

“Hip Hop is the rebirth of civilization,” the congressman said. “For people who were disconnected from their continent, from their language, from their culture, and from their ancestry, Hip Hop represented a step toward rediscovering what it means to be a Black American, or to be a Latino American.”

 

He said that in using the English language to create an entirely new art form, the pioneers of Hip Hop created a vessel that grew to impact nearly every facet of American culture. “As we continue our fight to advance civil rights and racial justice, we need to not only recognize but celebrate how Hip Hop and Black Americans have given so much to our culture and our country,” Bowman said. “I’m proud to lead Congress in formally recognizing the contributions that Hip Hop has made and will continue to make to our country and the world.”

 

For his part, Schumer said he fought for decades to preserve and protect the legacy of Hip Hop as a truly original American art form. “When greedy landlords wanted to close the apartment building on Sedgwick Avenue, where DJ Kool Herc first disk jockeyed beside an emcee and lots of hardworking people lived, we stopped them,” said the majority leader. “I’m proud to honor Hip Hop’s history and its lasting influence with this Senate resolution, which acknowledges the evolution of Hip Hop culture and the tremendous impact it has had on our society,” he added.

 

Meanwhile, Waters said she was proud to join Bowman as an original co-sponsor of the resolution to highlight the impact of Hip Hop on African American culture and the role it plays in telling the African American story to the world. “Some of the early Hip Hop legends came out of the greater Los Angeles area, and through their lyrics managed to tell honest stories about our struggles and our triumphs,” Waters said. “I’ve always said that there is no better way to tell our stories than for us to tell them ourselves and on our terms.”

 

The congresswoman said Hip Hop, from its birth, has always given voice to the unheard and has served as a catalyst for change that moves the African American community, the African American culture, and the country forward. “This resolution will help us to honor Hip Hop’s long history of contributions to our society and commemorate the lived experiences of our people who, through music, have changed the world,” she added.

 

As reported, the transformation of the South Bronx continued on May 20 with a groundbreaking ceremony for a new museum which will memorialize the history of Hip Hop in the borough, part of a $349 million development known as Bronx Point.

 

Bronx brother and sister, DJ Kool Herc and Cindy Campbell, the latter the founder of Hip-Hop Preserve Inc., were behind the now famous gig at 1520 Sedgwick Avenue in the West Bronx way back when. Reacting to news of the new resolution, the two said from a small Bronx neighborhood, back-to-school jam in 1973 to the U.S. Capitol government resolution, Hip Hop’s impact had come a long way over the decades. “The future looks bright, from the ladies to men, old school to new school; the best is yet to come,” they said. “Thanks to Sen. Schumer, Rep. Bowman, and all involved for honoring Hip Hop with this resolution.”

 

LeRoy McCarthy of Heterodoxx Inc, a longtime New York City resident who led the naming effort to recognize the artists, Notorious B.I.G., who died in 1997, and Wu-Tang Clan, thanked the elected officials and their staff for unanimously passing the resolution. He said the action symbolized America’s support for the creators and communities from which Hip Hop came, thereby announcing to the nation and to the world that Hip Hop is a significant contributor to American society through the arts and culture. “Hip Hop, Don’t Stop!” he added.

 

The Hip Hop Resolution designates the following national observances:

• August 11th 2021 as “Hip Hop Celebration Day” in honor of the anniversary of the birth of hip hop
• August 2021 as “Hip Hop Recognition Month” to highlight the contributions of hip hop to the broader American cultural landscape
• November 2021 as “Hip Hop History Month” to reflect on the historical treatment and development of the culture

 

Click here to read the full text of the resolution.

 

Meanwhile, Welcome to the Bronx provides an overview of why Hip Hop originated in The Bronx.