Janelle Monae speaks on her recent performance for the 44th president at a fundraiser that took place a month back at the University of Illinois, Chicago. As a young voter, she was very clear about continuing to support him in November. In the featured excerpt, Janelle highlights some of Obama’s statistics during his 4-year tenure as Commander in Chief:

“I was deeply honored to be invited by the President to perform at the rally in Chicago at the University of Illinois at Chicago. It was an amazing feeling to be amongst so many people, young and old, black, white, red, disabled, all united, eager to help support a man who has ended the war in Iraq, gotten rid of ‘don’t ask don’t tell’- allowing anyone to serve this country regardless of who you love, made sure women were not paid less than men merely because they are women, doubled Pell grants, given 2.5 million young people health insurance, and has created a law that recognizes that crimes based on sexual orientation, gender identity, race or disability aren’t just any crime- they’re hate crimes that deserve justice. These are all things he said he’d do before he was elected and did them. There are more important accomplishments that can be added to this list. I strongly believe our nation should continue upon this path, bringing justice to all and change where needed. President Obama remains the candidate of hope and change, and he will continue to move our country forward, bringing even more change if re-elected.” – Janelle Monàe

Janelle Monae sure is, but are you sold on Barack Obama’s candidacy representing hope & change?

S/o to Urban Noize for blessing us with this excellent mashup! The production on this is sick!

With experience comes wisdom.

When reports say that young people don’t care about politics that is not true! All it takes is one reason to be inspired for change and history can be made. The evidence of this truth lies across the world in Cairo, Egypt where young people decided that they would no longer accept a dictatorship. Some may fear this revolution and are appalled by the amount of violence that has transpired in the last week. However, there are others that sympathize with the actions taken because 30 years is too long for any leader to reign over a country.

Moment of silence for the lives lost and the individuals injured.

Moment of silence for the cause.

Moment of silence for compromise.

Moment of silence for world peace.

Yesterday, I participated in organizing and managing a LIVE panel called “Roadmap 2 Progress”, alongside The League of Young Voters, Rock-The-Vote, AllHipHop.com, Vibe Magazine, & Cashmere Agency. As I sit on the floor in a room full of about a hundred people watching the President proceed with his State of the Union Address, my mind began to wander.

Inside the crowd, sits alot of people that don’t look like me. One part of me is appreciative while reflecting on a time when, if we were in the room with people that didn’t look like us, they’d be sitting on the opposite side. The other is stuck trying to figure out how long are we going to be on the menu and not at the table. As I held a conversation afterwards, with my elders CJ and Biko, it was made clear that without us, there is no table. But that doesn’t mean they aren’t eating!

To me, last night looked like a reunion of friends and colleagues which sounds good but is, potentially, the worst thing we can have going for a so-called progressive nation. What makes these old people from 10-20 years ago, any different from the old people we saw gathered last night? Why didn’t Barack highlight some young, black kids as opposed to the old whites that appeared to have went through something that most day to day people can relate to? That’s not good enough if we’re trying to engage the un-engaged. It just seemed like the same ol’ thng. Don’t get me wrong, we applauded those gestures of acknowledging real people but what about the realest!!!

Speeches are usually intended to be captivating and motivating, while some aren’t, I’d be lying if I said that Barack didn’t reach me through his message last night. Actually, his speech reminded me of a great church sermon but we don’t need more revivals or reunions. #AllImSayin is, we’ve already received the bills and paid, WHEN ARE WE GONNA GET SOME DAMN CHANGE!!! When is it gonna feel like change instead of just looking like it?

Last week, I was in New York where I spent a few days in the mix with some of the non-profit sectors and Hip Hop’s elite such as American Values Institute, John S. and James L. Knight Foundation, Open Society Foundations, as well as Geoffrey Canada of The Harlem Children’s Zone who kicked off the conference by being the host facility of the panel that featured Russell Simmons, Nick Cannon, & Lupe Fiasco. The conference focused on trying to create a better portrayal of blacks, males in particular, on the big screen and in the music. I wanted to be a fly on the wall. On one hand, I have every right to be in that room but I represent a demographic that don’t even know that room exists.

“Success is what you make it, take it how it comes, A half a billion in 20s is like a billion where I’m from”, says Pusha T of The Clipse on Kanye’s ‘So Appalled’. He’s saying a lot in this one line. Some of us are content with mediocre success because everything else is either unrealistic or too hard to obtain given our circumstances. How can a young black man re-imagine something they never saw? We mimic our surroundings. To most of us common folk, there isn’t anything to imagine but the present. The present is unemployment, so get it by any means. This is why its so easy to tear our people/community down through our music/media instead of uplifting them/it. The Black Male is trying to survive ……..but we have been brainwashed to think that money is the only survival method.

The black male hasn’t been portrayed as a positive man in the media or on the big screen because he isn’t positive in real life. But some would say he isn’t positive in real life because of whats on the big screen or in the media.

Well, imagine The Huxtables in The Hood: Claire is the only parental role being played because Cliff didn’t like his role enough so he never came on set. At least that’s how the Cosby show played on my TV. Ok on the actual show, Cliff is supposed to represent a successful black man, and that’s the only representation of a successful black man that we knew of but it wasn’t real enough to believe that it could be us because of our fathers and lack thereof. Having a degree and a perfect family is society’s definition of success. So we created success through other avenues because the traditional school and work atmosphere wasn’t designed for us to strive in. Although, some did, the majority of us didn’t.

We can be successful but we might as well as be unsuccessful if we aren’t designing a blueprint like our predecessors tried to do for us. How hard is it or how easy is it for 100 black millionaires to come together and create POWER. You thought Obama winning the Presidency was inspiring. There is power in money and people. We have the money but the people won’t invest into anything if we don’t give them something solid and intentional. We’re more than basketball players now. We can own the league. We’re more than rappers, we made the industry what it is and can do it again. The Black Male has to believe in the Black male but for so long the Black male/female was made to believe that they were wrong and that the white was the only exception.

I’m here to tell you we’ve come along way, but we haven’t ARRIVED yet.

It’s not often that I listen to a Hip Hop song and hear anything uplifting within its lyrics. These guys have made an interesting comeback. Peep!

OFFICIAL MUSIC VIDEO: CLIPSE ‘LIFE CHANGE’ FEAT PHARRELL AND KENNA from Shahan Jafri on Vimeo.

Tuesday night was a paradigm shift in Pennsylvania History! Old blood was retired and new blood was given a chance! Many in Pennsylvania knew Arlen Specter as a moderate conservative in Pennsylvania who back in 2008 switched to the blue Democratic side to ensure his re-election to the United States Senate. Many would say that the Obama effect is failing as OFA canvassed, robo-called and phone banked the citizens of Pennsylvania to ensure voter turnout for Senator Specter. However when it came down to it Tuesday, the voters of Pennsylvania were not happy with where Mr. Specter stood on different issues within our state and his long run in congress and so many felt that it was time for a new young person in office.

Many believe that it was Arlen Specter’s switch to the Democratic Party that called for him to lose his position within the state. Others felt that it was the fact that he has served 6 terms in the United States Senate, that it was time for new and younger blood to enter the Senate.  Others felt that in the General Election, with Pat Toomey as the Republican Nominee, that Mr. Sestak will have a better chance than Mr. Specter would have. All of these reasons were valid. It seems to be overall the extreme need for change, the need to have new blood, new ideas to find another chance at change. This notion of Change in America has not died off; that aspect of the Obama Effect has stayed in the political arena. What is different is that Obama Effect has flown back into the faces of OFA as they campaigned for Specter in this incidence, as Change for Pennsylvania means sending a new Democrat or Republican to Washington. It is very important that people understand that. It is a want for change that is causing a changing of the guard. Specter didn’t lose because of his support for health care, since Joe Sestak himself said he would have voted for healthcare. It’s not Specter’s want to have climate legislation passed or his investment in the youth political movement. It was that Pennsylvanians felt that this was the perfect time for him to retire and relax take care of his family and let someone else do the job as Senator for a while.

I’m inside Suite, a nice club/lounge in Milwaukee, with Biko at the bar looking at the big screen and there’s President Obama & CBS Sports, Clark Kellogg playing a custom game of HORSE at the White House. As a smile comes across my face, I began to ponder, is it me, or does President Obama remind you of yourself? Whether you’re an African American male or Caucasian female, it’s safe to say that our current President is more down to earth than other President we’ve experienced.

Or maybe I just can’t relate to 60 year old white guys with money and bombs on deck. I’ll tell you one thing, at the 3:57 mark of this video, the President yells out’ “WAPP” before making his shot and that’s totally me. I, myself, love to talk s*%@ before completing a shot or anything for that matter. In fact, I’m sure “Wapp” is a slang terminology that could’ve only derived from the urban demographic. And for the naysayers that can’t appreciate the President being a normal guy and wondering why he isn’t focusing on current events (like the Final Four), he jokingly addresses it by his comments made after a successful shot that followed a few missed ones, “I’m not going down easy, I got a few other things on my mind.” HAHA, now, I can def. respect that Mr. Pres!!!

Just hopped off a video announcement from Lisa P. Jackson, Administrator for the Environmental Protection Agency and definitely a top pick on the short list of D.C. insiders who are really taking their title/mission to heart.

On what is coincidentally (purely surely) the first day of the international COP15 summit, the EPA announces that their thorough (musta been really thorough) analysis of all the available facts leads to one simple conclusion: greenhouse gases “threaten the public health and welfare of the American people.”

There’s more:

“These long-overdue findings cement 2009’s place in history as the year when the United States Government began addressing the challenge of greenhouse-gas pollution and seizing the opportunity of clean-energy reform,” said EPA Administrator Lisa P. Jackson.

Great talking point from Mrs. Jackson and my instinct thinks she’s legit. When asked on the call about the timing of the EPA’s announcement, when House reps have indicated no movement on environmnetal legislation until early Spring (months from now), Lisa Jackson said the EPA did not want to wait to get the ball rolling and hoped that Congress would “follow the ball.”

Translation: watch out, world. Apparently it’s not a pre-requisite of American political power to actually lose total touch with the land and your people!

Keep it up, Mrs. Jackson.

We’ve all heard about the “childhood obesity epidemic,” but the truth is it’s not about kids who are too lazy to exercise or parents who are too lazy to cook healthy food. It’s about the ways that we’ve built our communities and designed our food system over the last fifty years. Why don’t our schools stay open after hours so that families have a safe place to hang out and play? Why don’t local stores offer anything besides liquor, cigarettes, and junk food? The 40 youth leaders who run werefedup.com get that obesity is a lot more complicated than people making bad choices, and they’re doing something about it.

Let’s tip the scales after the jump!

Imagine this: you’re a teenager in South L.A. It’s a beautiful summer day and you and your friends decide to put the video games down and head outside to play soccer. There’s a park a few blocks away, but in order to get there you’ll have to cross three busy streets with no crosswalks. If you make it safely to the park, you’ll probably have to clean up the broken glass and used condoms before you can get that game of soccer started. Since you’re planning on exercising, you want to grab a healthy snack on the way to the park. Problem is, the only options in your neighborhood are fast food and liquor stores. Maybe you make it to the park, maybe you decide to stay inside. Either way, this story points out a lot of the problems that have led to obesity rates as high as 40% among youth in some low income communities of color.

The crew at werefedup.com knows that these stories need to be told in order for people to understand the real reasons so many of us are overweight and obese. So they’ve created a social networking site where youth can share stories, photos, and videos exposing things like the food industry’s lies and nasty secret ingredients, and the ways that not having safe places to be active hurts our health. There’s a “rehab” group for kids trying to quit drinking soda, and there’s lots of information about ways for youth to stand up and fight for policies that can improve the choices we have in our schools and neighborhoods. Go check out werefedup.com, make a profile, tell your friends, and get started fighting for change in your community. You could save a lot of lives in the process.

Clowning is no laughing matter for Tommy the Clown (born Thomas Johnson). Instead, it’s a way to combat deeper issues like gang involvement, boredom, hopelessness, violence, and inactivity.

Born in Detroit, T.J. moved to LA as a teenager, where he soon found himself in trouble with the law. He had plenty of time to reconsider his life’s direction while spending 5 years in jail, where he decided to turn his life around. He’s done that and more–he’s changed the lives of youth around the world.

How? By clowning. It started out as a favor for a friend’s kid’s birthday party, but soon evolved into a way to help at-risk youth, youth who were in danger of falling through the cracks the same way that T.J. had been. Young people were allowed to join his clown/krump/hip hop crew on the condition that they did well in school, stayed out of gangs, didn’t do drugs, and acted as positive role models. In 15 years, this has grown to become a world-wide phenomenon, with 60+ dance crews in LA, performances across Europe, Asia, and the Americas, and motivational lectures in schools across the country. It has also spawned a new form of street dancing (y’all know it as “krumping”) and even a 2005 movie by Dave Chapelle, called “Rize”.

Tommy is more than just a red-nosed, smiling face–he’s entertained millions, inspired thousands to get off the couch and off the streets, trained, guided, and helped countless urban youth, and spread a message of peace to us all: “You got problems? Don’t fight no more. Bring it to the dance floor.”

Ahhh Generation Y. The Generation that grew up with lyrics our parents can’t decipher and technology they don’t understand. Just what exactly is Gen Y? Basically, if you’re born between the early 80s to the early 90s, you’re a part of it. But here, let’s allow Urban Dictionary to further define us: according to one editor of the site, we are “hyper-active, hyper-sexed, ADD-affected psychopath crack baby offspring of Baby Boomers, also known in popular parlance as Generation Y.” Ouch. That’s a bit harsh, doncha think?

I do. I love my generation. Which is why I was pretty damn pleased to find an article on 80 Million Strong detailing just how awesome our generation is (props!). Never mind the claims that we are pampered, narcissistic, consumer-driven, useless versions of Gen X. According to Forbes Magazine, we are the “altruistic generation.” F%#* yah! This is what I wanna hear (and yup, I’m aware that I’m living up to the self-absorbed stereotype of Gen Y. Just call me a cliché and get on with it).

The best part is, there’s evidence to back up the article. A study by the Center for Work-Life Policy found that we are driven, dedicated, and devoted to social welfare. And this is reflected in our workplaces: 88% of Gen Y women and 82% of Gen Y men believe it’s important to be able to give back to community through work. And we expect our employers to back us up. Which is why we are seeking out employers that offer us the opportunity to help, whether by giving us time off to volunteer, or devoting a percentage of profits to a worthy cause. Instead of going straight into the workforce after we’re educated, we are taking time off to travel, volunteer, and intern. And instead of solely valuing money and benefits, we are choosing jobs that enable us to prioritize what is most important to us: family, friends, volunteering, and fulfillment. We want to work, but we also want to impact change and make a difference in this world.

So the next time you see us twittering away on our newfangled technology, ask not what we’re doing, but wh(Y) we’re doing it—you’ll likely find out it has something to do with saving the world.

Who says we can only farm in rural areas? Despite the obvious challenges of urban farming, community gardens are popping up in parks, vacant lots, and even on rooftops across the nation.

And with good reason. While it may be difficult to find space, fertile soil, and even people interested in the cause, the benefits are endless. Researchers have found that urban farming can foster good health and community involvement, while being easier on the wallet. In fact, every $1 invested in community garden results in $6 of vegetables.

Yet saving money is just the beginning. Urban farming increases the sustainability of our cities, promotes concern for the environment, and fosters community involvement. Considering that most urbanites hardly even know their next-door neighbors, we certainly can’t expect to always know who produces our food. Urban farming, however, can alleviate both problems simultaneously.

In addition to the social and environmental benefits, growing our own food has positive effects on our health. And I don’t just mean physical health. Research has also shown that horticulture can lead to better mental health. Working with plants has even been proven to reduce stress, blood pressure, and muscle tension.

Urban Peak, a non-profit organization, is using such benefits to help the homeless youth of Denver. The organization provides young adults with food, shelter, and now, the advantages of urban gardening. “I think there’s a sense of accomplishment in the garden…This will be a sense of accomplishment that they can translate into other areas of their life like school or looking for a job,” states Anne Harris, member of Urban Peak. Though the long term benefits have yet to be determined, one thing is clear…Such feelings of accomplishment and involvement cannot be obtained at a McDonald’s or Burger King.

Don’t get me wrong; of course it’s nice to have access to fast food and delivery at any hour of the night. However, who’s to say that our favorite cities can’t offer both convenience and sustainability? There may be a certain satisfaction in consuming that pizza slice at 4am. Yet, maybe it’s time to experience the pride that comes along with consuming something we’ve cultivated ourselves.

Bet you’re used to hearing about how bad McDonald’s stance towards the environment is, about how the corporation razes the rainforest to make room for cattle and creates millions of tons of waste each year. But have you heard the latest? A new McDonald’s restaurant opening in North Carolina on July 14th will have a station to charge your electrical car in the parking lot.

Yup, it’s true. You’ll soon be able to order a burger and charge your car at the same time.
Granted, it’s just one restaurant out of the more than 30,000 McDonald’s around the world. And electric cars probably won’t even be on the roads in any great number until 2011. At this point, it seems more of a symbolic gesture than anything that will impact change.

But you’ve gotta start somewhere, right? Give McDonald’s credit; it’s installing the first charger of its’ kind in the United States. Plus Ric Richards, the owner of the innovative McDonald’s in Cary, North Carolina, has gone even further and constructed the entire building using environmentally-friendly materials. I’d say that’s a step in the right direction.

What do you think? Is this just a PR campaign to divert attention from McDonald’s appalling environmental record? Is it too early to impact real change? Or is it a sincere effort to clean up their track record and pioneer a new era of environmental responsibility?

Being a teen is hard enough. Being a teenage mother is infinitely harder—and according to a study by John Santelli of the Columbia University Mailman School of Public Health, there are more and more teens who are becoming moms. Nearly 4 in 10 American teens will be preggers by age 20, and a whopping 445 000 of them will give birth. At those rates, America is the teenage pregnancy capital of the Western World.

Having a baby is a wonderful, beautiful act—but there is a time and a place for it. When a teenager gives birth, the odds of her or her baby having a fulfilling life are significantly lower than if she had waited until she was in her twenties. Teen moms are more likely to drop out of school, receive welfare, and have more children within a couple of years. In turn, the children of teen moms will statistically have poorer health and inferior results in school than their peers who had parents who gave birth later on. Children from teen pregnancies are also more likely to end up in prison (if they’re sons) or giving birth while still teenagers (if they’re daughters).

Which is why Santelli’s study is so disturbing. It shows that teenagers are having kids at a higher rate, not necessarily because they desire children at that stage in life but because they are not taking simple precautions to prevent it. The use of contraceptives is going down, leaving health educators wondering where the f*%# they went wrong. Because, instead of using a condom, youth are trying the “withdrawal method,” and even the “let’s not use anything” approach—otherwise known as the “I’m playing Russian Roulette with my girlfriend’s future” approach. Hell, the guys should be worried too, because STIs tend to spread a lot faster when there’s no condom to stop them (and by “tend to” I mean DO).

And while the need to place blame is both understandable and widespread—everything from teenage celebrities such as Jamie Lynn Spears who glorify pregnancies to sexual education programs that promote abstinence only and forbid any mention of prevention—placing blame only detracts from the real issue, which is how to reverse the trend.

Ultimately, the potential for improvement lies within each and every one of us. . . When it comes down to it, the only way these statistics will improve is if you use a condom next time you’re “gettin’ jiggy with it.”

The recession has had drastic effects on families nationwide. Personally, I know it is having a drastic effect in my household, and I have not seen anyone profiting from this economic downturn. So, every now and then, it is fantastic to see something good happening as a result of such a terrible economic climate. A rose that grows from concrete, if you will.

It would seem that as a result of the economic downturn, the current prison strategy is essentially ‘too much’ to handle in the current economic climate and states are starting to pursue prison reform as an viable option, as well as methods seen in the Youth Promise Act.

Check out some of these statistics:

• In Wisconsin, “by 2019 the number of prisoners is expected to have swollen by another 25%, with a price tag of $2.5 billion.”
• Michigan “spent a staggering 22% of its general fund on corrections last year.”
• “Three judges in California have instructed that state to cut its prison population by one-third by 2012.”
• “The Pew Centre on the States, a research outfit, reports that one in 100 Americans is incarcerated. One in 31 is in prison, on parole or on probation. “

Many states, other than the ones listed above, are considering reforms due to the dire economic climate. It just goes to show ya: money talks, and when it does, people listen.

At 10:15 AM today, Prez O will be announcing his nominee for the next Supreme Court Justice. His choice: New York’s Sonia Sotomayor.

Sotomayor is recognized as a political centrist with an ‘extraordinary’ personality and appeal, who has come from humble beginnings to reach where she is today. Oh, I almost forgot to mention, if Sotomayor’s nomination is accepted, she will be the first Hispanic nominated to the United States Supreme Court.

Sotomayor, 54, was raised in the South Bronx, in New York, a “short walk from Yankee Stadium”. There, she lived in a housing project, with her parents and her younger brother. However, at age 9, her father passed away, leaving her mother to have to raise two children on a small salary. Despite her tough childhood, she flourished, attending Princeton University, where she graduated Summa Cum Laude, and Yale Law School.

According to those that have worked with her, her personality is contagious and spirit is overwhelmingly positive: “She was the judge who, in the courthouse for example, knew all of the doormen, knew the cafeteria workers, who knew the janitors — she didn’t just know all of the other judges and the politicians. She really went out of her way to get to know everyone and was well loved by everyone.”

Here at 99Problems, we know one thing: only by working together and reaching across the aisle can we solve the problems of tomorrow. By nominating Sotomayor, not only the first Hispanic on the Supreme Court, but the third woman on the Court, Prez O is pushing forward to a better tomorrow, giving hope to those who are trying to pull themselves up from difficult circumstances.

We have to expect our government to take on the real problems in our neighborhoods. We’re not used to counting on them for change, but we should be able work with them and make something important happen.

There are over 80 cosponsors of the Youth PROMISE Act right now; we’re trying to get up to 150, but that’ll take all of us working together, contacting our representatives and telling them personally that we want their support for this pivotal piece of legislation.

Go to 99problems.org/youth-promise to send a message to your representative. It only takes a few minutes but will mean a world of change.

Ben Gilbarg is the Director of 3rd EyE Unlimited, a film/video producer and socially conscious Hip Hop artist from New Bedford, MA. Ben works in New Bedford to build a movement of young people to organize for the betterment of their communities. Check out: http://www.3rdeyeunlimited.com/

IEP stands for Individualized Education Program. This is a legally binding document that spells out exactly what special education services your child will receive and why. Makes a lot of sense, right? It is supposed to help our friends and children who need a different kind of education to succeed but a lot of school districts are just ignoring IEP’s and setting up young people to fail.