Chuck D Speaks: Voting a first step to Black empowerment

It's a necessary part of changing the way blacks live in and are treated by America, rap pioneer Chuck D told a crowd of close to 50 people at the Bray Center Wednesday. But it's only the first step in a long process to improve the way they live. Several dozen people followed Chuck D to City Hall to take that first step - voting - after his speech. About a third of them actually cast absentee ballots. "You talk about a guy like Bush," Chuck D told the crowd. "I've been all around the planet, and I'll tell you what, this cat is bad for life all across the planet." Chuck D blasted celebrities for not using their influence to address problems faced by most of their fan base; politicians for dictating political agendas in neighborhoods without actually visiting the neighborhoods to talk with the people about the problems they face; media, for not informing and educating people about issues; and the government, for imprisoning black people at higher rate than other segments of society. He said that by 2006, one in three black men will have been in jail at one time or another. He called it the prison-industrial complex and said it's the new slavery. [more ]

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