Hip-hop and Black August: Benefit concerts for Black liberation, release of political prisoners
Starting in the late 90s, organizers in New York and beyond held August benefit concerts that advocated for Black liberation and the release of political prisoners.
Hip-hop turns 50 years old this year, and in the 1990s it existed as the voice generation fighting for social change. Toward the end of the decade, organizers in New York and beyond started organizing hip-hop benefit concerts to advocate for Black liberation and the release of political prisoners.
The movement was dubbed Black August, and from that, a hip-hop concert series called the Black August Project sprung up, ideated at the 1997 World Festival
