President Obama Supports Educators Using Hip-Hop to Teach Youth Reading and Writing

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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

President Obama's Letter of Support for Educational Tool using Hip-Hop to Teach Youth Reading and Writing

Hip-Hop Educational Literacy Program (H.E.L.P.) Bridges the Gap in Education for Urban Youth in Washington, DC Metropolitan area.

Washington, D.C. - Gabriel Benn, D.C. school teacher, rapper, and one of the architects behind H.E.L.P., the Hip-Hop Educational Literacy Program, is working to change the face of hip-hop by using it as a medium to improve literacy levels among urban youth. Since 2006, Benn and business partner, Rick Henning, long-time D.C. educator teamed up to develop a series of supplemental workbooks to help students read using Hip-Hop lyrics to spur critical analysis, foster multicultural relevance, and incorporate more effective literacy instruction. Their most recent and popular workbooks focused on this year's historic election, which caught the attention of the former presidential candidate, President Barack Obama, who gave a letter of support for Benn's work and highlighted H.E.L.P.'s innovative lessons.

"As a former educator myself, I understand the importance of developing innovative ways to teach and to make a curriculum come alive for every student in the room. I commend you for all the work you've done to develop H.E.L.P. and make it come alive in classrooms," stated Obama.

Benn, an University of Virginia alum with a Masters in Education from National-Louis University, understands the relevancy of education and has a number of achievements using his institutional knowledge, teaching experience, and hip-hop to reach multicultural audiences. Like Obama, Benn believes creative tools are necessary to teach and reinforce the importance of education and was thrilled by Obama's words of support.

"His support of our efforts shows that there are leaders who understand the tremendous impact that education has in shaping the lives of our children, and are therefore committed to supporting innovative programs that promote literacy as a tool for empowerment," affirmed Benn.

Also known by his rap name, Asheru, Benn is credited for writing and performing the theme song for the Boondocks cartoon and is the first rapper to win a Peabody award for his co-writing efforts on an episode of the critically acclaimed cartoon series. Through his teaching and music, Benn has made an indelible impact on other educators, including Dr. Cornell West, one of America's thought-provoking leaders on race, religion and Afro-American studies and author of Race Matters, a New York Times best-seller. West praised Benn for his ongoing work to improve the literacy levels of young people.


"I'm here not just to endorse, but to fully get behind the Hip-Hop Educational Literacy program (H.E.L.P.). Why? Because it's concerned about the precious, and priceless young folks who need to learn how to read," said West.

West further emphasized that, "This is a reading program that uses the genius of hip-hop in order to become more empowered and more enabled and more ennoble so that youth learn how to read. I know reading has made a fundamental difference in my own life, so I want to thank brother Asheru and I'm with him 120%."

The success of H.E.L.P. can be seen in the classrooms of nine schools in the Washington, D.C. Metropolitan area, including, but not limited to Ballou Senior High School, Washington Math Science Technology Public Charter School, and Rock Creek Academy. Additionally, the H.E.L.P. curriculum is being used in Maryland schools like Forest Oak Middle School, and Kennedy High School. Through their educational publication company, Educational Lyrics LLC (Ed Lyrics), Benn and Henning have developed more than 10 issues featuring popular MCs (masters of ceremony), which include but are not limited to Nas, Kanye West, Lauryn Hill and Mos Def. By early 2009, the program will have a total of 15 books.

"H.E.L.P.'s content is something that's in students' lives, and I think that's missing in a lot of the school curriculum that we have today," said Maiko Callister, teacher at Ballou SHS in Washington, D.C.

Ballou Senior High School Principal, Rahman Branch, agrees. "The most striking thing about the H.E.L.P. books is that students begin to see something that they can relate to and something that gives them excitement in the classroom."

As Benn and Henning continue to move forward with the hip-hop literacy movement, they are looking to work with local universities, including George Washington University's Graduate School of Education and Human Development (GSEHD). They hope to incorporate H.E.L.P. lessons in more schools and educate a new generation of teachers on how to use the culturally responsive materials to teach youth.

For more information about H.E.L.P., and to view a video on H.E.L.P. in the classroom, please visit www.edlyrics.com.


H.E.L.P., Hip Hop Educational Literacy Program, is a series of supplemental reading workbooks designed to HELP students of all reading levels through the innovative usage of Hip Hop lyrics for critical analysis, multicultural relevance, and effective literacy instruction.