Country Rap: The Gulf States (Alabama)

Co-Presented by Baller’s Eve

(East Village Radio)

THE LOWNDES COUNTY FREEDOM PARTY

Dir. Dwight Cammeron, 1990, 26 min.

It’s a common misconception that the Black Panther Party was founded in Oakland in 1966 by Huey Newton and Bobby Seale. In fact, the party symbol and the roots of its philosophy of self-determination can be traced to rural Lowndes County in Alabama by way of Harlem, NY. Cammeron remembers the efforts of the Student Non-Violent Coordinating Committee to mobilize the African Americans of “Bloody Lowndes” to exercise their voice by forming a local political party in the face of brutal repression.

8:00 pm

From Lowndes to Harlem: David White and Sam Anderson in Person!

David White and Sam Anderson are founding members of the original Black Panther Party, started in the summer of 1966 in Harlem, NY. They will discuss how their experiences working with SNCC in Lowndes inspired the formation of the NYBPP, reasons for the organizations short life and its influences on the BPP in California. Sam Anderson is a pioneering scholar/activist and author of Black Holocaust for Beginners. David White is a long time community organizer in Harlem.

8:45 pm

From Huntsville to Harlem: G-S

The earlier film and discussion will be followed by a performance of G-Side, a hip-hop group hailing from Huntsville, Alabama, whose excellent Huntsville International street album has helped put Huntsville’s rap scene on the radar. The do-it-yourself work ethic of G-Side and Codie G, manager of local independent label Slow Motion Soundz, show how the spirit of self-determination continues to live on in the South. There will also be a screening of footage and interviews documenting the history of hip-hop in Alabama, alongside a discussion.Followed by a G-SIDE performance and reception sponsored by The Harlem Brewery and Sugar Hill Ale.