Essence "Take Back the Music"

ESSENCE MAGAZINE announces
Take Back the Music Week: February 21st-25th
ESSENCE and Spelman College
Cohost a Town Hall Meeting
for Week’s Finale
New York (February 15, 2005)—ESSENCE announces Take Back the Music Week, February 21st through February 25th. The weeklong initiative is a call to action for individuals to express their concerns, likes and dislikes about popular music. ESSENCE is encouraging the public to effect change by calling, writing letters and sending E-mails with their thoughts about how Black women are portrayed in music and videos directly to the people who can make a change—programming executives at cable networks, radio stations and record companies.
The finale of the Take Back the Music Week will be a Town Hall Meeting cohosted by ESSENCE and Spelman College. The Town Hall Meeting will be held, Friday, February 25, 7–9 p.m., at the Cosby Auditorium on Spelman’s campus in Atlanta, Georgia. The topic will be “Where Are We Now? How Did We Get Here? Where Are We Going?” The panel discussion will feature Michael Lewellen, vice-president of corporate communications at BET; Bryan Leach, vice-president Urban A&R at TVT Records; Kevin Powell, author and activist; MC Lyte, female hip-hop artist/actress; Tarshia Stanley, Spelman professor of English; and Moya Bailey, Spelman student. The panel will be moderated by Michaela angela Davis, ESSENCE executive fashion and beauty editor.
Take Back the Music Week is a part of ESSENCE magazine’s Take Back the Music campaign, which is a yearlong in-depth examination of the ways in which Black women are depicted in popular music and videos. Throughout the year, ESSENCE will survey the landscape to present a broader scope and understanding of this provocative issue, and provide a platform for discussion. The campaign will incorporate observations from entertainment insiders, industry leaders, consumers, journalists and activists. ESSENCE will publish the diverse viewpoints with topics such as “Dirty Dancing,” “Dollars and $ense of Hip-Hop” and “How To Talk to Your Kids.” The wide-ranging opinions will offer a historical perspective, a current analysis and a glimpse into the future. The campaign will also illustrate the great degree to which Black people feel conflicted over this important issue.
For more information on the Take Back the Music campaign, please see the March 2005 issue of ESSENCE or visit essence.com/takebackthemusic.