Philly rappers take a stand against school violence

Philly rappers Freeway, left, and Young Chris are performing at a high school that has taken a stand against racial violence

By Sarah Hoye, CNN

Philadelphia (CNN) -- It's pretty clear from his hard-hitting lyrics that Philadelphia rapper Freeway is no stranger to street life.

He lost a cousin and close friend to gun violence. He's also had his own run-ins with the law, having served jail time for drug possession.

His experiences haven't left him jaded, though. When the devout Muslim heard about a violent uprising at South Philadelphia High School last year, he got involved.

"I'm from where they're from," said Freeway, whose real name is Leslie Pridgen. "I can talk about those experiences [on the street], but I am a businessman now. I wouldn't take nothing back. It's shaped me as a man."

On December 3, 2009, as many as 30 Asian immigrant students were attacked throughout the school day, several of whom were sent to the hospital.

Racial violence spurs students to take a stand

Since then, Freeway has been working with nonviolence campaigns at several high schools in Philadelphia. In October, he traveled around the city aboard MTV's "Get Schooled" bus with Grammy winner Common and Marsha Ambrosius of Floetry fame. The goal was to inspire students to stay in school and raise awareness about staggering dropout rates.

Freeway, along with his fellow Philadelphia rapper Young Chris, will be performing Thursday at South Philly High.

"Who better to talk than people who grew up in Philly and did something positive with life? I was subject to the same things they were," said Freeway, who originally signed with Jay-Z's Roc-A-Fella Records, and is now with Rhymesayers Entertainment.

"I'm going to speak from the heart, but it's up to them to make the choice."

Who better to talk than people who grew up in Philly and did something positive with life?

--Rap artist Freeway

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Young Chris, born Christopher Ries, said he was also "shocked and disappointed" when he heard about last year's incident at South Philly High. He says he's participating in the rally to encourage the students to keep the momentum.

"Whether we want to believe it or not, they look at us as mentors," he said.

The event is part of the Project Succeed Campaign unveiled by state Rep. Kenyatta Johnson, D-Philadelphia, in October.

Event organizers wanted a concert for the student rally but had concerns about booking rap artists.

Rhymes laced with drug and gang references, and verses peppered with the "n-word," left them skeptical, according to Johnson's spokeswoman, Shalimar Blakely.

They voiced their concerns with the managers for Freeway and Young Chris, and Blakely said she was encouraged not to hold all the lyrics against the performers.

"They may speak about violence and their experience in the streets, but this is what these kids relate to," Blakely said. "The reality is violence is not the thing to do. And they're coming to tell them that."

CNN SOURCE

Newark Mayor Cory Booker Speaks On $100 Mill Donation From Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg

Facebook founder and chief executive Mark Zuckerberg joined the ranks of openly philanthropic billionaires Friday with a 100-million-dollar grant to a troubled New Jersey public school system. He made the announcement on the Oprah Winfrey show, accompanied by the mayor of Newark and governor of New Jersey, who vowed to turn the city’s failing school system in a national model of excellence. “I’ve committed to starting the Startup: Education foundation, whose first project will be a 100 million dollar challenge grant” to Newark’s public school district, Zuckerberg said.
Zuckerberg, 26, jumped to the top ranks of Forbes Richest Americans list this week with an estimated net worth of 6.9 billion dollars, which made the Harvard drop-out the 35th richest American and second-youngest self-made billionaire. With this gesture Zuckerberg is joining forces with the likes of Bill Gates and Warren Buffett, who earlier this year launched a campaign to get other billionaires to donate most of their fortunes to charity. Gates appeared in a video on the foundation’s Facebook page thanking Zuckerberg for his contribution and urging him to devote time as well as money to the effort.
“Your involvement in the years ahead — your thinking, your energy — will be even more important than your resources,” Gates said.
“Improving education in this country is the key to its future, making it a just place, achieving the full potential of all students. There’s a lot to learn.”
Oprah repeatedly chided Zuckerberg for wanting to make the donation anonymously, saying his shyness and desire for privacy should not outweigh the impact of a public announcement. “He needs to make this public so that more people will join in and give money,” the talk show diva and noted philanthropist insisted, to the applause of her studio audience.
Zuckerberg’s act of public generosity comes a week ahead of the October 1st release of “The Social Network,” a Hollywood film on the birth of Facebook that casts a harsh light on its founder. Promises of elitism, geekdom, betrayal and greed are fueling anticipation for the film and early reviews have mentioned the potential for it to be a contender in the Academy Awards. Facebook and Zuckerberg have not sanctioned the film, which takes viewers back to Harvard, where Zuckerberg was a student with dazzling computer skills who didn’t fit in at the status-conscious elite university. Zuckerberg downplayed the film as an act of fiction. “Oh, well, I mean, it’s a movie. It’s fun, you know what I mean? A lot of it is fiction, but even the filmmakers will say that they’re trying to build a good story,” he told Oprah. “And I can promise you, this is my life so I know, it’s not that dramatic. The last six years have been a lot of coding and focus and hard work, but maybe it will be fun to remember it as partying and all this crazy drama.”
Zuckerberg allowed Oprah’s cameras into the modest rental home he shares with his long-time girlfriend – a school teacher he met at Harvard who inspired him to get involved in educational reform – in Palo Alto, California. He said he chose Newark – a city to which he has no significant ties – because he believed in the leadership of Mayor Cory Brooker – whom he met at a conference in July – and Governor Chris Christie. “I’ve had a lot of opportunities in my life, and a lot of that comes from, you know, having gone to really good schools,” Zuckerberg said. “And I just want to do what I can to make sure that everyone has those same opportunities.”
The five-year grant will help reform a district of 40,000 children in which last year only 40 percent of students could read and write at grade level by the end of third grade, only 54 percent of high school students graduated and just 38 percent enrolled in college.