class=maintext>Though he is involved in a whirlwind of activities and organizations, Akil Houston hopes all his endeavors line up with a simple credo.
In a system of oppression
you're either a revolutionary or an oppressor Houston said, quoting writer Lerone Bennett. Houston's preferred means of revolution: hip hop culture.
In his fourth year as a visiting professor of African American studies at Ohio University, Houston specializes in film and media studies. He introduced into the curriculum a hip hop seminar that studies the culture as part of a bigger quilt of African culture throughout history and examines hip hop as a whole, focusing on the politically and socially conscious elements.
It's not just what's on TV Houston said, referring to the image of money and sex that is prominent in popular rap music. There's a big difference globally. You have a lot of people interested in the activist element of hip hop
he said.
Houston said he encountered many such people during two trips to South Africa during the past few years.
Houston, 31, has been learning about hip hop since his childhood in Atlanta. He became a disk jockey at age 9 when he began selecting music for events organized by his mother at a local community center.
By high school, he was spinning in clubs and competing in DJ battles, and during college at Clark Atlanta University, he provided the beats for many Atlanta-area rappers.
In 1996, Houston got his bachelor's degree in history and took some time off, working at the Summer Olympics in his hometown and watching the U.S. men's basketball team before they got really bad. Soon, though, he came to OU to earn master's degrees in film and international studies, after which he took a faculty position.
Houston was instrumental in applying for a grant that resulted in a mini-production studio for the African American studies department, said Vibert Cambridge, chair of the department.
Akil Houston is a symbol of what the next generation of academic leaders is going to be
Cambridge said. He is a symbol of that rounded
inclusive kind of professor who has the ability to see across disciplines.
Outside the classroom, Houston is writing a book tentatively titled Beyond Black Face that will examine images of blacks in the U.S. media. His Web site, hiphopscholar.org, is intended to be a forum to discuss hip hop's role in progressive politics and American culture. He is also the advisor for student groups RAP -Recording Artists and Producers - and the Hip Hop Congress.
He plays an important role for us
said Hip Hop Congress President Gabriel Gonzalez. He knows (a lot) about hip hop and where the roots come from. As an advisor
he makes sure that everybody in the Congress is on the same page.
Gonzalez spoke of the guiding principles Houston has imparted on students.
(Hip hop) is a culture. It's not about the clothes you wear. It's not even about the music you listen to. It's more about how you live
Gonzalez said.
Houston is glad the ideals he believes in are making an effect on those around him. Though he considers himself less a teacher and more a filmmaker who gets the chance to teach, he enjoys the job and doesn't foresee leaving Athens anytime soon.
As long as people are benefiting from the experience
I'll keep doing it
he said.
