The Hip Hop Congress is a non profit, international grassroots

Grassroots

A grassroots movement is one driven by the politics of a community. The term implies that the creation of the movement and the group supporting it are natural and spontaneous, highlighting the differences between this and a movement that is orchestrated by traditional power structures...

 organization. Its mission is to evolve hip hop culture by inspiring social action and creativity within the community. Its headquarters is located in San Jose, California

San Jose, California

San Jose is the third-largest city in California, the tenth-largest in the U.S., and the county seat of Santa Clara County which is located at the southern end of San Francisco Bay...

.

History

In 1993, Reali Robinson IV (Mictablist, Producer, Entrepreneur) started an artist organization called Hip Hop Congress. In 1997 after meeting Shamako Noble in San Diego, Ca. They formed the first North & Southern community chapters. In 2000, Jordan Bromley and Ron Gubitz started a campus activist group called by the same name. The two groups did not know about each other until the summer of 2000, while surfing the web. Instead of arguing over who should keep the name, the two organizations merged and formed the current Hip Hop Congress.

The Congress currently works with more than 30 chapters on university campuses, high schools, and communities. The organization throws its Hip Hop Culture Awareness festivals, concerts, academic discussions and movie screenings.

A national office of nine members serves as a think tank

Think tank

A think tank is an organization that conducts research and engages in advocacy in areas such as social policy, political strategy, economics, military, and technology issues. Most think tanks are non-profit organizations, which some countries such as the United States and Canada provide with tax...

 that devises new initiatives using the Congress' tools to create new inspiration and action in local communities, develops strategic partnerships with other organizations and is currently working on developing a fundraising campaign.

A mirror organization, Hip Hop Congress Europe, which is based in Paris, France, networks organizations in France

France

The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...

, Africa

Africa

Africa is the world's second largest and second most populous continent, after Asia. At about 30.2 million km² including adjacent islands, it covers 6% of the Earth's total surface area and 20.4% of the total land area...

, England

England

England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...

, Belgium

Belgium

Belgium , officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a federal state in Western Europe. It is a founding member of the European Union and hosts the EU's headquarters, and those of several other major international organisations such as NATO.Belgium is also a member of, or affiliated to, many...

 and the Czech Republic

Czech Republic

The Czech Republic is a landlocked country in Central Europe. The country is bordered by Poland to the northeast, Slovakia to the east, Austria to the south, and Germany to the west and northwest....

with the intention of creating after school programs and sharing projects created in these schools through the use of technology.

Programs

• Chapter Program — chapters engaging in a range of activity promoting hip hop culture on their campus or in their community. Each chapter responds to the needs and the personalities of their local community. Many chapters produce Awareness Weeks: a week of different events focusing on hip hop culture.

• Artist Program — designed to help hip hop artists pool resources, sell music and take advantage of opportunities the music industry has to offer without losing or giving away the rights to their works in return.

• Online Program — manages its website and fosters collaboration with like-minded websites. The website helps to connect chapters, artists, and any other person working for the Congress, comments upon the state of the world and encourages members to share their opinion.