Harry Allen, self-proclaimed media assassin and hip hop activist, joined my COM346 class to talk about the role of media in documenting history and affirming the importance of hip hop.

We talked about hip hop as the ultimate hack, synchronizing with opportunities for Black men to be in spaces they “did not belong,” access power (both figurative and literal) that had been systematically stripped from them for centuries, and have their voices be heard on a local, national, and global level. We talked about the role of media in documenting not only events, but content and communities, thus acknowledging the importance of these cultures for posterity. We also talked about our favorite books from the Bible on the eve of Purim.

Documenting History: A Conversation with Harry Allen, Media Assassin

Assistant Professor at S.I. Newhouse School of Communications at Syracuse University. The Media Made Me Crazy. 

Charisse L'Pree