Monday, May 12, 2008

Hmong Hip Hop

One of my former students produced a similar video piece about Hmong Hip Hop in a social change course that I taught for four years while as an Asst. Prof. in the University of Wisconsin system. The piece by the New York Times depicts unfairly the bleakness of a Midwest winter and doesn't stress enough the longstanding hardships Hmong have faced in refugee camps in Thailand.

I suppose, though, to a New York reader, Hmong Hip Hop in the Midwest might seem unusual, after all can any culture exist beyond NYC? In reality, Hip Hop speaks to young people across many cultures and there are pockets of cultural diversity to support it throughout the Midwest.

No comments: