Pierce Freelon Joins Hip-Hop Summit Offering Students Free Mental Health And Career Workshops
Originally published by AllHipHop Read the original
Pierce Freelon is headed to a Raleigh summit where Hip-Hop will share the bill with student mental health and career skills. The fifth annual S.M.A.S.H. Summit takes place November 7, with free admission and lunch for students.
EMPOWER ALL Inc. is organizing the event at North Carolina State University’s McKimmon Center. The program brings students into conversations about work and wellness while giving them room to make and explore art.
“Students meet mentors already working in the careers they’re curious about and hear honest conversations about wellness from people who’ve lived them,” the organization says.
Freelon’s event listing also names author Nic Stone as the keynote speaker. Interactive workshops and live performances are planned for a crowd that includes educators, artists and community partners alongside students.
The summit splits its program across Hip-Hop’s elements. MCing, DJing and breaking anchor sessions about identity, creative expression and wellness. Graffiti and knowledge provide the route into STEAM, entrepreneurship and the skills students can take into a job.
Another session preview puts Hip-Hop and spoken word poetry at the center of a discussion about healing and research. EMPOWER ALL founder Dr. Valencia Hicks Harris will join Dr. Crystal Leigh Endsley and Dr. Tony Keith Jr., with “Dear Academy” featured in the session.
Freelon brings experience teaching young people through music. He founded Blackspace in 2014 after his work with Beat Making Lab, a music education project with a global reach. Blackspace runs a digital arts studio for youth built around Afrofuturism.
Its training includes beatmaking, audio engineering, photography and videography. The organization pairs those creative skills with mentorship and work experience, giving the summit’s focus on future jobs a direct connection to Freelon’s work outside his recordings.
His recent music has focused on young listeners, too. Freelon released the children’s album Black Boy Glow on June 19. The 10-song project runs 27 minutes. Its rollout described a dedication to young Black boys, with confidence, connection and self-worth among its themes.
Doors open at 8:30 A.M., with the program running from 9 A.M. to 2 P.M. The NC State calendar lists the venue at 1101 Gorman Street in Raleigh. Student registration is available through the organizer’s ticket page.
