Built as a convention to decide a political agenda for the “Hip Hop generation,” it focused on getting youth who are Black to vote in the elections. The four-day event drew radical and Black rights activists, hip-hop artists, and Democratic Party politicians.

The campaign to “get Bush out” was a theme that marked talks and discussion throughout. To be seated as a delegate one had to have registered 50 people to vote. The event featured workshops on topics such as the “Prison-Industrial Complex,” “Is Drug Policy the New Jim Crow?”, “How to Repair Your Credit and Your Finances,” and “Let’s Get Out the Vote.”

At a workshop titled, “Understanding Questionable U.S. Foreign Policy in Haiti, Vieques, Cuba, Palestine and Iraq,” the presentations focused on reforming U.S. foreign policy. “We” have to take responsibility for what this government does, panelists told the audience of about 40 people. One speaker asked, “Who is the real president of the United States? Is it Sharon or Bush?” referring to the prime minister of Israel, Ariel Sharon. He said U.S. foreign policy is determined by Israel and its supporters in Washington.

“What working people face is imperialism,” said Ved Dookhun, the Socialist Workers Party candidate in the 10th Congressional District in New Jersey, answering the panelist from the floor during the discussion. “Voting for John Kerry, a Democrat, is not going to change foreign policy, which is rational from the rulers’ point of view. Just as their policy toward Cuba is not determined by a handful of right-wing Cubans in Miami, their policy in the Mideast is not determined by Israel.

“Jewish people are not the problem, but rather the system of capitalism,” Dookhun said. “As this system declines, Jew-hatred becomes a deadly trap for working people and should be rejected.”

Several supporters of fascist politician Lyndon LaRouche, who identified themselves as “Youth for LaRouche,” took the floor. They called for a vote for LaRouche and portrayed the U.S. government as run by a “fascist” conspiracy within the Bush administration. One of the presenters, Puerto Rican independence advocate Ben Ramos, responded to the fascists. “You need to learn about who Lyndon LaRouche really is,” he said, stating that LaRouche’s supporters had baited Puerto Rican independence fighters as government agents in the 1970s.

A couple of Jewish students from Rutgers, New Brunswick, who were in the audience at the workshop came up to a socialist campaign table the next day, interested in learning more about the candidates. They said they appreciated the comments Dookhun had made to confront Jew-hatred at the workshop.  
 
 
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