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The New School welcomes The Black Benjie Legacy Project for a multifaceted interactive event in the Lang courtyard, intending to shine light on an underrecognized narrative in Hip Hop history, here in the Culture’s 50th Anniversary year. Cornell “Black Benjie” Benjamin was the Ambassador for Peace for the Ghetto Brothers, a South Bronx gang, social organization, and band. Black Benjie was slain while trying to stop a gang conflict in 1971. Police, city officials, and gang members expected his murder to incite major violent retaliation throughout the Bronx BUT instead his death directly led to the historic "Hoe Avenue Peace Treaty." This peace meeting and truce amongst all the leaders of the Bronx gangs helped transform the volatile landscape of the Bronx and set the stage for the development of Hip-Hop.
The Black Benjie Legacy Project is a crew of middle schoolers from Bronx Community Charter School dedicated to keeping Black Benjie's legacy alive. They are touring NYC with their workshop, "Black Benjie Vive," that presents Black Benjie’s story, explores paths to peacemaking, and models cypher pedagogy.
Join us to discuss the pre-history of Hip Hop and lineage of restorative justice in a conversation guided by this powerful collective of youth. The event will open with DJ sets from TNS DJs, then the Black Benjie Vive workshop, followed by an open mic/jam session with the New School Hip Hop Collective.
Presented by Lang Civic Engagement and Social Justice and Hip Hop Pedagogy and Practice at Eugene Lang College of Liberal Arts at The New School.
In the winter/spring of 2018, a school social worker named Bonnie Massey and a group of 8th graders at Bronx Community Charter School saw the documentary film Rubble Kings and were inspired to start a campaign (called "Black Benjie Vive") for the intersection of 165th Street and Rogers Place be co-named for Cornell "Black Benjie" Benjamin. The campaign, which included community elders and Black Benjie's family, eventually reached its goal in the Fall of 2022--at the same time the original young activists involved started college. In the meantime, Bonnie began working with her current 7th and 8th grade students to establish the Black Benjie Legacy Project. They are touring NYC facilitating workshops to youth and adults about Black Benjie’s story and legacy and are planning the inaugural event for Black Benjie's street for this June. The Black Benjie Legacy Project's goals are to honor Black Benjie, a Bronx martyr, to learn and share the history of young Black and Brown Bronx Residents as peacemakers, and to inspire people to seek alternatives to violence and promote restorative justice practices in our communities.
Committed to amplifying diverse voices, The New School offers more than a thousand public programs and events each year, providing fresh perspectives and unique learning opportunities. These lectures, exhibitions, concerts, and performances feature prominent and emerging artists, activists, and thought leaders.
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