Overview

Hip Hop and Political Voice for Young South Sudanese Australians: Born to Stand Out explores the building of political voice of young South Sudanese Australians to resist racialising discourses, particularly through hip hop. Presented as an ethnography, Sarah J. Williams draws on empirical evidence from a youth participatory action research project facilitated by a small nonprofit organisation: Footprints. Each chapter foregrounds counter-narratives young South Sudanese Australian hip-hop artists portray in response to over a decade of media and moral panics targeting their communities, limiting their sense of freedom and resulting in a rise in youth suicide. The core message throughout suggests participants reject any goal of or focus on ‘fitting in’. Instead, based on their conviction that they are ‘born to stand out’, these artivists carve out space in the face of racialising discourses perpetuated primarily by Australian Whiteness. Through the lenses of new social movements and theories and perspectives informed by critical race theory and critical Hip Hop pedagogy, this book expands race and ethnicity as a central theme by exploring how the political voice of this group of young South Sudanese Australians manifests in important new ways that conventional theories of activism and resistance may not capture. Participants embark on consciousness-raising practices to reframe and assert their multiple identities whilst establishing themselves as social agents in the world.

Full Product Details

9781666971903

Table of Contents

Reviews

""Hip Hop has been shown to empower marginalised communities across the world, but little research has been done to scientifically study this phenomenon. This book helps add to a global call to elevate the voices of the oppressed through amazingly talented and intelligent communities that strive even when faced with a myriad of obstacles. Sarah J. Williams centers their voices and also educates the reader on the experiences of Young South Sudanese Australians and Hip Hop as a liberatory praxis."" -- Tasha Iglesias, president and co-founder, Hip Hop Association of Advancement and education co-chair, Global Conference on Hip Hop Education

Author Information

Sarah J. Williams is lecturer, researcher and program manager in Youth Work and Youth Studies at RMIT University.

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