TUSCALOOSA, Ala. -- The University of Alabama Office of Community Service and Volunteerism will host Hip Hop Summit 2002 on Thursday, Feb. 28, in the Ferguson Center to help students, faculty, parents and members of the Tuscaloosa community understand the cultural value and impact of the Hip Hop movement.

The Hip Hop Summit is designed to teach, entertain and provide a forum for people of all backgrounds to discuss the variety of messages and images in Hip Hop. Hip Hop directly affects our fashion, our language and our perceptions of other cultures.

The theme is “Bad Language, Bad Attitudes, Benevolent Notions.”

Valerie Phillips, director of the UA Office for Community Service and Volunteerism, said the summit hopes to bring to light some of these issues as we celebrate African American Heritage Month.

The Summit will begin at 9 a.m. Workshops will be held all morning before a lunch at noon. At 1 p.m. there will be a forum on the “Depiction of Women in Music Videos.”

Donnell Williams, Tangee Edwards, Maurice Muhammad, LaJuan Hutchinson, Karyl Davis, Shawndrika Cook, Michele Miller, Maurice Hobson, Dr. Louis Gallian and Derrick Figures will make workshop presentations.

Joan Morgan, the executive director of Essence Magazine and author of "When Chickenheads Come Home to Roost: My Life as a Hip Hop Feminist," will deliver the keynote speech at 2:30 p.m.

Participants will also take part in a community service project from 3:30 p.m. until 6 p.m. Entertainment will be provided at the Riverside Amphitheatre starting at 8 p.m. A.F. Clan, Mic Burnaz, Hustle, Seven, Future Prophet and Demon Killaz will be performing.

More than 500 people are expected to attend the summit. Admission is free, but participants are required to register. Call 205/348-2865 for more information.