JACKSON, MS (Mississippi News Now) -
The American Civil Liberties Union is using pop culture to teach students to identify social injustice and prevent the school to prison pipeline.
A march from Millsaps College to the State Capitol Sunday wrapped up this year's Hip Hop Youth Summit.
More than 400 students and 200 parents from across the state attended the ACLU's weekend event.
Organizers said it teaches the history of hip hop, its message of empowerment and how graffiti appeared in the streets after art was discontinued in schools.
One participant, who said he was a victim of discrimination in his school, credited the summit with teaching him how to react positively and seek collective support.
"The main cause was about like speaking up and standing up for each other and stuff like that for injustice in the school system or government or whatever is going on," said 14-year-old Raylin Ellis of Grenada.
"A lot of people when they hear hip hop summit they think we're talking about rapping and only that, but we actually tell them how to use the hip hop element to transfer their feeling and thoughts about social injustice," said ACLU Youth Justice Organizer Lyrik Gordon.
This is the fifth year the summit has been held.
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