Media mogul, Russell Simmons, is adding “Barack Obama campaign surrogate” to his impressive list of titles. Simmons, the founder of Def Jam Records, Phat Farm clothing apparel, Def Jam Comedy and much more is known for introducing Hip Hop culture to the world.
This weekend, he has been introducing Sen. Barack Obama to Ohio, where polls have Obama and Sen. John McCain going neck and neck for the presidency. This weekend he will be extremely crucial to the Obama campaign since Ohio was the battleground state that lost the election for Sen. John Kerry in 2004.
Michelle Obama sent emails out this week encouraging everyone to call their acquaintances living in Ohio and implore them to register to vote early. Ohio voters have until this Monday, October 6th, to register and vote early.
NBA star LeBron James will join Simmons in Cleveland where they will meet with community leaders, the black press and visit two voter registration rallies in Columbus Park.
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Recently Simmons, founded GlobalGrind.com, a news and blog hotspot for and by the Hip Hop community. Simmons says that educating people about the election is a central piece to the site’s purpose. Countdown to Change is a section of the site specifically dedicated to news about the election.
In an interview on Saturday Simmons explained why he has gotten so involved in the presidential campaign this year.
Black Enterprise: Why is it important for you and other celebrities to get involved in campaigning?
Russell Simmons: All of my companies have something that speaks to something more than fashion or popular culture. My business investment GlobalGrind.com has something called Countdown for Change. It is an investment that is focused on the election. It will tell you what Lil Bow Wow, Jay Z, Puffy, Snoop, and Queen Latifah are doing for the election. Global Grind is a business but its really working hard on this election. All of my companies have some element of empowerment.
BE: From what I read earlier you originally did not throw your support behind Sen. Obama. Can you explain why you feel it is now important to get involved with his campaign?
RS: I went on the road as a surrogate for Sen. Obama since midway through the primaries. This is not my first trip. I was in Mississippi working for Senator Obama for the campaign.
I originally supported Sen. Hillary Clinton because I have a long time experience with the Clintons. Hillary Clinton and I fought drug laws. We fought education cuts. We did things for the poor while people were struggling. President Clinton has helped me with glob
al initiatives. He introduced me to people and helped me out a lot with my Diamond Empowerment Fund, an organization that raised $8 million last year to build schools in Africa. I’m a New Yorker. I had a very high profile fundraiser at my house and I helped get Sen. Clinton elected to the NY Senate. It created a good platform for her early on.But I resigned from the Hip Hop Summit Action Network as chairman so that I could work with Obama, because the Hip Hop Summit does nonpartisan work. I resigned during the primaries so that I can be a vocal advocate for the Obama campaign some time ago.
We have to put leadership in place that promotes the kind of world we would like to see. Sen. Obama for me represents that choice. I think for many of us, it’s nice to see someone of color in office that represents this next generation and a different view of the world to some degree, but it’s his policies and ideas about governing this world that makes him the better candidate.
BE: Give me an example of the policies and ideas that make Sen. Obama the better candidate for America and for African American people
RS: His economic policies as they pertain to people in poverty. The tax breaks he talks about. The promotion of a better opportunity for education. Letting common folks have an opportunity. These things are obvious for people suffering in poverty. The idea of engaging our European partners and everyone in a dialogue that makes good sense.
After 9/11 we had a chance to promote World peace and instead we promoted a greater cycle of violence. That was our chance after 9/11, but we made very bad choices. I don’t think any democrat would have done that much work to create such deception to make us believe it was okay to go in Iraq. But Sen. Obama wasn’t fooled by it. He was against it. I thought always and Sen. Obama thought always that it was a bad choice and I think that shows good vision.
BE: What would a John McCain presidency look like in your opinion?
RS: John McCain has always shown he has a bad temper. He voted 90% of the time with George Bush. We have all of these examples of the kind of prosperity we had with President Clinton. On the other hand we have all of these examples of the kind of struggle that was created with President George Bush. John McCain is like four more years of George Bush. I don’t think we can take it. The world can’t take it.
BE: In terms of the people who you are trying to speak to, what do you think is the most important message that you can give to them?
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RS: Be connected. Isolation is sickness. If you don’t vote, and you realize the urgency of it and you don’t take the effort to vote it is typical of how you probably treat the rest of the world. It is probably typical of how you treat your family. It is an example of the way you see the world.
Each person is responsible as a servant and voting is a very important service. As a human being it helps you be more connected to the whole global life. We want people to vote. When you come out of the voting booth you feel like you’ve taken a big step, just as an individual. If you vote or if you don’t vote, it’s your weight. If you sit still and this next leadership continues with these policies, ignore the poor, destroy the planet. Then they are your policies. It’s yours. If you vote against it then you can sleep well.Â
So we don’t want to be isolated. Isolation is sickness. Connected is everything.