Initiatives

Our Initiatives

Acting at the forefront of the diversity and inclusion movement, Hip-Hop Education Center (HHEC) catalyzes equity in education through a multi-disciplinary approach including; advocacy for culturally responsive pedagogy & arts programming, development of leadership and workforce training, transnational research, and the creation of a living digital repository of Hip-Hop educational resources and history.

Research

We conduct transnational RESEARCH to document the evolution and impact of Hip-Hop Education and galvanize its effectiveness in engaging students and teachers across schools and communities.

Coalition

We build COALITIONS in the field of Hip-Hop Education through programming, fellowships and scholarships as part of our strategy to scale the field and bring attention to high-performing organizations, curricula, and leadership models while creating economic opportunities through pre-apprenticeship programs for a new generation of leaders.

Advocacy

We engage in ADVOCACY to foster and connect emerging and seasoned Hip-Hop artists, educators, curators, archivists, and industry professionals while advocating for the systemic change essential to their growth and sustained success.

Archives

We build ARCHIVES to coalesce and preserve cultural assets, educational initiatives, and resources, while offering open source curricula and archiving tools to educators and youth in the U.S. and around the world.

History

Acting at the forefront of the diversity and inclusion movement

The Hip-Hop-based education framework is a student-centered wholistic approach using Hip-Hop history, culture and music as a hook, bridge, and/or discipline to learning and teaching. For over 30 years visionary leader, Founder and Executive Director Martha Diaz has pioneered the field, culminating in the creation of the Hip Hop Education Center; a nexus to centralize and connect the work of Hip-Hop artists, teachers, students, scholars, archivists, curators, and social entrepreneurs from across the globe.

Acting at the forefront of the diversity and inclusion movement, Hip-Hop Education Center (HHEC) catalyzes equity in education through a multi-disciplinary approach including; advocacy for culturally responsive pedagogy & arts programming, leadership and workforce development, transnational research, and the creation of a living digital repository of Hip-Hop educational resources and history. The HHEC partners include the Universal Hip Hop Museum, Lincoln Center, Words, Beats and Life, California Department of Education Career Technical Education, NY Public Library, Arts2Work, and Music Will (formerly Little Kids Rock).

Founder and Executive Director Martha Diaz is a graduate of New York University’s Gallatin School of Individualized Study M.A. Program and Tisch School of the Arts Moving Image Archiving and Preservation M.A. Program, a Senior MacArthur Civic Media Fellow at the USC Annenberg Innovation Lab, a Harvard University Nasir Jones Fellow, and an Inaugural Fellow at The Center for Creative and Entertainment Arts at Virginia State University. As a first generation Colombian- American who grew up feeling invisible and underserved in the classroom, Diaz has traversed the Hip-Hop entertainment industry, the public arts and education sector, and the academy for three decades to reform education, transform lives, and innovate communities. She and The Hip-Hop Education Center are uniquely positioned with the personal testimony, leadership, network and expertise to make impactful change.

Photo by Budgeron Bach

Our Community

The Community That Makes Up The Center

We have a great community of people helping build Hip-Hop Education Center