Staff and wire reports

Hip Hop’s 50th Anniversary NASHVILLE, Tenn. (Black PR Wire) – The National Museum of African American Music is joining in the celebration of the 50th anniversary of Hip Hop. Its yearlong exhibit, This is Hip Hop, will exhibit iconic captures of Hip Hop’s origins and cultural impact through the lenses of four legendary artists. The museum curated and spotlighted the history and development of Hip Hop and the genre’s most iconic performers. Learn more at nmaam.org.

Honoring Rep. Bennie Thompson BEVERLY HILLS, CA (Black PR Wire) – Congressman Bennie G. Thompson (D-Miss.) will be honored with the prestigious Chairman’s Award during the "54th NAACP Image Awards." The honor is bestowed in recognition of individuals who demonstrate exemplary public service and use their distinct platforms to create agents of change. Past honorees include Samuel L. Jackson, the late U.S. Congressman John Lewis and Ruby Dee, Danny Glover, Rev. James Lawson, Tyler Perry, then-Sen. Barack Obama, Congresswoman Maxine Waters, and former Surgeon General Regina Benjamin. Civil rights attorney Benjamin Crump will receive the Social Justice Impact Award.

ASCAP Celebrates Black Anthems NEW YORK (Black PR Wire) – The American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers (ASCAP) is recognizing Black History Month with a series of weekly performances from rising R&B artists and songwriters J Rome, Moxie Knox, Sha’Leah Nikole and Kadeem Nichols. Each Tuesday through Feb. 28, the featured artist will cover one of history’s most powerful Black empowerment songs written or co-written by ASCAP members. The performances can be viewed on ASCAP’s YouTube and @ASCAP and @ASCAPUrban Instagram.

August Wilson Colloquium

PITTSBURGH, PA (Black PR Wire) – The August Wilson Society, in collaboration with the August Wilson African American Cultural Center and University of Pittsburgh Library System, has announced its Biennial Colloquium: Excavating New Critical Landscapes for August Wilson Studies, March 2-4, to mark the grand opening of the August Wilson Archive at the University of Pittsburgh, Pa. Register at Eventbrite, or augustwilsonsociety.org, or contact Society President Dr. Sandra G. Shannon at info@augustwilsonsociety.org.