In honor of the late poet and peace activist Mattie Stepanek, and in honor of the Just Peace Summit taking place this week in New York, Omekongo Dibinga of UPstander International has recorded a new rap song paying tribute to Stepanek. The song is entitled "Moved by a Messenger" and is an attempt to bring Mattie's message to newer audiences in hopes that it will aspire them to pursue peace in their lives and for the lives of others (listen here).
The Just Peace Summit was created under the leadership of music legend Nile Rodgers, founder of the We Are Family Foundation and Three Dot Dash. The Just Peace Summit brings together global teen leaders (GTLs). According to the Summit's website: "GTLs are chosen for their efforts to promote a more peaceful society by addressing issues related to the basic human needs of food, water, health, shelter, safety, education and the environment and then invited to participate in the yearlong Three Dot Dash initiative." Three Dot Dash is an organization that was started to honor the vision of Mattie Stepanek.
Says Omekongo of this song release: "Mattie Stepanek has always been a hero of mine. Even though he lived down the street from me, I didn't know about him until I saw his funeral on TV. I knew then that I would do my best to honor his legacy. These efforts led me eventually to serving as a board member of the Mattie J.T. Stepanek Foundation. As a rapper and poet however, I had to make sure that documented my respect for Mattie in the best way I know how. Having met the Global Teen Leaders this past weekend, I wanted to go public with the song as a way to honor them as well and use hip-hop to bring his message to a different audience. They say adults do not own the earth but are renting it from future generations. I just want to do my part to make sure when we turn over the keys, our planet is in better shape for them than we found it."
Omekongo is the UPstander. He is an award-winning artist who uses his skills as a speaker, poet, and musician to inspire positive change across the globe. His work has been televised in over 150 countries. He was selected by CNN as one of 5 people out of 750,000 to receive the first ever "iReport Spirit Award" for his video commentary. For more information, please visitwww.upstanderinternational.com.
|