The (5) Pillars of Hip Hop (Peter Walker)

The 5 Pillars of Hip Hop Presentation by 3rd Eye Youth Empowerment and Peter Walker

The pillars are a foundation for community engagement DJ/Breaking/Graffiti/MC/Knowledge

Pillar #1 - Dj'ing - history of the DJ and then an example of a scratch and blend and a call to the audience to engage with the performance.

Pillar #2 - Breaking - history Break dancing and a live example to the audience capped off with a small hand "tutting" tutorial.

Pillar #3 - Graffiti - breaking down the importance of this pillar while expressing the evolution of Graffiti into the canvas of visual arts overall.

Pillar #4 - Mc'Ing - the significance of this role in the pillars being the community energy source when the pillars are activated. Capped off with a cool call!

Pillar #5 - Knowledge - breaking down the importance of this pillar and how combined with the other pillars are a roadmap to utility, mental and physical health, and a way to put action behind our energy towards a better, safer, community for everyone.

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BRIEF BIO OF WORK AND ARTIST:

The 2021 Black Excellence Award Bio:

The 2021 Black Excellence on the Hill ceremony is an annual event hosted by the Massachusetts Black & Latino Legislative Caucus to commemorate Black community leaders and trailblazers that are moving the needle forward in their respective communities. The 2021 nominees are activists, teachers, musicians, chocolatiers, and more - demonstrating that the excellence inherent to Blackness emulates from how expansive it is. Join us as we celebrate and honor the 2021 Black Excellence nominees!

Peter Walker’s remarkable story is one of reformation, redemption, and commitment to his family and community. After overcoming his tough upbringing of being raised in the inner-city projects of Boston and all the trials and tribulations that came with his intergenerational hurdles, Peter found himself at a crossroads and fortunately chose to seek a better path for his future. Genuinely needing a fresh start, Peter moved to New Bedford in the summer of 2011. He immediately decided to utilize his energy in a more effective manner by joining the ranks of 3rd EyE Youth Empowerment, where he spent the next decade of his life living by the organizational mission statement. 3rd EyE Youth Empowerment engages, unites, and activates the community through hip hop culture and mentorship to become transformative leaders.

Peter undoubtedly made this his lifestyle and used his life experiences and unique perspective to produce programming that provided not only platforms to harness artistic talents, but also instilled education as the root of his efforts. In 2017, Peter volunteered his way up to being the Music Director for the annual 3rd EyE Open Hip Hop festival, which focuses on bringing balance back to the genre through positive messaging and cultural creativity. Shortly thereafter, Peter subsequently became the Program Manager for 3rd EyE, running several monthly community events built around the original 5 pillars of Hip Hop. In the summer of 2019, Peter was nominated for the South Coast Leadership Award among many of his peers who have also dedicated their considerable time and efforts to establishing a better village for the community at large.

After the successful culmination of Peter’s experiences, it was to no surprise that in 2020, when the nation was confronted with massive political and civil divides, Peter would assume his role in helping facilitate and mentor young Black Lives Matters activists in New Bedford, while remaining active in leading the charge in peaceful protests in Boston. Along this extraordinary journey, Peter was also adamantly listening and discovering the many nuanced issues we all deal with in society. With the mentorship of the 3rd EyE Leadership Team, The Cox family and his wife Samia, Peter decided to take action beyond protests and founded The Communal Space New Bedford. The Communal Space is a diverse arts cultivator with a modest art gallery, showcasing BIPOC and LGBTQ+ works of art. It is equipped with a library that he and his wife founded with a focus on black authors, financial literacy, health, and STEAM related topics. Most importantly, it’s in the heart of Downtown New Bedford, as a cultural beacon. The Communal Space is meant to be a tangible representation and symbol of progression and equity for all marginalized communities.

While all of this was taking place Mass TDI Development, The Barr Foundation, and New Bedford Creative was forming a first time grant for the Art Is Everywhere initiative. 3rd EyE was chosen as the recipient of this grant and the leadership team selected Peter as the 1st ever Project Manager of this entire series which was funded for the span of 6 months and included working with over 50 community partners highlighting their organizations and resources. It required his innate ability to manage a team, operational budgets, and all technical aspects as the program was pivoted into a virtual experience due to Covid 19. Peter is excellent at learning on the go as he managed to utilize the technical skills needed to pull these events off. Completely self taught Peter and his team were able to create a higher standard for virtual events while teaching the lessons he learned to the youth and young adults he mentors. All of these events were hosted at The Communal Space where Peter safely and effectively handled all Covid protocols and guidelines without incident.

Continuing to push the needle forward, Peter alongside his mentors and family intends on expanding the work of not only 3rd EyE, but also The Communal Space to acquire a building and create a uniquely curated community center that is solely in line with empowering marginalized communities while also working diligently to create a healthier environment for public discourse for like and unlike minds. The Communal Space is in phase one of his passionate and strategic vision to show that it can work and to build from there. His dedication, determination, and poise has provided him the belief and ability to achieve such goals. Peter acknowledges imperatively that although he is being honored for his efforts none of this is possible without the amazing community, partners, and organizations that have entrusted him to assume roles and provided him the freedom to empower others with little to no limitations or oversight. Peter is thankful for the honor, but he dedicates this to his wife Samia Walker, his sons Nathan (15), Nazir(15), Amadeus(12), and his daughters Nyla(3) and Egypt (1).

Co-Creative Sessions is a free and accessible online series geared to enrich, educate and connect creatives through a series of workshops and training sessions. New Bedford is the home of artists, creatives, change makers, designers, entrepreneurs and community enthusiasts and the Co-Creative Session embraces the pulse that makes New Bedford so unique while expanding our knowledge and connections!

Funded by MassDevelopment/TDI and the Barr Foundation, this program is one component of a broader “TDI Creative Cities” initiative to boost arts-based economic development.

Event Venue & Nearby Stays

Co-Creative Center, 137 Union Street, New Bedford, United States