For The Record: Village Voice's " Watching the V.P. Debate..."

by Tiffany Shorter

Hip Hop Republican misquoted and misinterpreted by the Village Voice.

Yesterday the Village Voice, a New York City newspaper, published an article about young black conservatives cheering for Sarah Palin at the vice-presidential debate. Comments such as “Obama is kicking the poor people out of the South Side”, were reported but never said. This quote was supposedly stated by me when I referred to Obama’s record as a state senator in Illinois.

As a resident of Chicago, I can confidently say that Obama is not doing any such thing. With three other witnesses, I also state with full certainty that I NEVER accused the Illinois Senator of hauling anyone from his or her home.

Instead, I posed the question, “What has he done in Illinois?”. Hype Park located on the South Side of Chicago, which Obama represented as an Illinois State Senator continues to struggle with drugs, poverty and crime. The only major change to the 13th district since he was elected is gentrification. Problems such as unemployment and violence were not resolved they but displaced to the South Suburbs along with Obama’s constituents who depended on his leadership. They hoped for change like many in America do today.

There are a few other defamatory statements made but not by Brandon Brice or myself. We were the only content contributors of the Hip Hop Republican who interviewed with the Voice. Most of the opinions written in the article do not represent my views nor the views of Hip Hop Republican. I urge the Village Voice to correct this miscommunication.