South African activist to screen film at CLU

A man who uses hip hop to address South African social issues will screen a documentary about his homeland’s new generation of activists at California Lutheran University.

Rushay Booysen will present “Masizakhe: Let Us Build Together” and discuss the role of hip hop and youth in activism and community building in South Africa from 7 to 9 p.m. Wednesday, Jan. 30, in Lundring Events Center. Booysen is featured in the 2006 film and served as music producer.

Booysen, of Port Elizabeth, promotes South African hip hop artists through his work with africasgateway.com, a Web site devoted to improving the community and exporting culture. He produced an Australian radio show with one of his artists, Jbux, and has participated in debates and talk shows about hip hop, culture and community building on several online radio shows. The South African government recently asked Booysen to coordinate a national anti-drug hip hop project after he organized a successful meeting on the subject with policymakers.

Booysen’s efforts to use hip hop to address social issues in the community were featured in the award-winning 2003 documentary “Hip Hopumentary.”

“Masizakhe” examines the mood in South Africa a decade after the end of apartheid. Exploring the issues of poverty and racism, the documentary focuses on the efforts of young activists who are working to rebuild the nation through music and words.

The screening and discussion are free and open to the public. The Center for Equality and Justice’s Institute for Identity and Globalization at CLU is sponsoring the event. The center works to bring students, faculty and staff together to channel their scholarly and activist passions into working with others to make a difference in the community.

The Lundring Events Center is located in the Gilbert Sports and Fitness Center at the corner of Olsen Road and Mountclef Boulevard in Thousand Oaks.

For more information, call (805) 493-3477 or e-mail freeland@callutheran.edu or iig@callutheran.edu.