U.S. Scholar discusses Afro-American Literature and the History of Hip Hop Culture in Rio de Janeiro 
On May 17, 2005, Target of Opportunity Speaker Antonio Tillis, Professor at the Department of Foreign Languages, Literature and African American Studies at Purdue University, lectured on "Afro-American History in Review: A Literary Perspective" for a group of 100 undergraduate and graduate students and professors of the Institute of Literature of the State University of Rio de Janeiro (UERJ). Dr. Tillis was also the keynote speaker at a Focus Group Luncheon on "The Afro-American Influences on the Globalization of Hip Hop Culture," which took place at the U.S. Consulate and was attended by a group of ten Brazilian hip hop artists, activists, academics and journalists, including famous rapper MV Bill and hip hop impresario Celso Athayde. MV Bill and Celso Athayde are co-authors of the book "Cabeça de Porco" ("A Pig's Head"), which discusses juvenile delinquency in Brazil's shanty towns. Since its national launch one month ago, "Cabeça de Porco" has headed the top 10 list of the bestselling books in Brazil.
In his talk at UERJ, Dr. Tillis provided a comprehensive overview of Afro-American history from a literary perspective, pointing out the importance of the African American contribution to U.S. literature, and discussed Affirmative Action in higher education. Dr. Tillis's presence generated major local interest, as his research matches some of the key studies that are presently being conducted by UERJ Institute of Literature's faculty. The program was also instrumental in renewing the Consulate's contact with this important academic institute, whose faculty expressed major interest in hosting Dr. Tillis in the future, as well as in developing further partnerships with the Consulate.
At the Focus Group Luncheon, Dr. Tillis traced the history of hip hop from its early beginnings in the seventies to the early 21st Century, and explained how hip hop evolved in these thirty years from a typical marginalized product of urban culture to a mainstream product of global capitalist consumption. In the animated, three hour-long discussion following his talk, it was pointed out that, differently from American hip hop culture, Brazilian rap has so far not reached the major vehicles of mass communication or the recording industry. As a consequence, hip hop in Brazil has preserved intact its original role of developing political consciousness and citizenship awareness among youth from underprivileged communities, denouncing the racial discrimination and exclusion that still prevails throughout the country, and discussing issues related to urban violence and organized crime in Brazil. The program was also instrumental in introducing some of the key players in Brazilian hip hop culture to the Political Officer, who had been tasked by the Consul General to write a report cable on the subject. Journalists from "O Globo" daily newspaper (national circulation: 350,000) and "Raça Brasil" monthly magazine (national circulation: 30,000) participated in the Focus Group Luncheon and are planning to publish articles on the program.
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