User:Aihawkins/sandbox

Introduction
Amina Ayo Norman-Hawkins (born November 16, 1969), also known by her stage name Amina, is an American rapper, poet, educator, filmmaker and activist. She is best known for her work as the founder of both Chicago Hip-Hop Heritage Month (2003-present) and The Chicago Hip-Hop Initiative (2003-present), as well as her 2011 film “Keep It Movin Cote d'ivoire”. Amina is internationally recognized as a hip-hop practitioner

Early Life and Career
Amina was born Amina Ayo Norman, and is of Nigerian and Cameroonian ancestry. She was born in Waukegan, Illinois and raised in Chicago until she was seven years old. Her family then moved to Nigeria in 1976, and lived in both Lagos and Ogun states where she learned to speak Yoruba fluently. While in Nigeria, she gained four younger brothers. She attended the prestigious Mayflower Secondary School in Ikenne, Remo, Ogun State. In 1986, Amina moved back to Chicago and began to establish herself as a poet and emcee.

1992-2000 Chicago Poetry & Hip-Hop, Networking, and Urbanized Music

Shortly after her family relocated to the United States, Amina began performing in various clubs and venues all over the city of Chicago. She became well known at several iconic open mics in the city, such as Spices, Literary Explosions (Lit-Ex), and Hot House. Earlier on in her career, she also made the effort to perform in more philanthropic venues such as churches and schools, and even performed poems and raps for inmates at the Stateville Correctional Facility.

As she began to build connections within the Chicago Hip-Hop scene, Amina began working to enhance her networking skills. She created Chicago Urban Mines (Music Industry Networking & Entertainment Socials), which was a monthly networking event meant to connect emcees, singers, writers, poets, dancers, and DJs with one another to strengthen the artistic scene in Chicago as a whole.

Amina soon teamed up with Coolout Chris, an emcee and producer known for his work in the rap group Spalaney’s, and together they formed a Hip-Hop collective known as Urbanized Music.

2001-2009 Chicago Hip-Hop Heritage Month, Panels, and Continued Initiatives
In 2001 Amina organized a year-long community awareness campaign called Chicago One Love designed to celebrate the local arts scene. The campaign featured concerts, workshops, and a series of events across the city celebrating and honoring local artists and pioneers.

In 2003 Amina co-founded the Chicago Hip-Hop Initiative, a non-profit organization designed to honoring and preserving the history and aesthetic of Chicago Hip-Hop culture. The organization was formed by Amina and Coolout Chris of Urbanized Music, and local writer Mark Fitzgerald Armstrong. Around the same time in 2003 Amina would spearhead the effort to create a month long observance dedicated to Chicago Hip-Hop artists, history, and culture. In April of 2003, at Amina's insistence, Armstrong penned a draft of a resolution that would recognize the entire month of July as Chicago Hip-Hop Heritage Month. This draft was presented to 27th Ward Alderman Walter Burnett, and by June of 2003 the resolution was unanimously approved and accepted by the Chicago City Council. Chicago Hip-Hop Initiative is the primary organizing body for official Chicago Hip-Hop Heritage Month  events each July.

In addition to these projects, Amina also founded a non-profit organization called BGirl Power. It was a movement created to redefine the images of women in hip-hop. BGirl Power was born out of an effort to highlight the voices and efforts of women in hip-hop, a male-dominated genre and culture. There were annual BGirl Power festivals held between the years of 2006 and 2011

Throughout the decade and beyond, Amina’s reputation had earned her seats on panels with several activists, artists, and academics including Gloria Steinem, Fat Joe, Killer Mike, Dr. Carol Adams, Jeff Chang, Darryl "D.M.C." Matthews McDaniels of Run-D.M.C., authors Joan Morgan and Bakari Kitwana, and most recently MC Lyte. She has been featured on C-SPAN on multiple occasions, and has spoken at several institutions including Northwestern University, DePaul University, Chicago State, Antioch College, and Governors State University, as well as numerous high schools and organizations. She is still actively performing during this time, and while many of the venues she started her career in have gone away, she has performed at esteemed venues like the Jay Pritzker Pavilion in Chicago’s Millennium Park, Petrillo Bandshell in Grant Park, Steppenwolf Theatre, Metro Chicago, The Vic Theater, Navy Pier Skyline Stage, Museum of Contemporary Art, The Hyde Park Art Center, and The Chicago Cultural Center along with several prominent clubs and performance venues that are still open today.

2010-2011 International Work and Keep It Moving
In 2010 Amina became a United States Cultural Envoy. She spent 14 days in the West African nation of Cote d’Ivoire (Ivory Coast) leading a team of artists that included herself, Coolout Chris, and prominent Hip-Hop emcee Ang13. They traveled 7 regions of the country, spreading messages of peace and tolerance through the avenue of hip-hop. The three artists held workshops and performances in cities as Abidjan, Aboisso, Gagnoa, Daloa, Korhogo, Ferkessedougou, and Abengourou.

After returning to the United States, Amina compiled hours of footage and interviews to create an indie documentary called "Keep It Moving-The Movie: Chicago Hip-Hop to Cote d’Ivoire". The film has been screened at several venues and festivals nationally since its release.

2013-Present: Columbia College Chicago
Amina has began teaching in 2006 with Kuumba Lynx, an organization that focuses on fostering community through the elements of hip-hop, poetry, and dance. She went on to teach in several schools within the Chicago area including Uplift, Truman College, Sullivan High School, Jones High School, Jenner, Brenneman, and now Schurz High School. Amina Norman-Hawkins became a faculty member at Columbia College Chicago in 2014, teaching a course titled "Hip-Hop: A Sonic History", and later added “Survey of African American Music“. She served on a committee that worked

to create a Hip-Hop Studies minor for the institution, and by the Fall of 2017 the program

was officially launched.

Personal Life
Amina married Chris Hawkins (Coolout Chris) in May of 1998. They have one daughter together. Amina is still lecturing at Columbia College Chicago, doing outreach with youth across the Chicagoland area, and performing across the country.