Rap icon Chuck D will kick off America's Black History Month with a special guest lecture at California State University Monterey Bay on Tuesday (07Feb12).
The Public Enemy star will speak to students about rap, race, technology and culture in an effort to celebrate the achievements made by African-American pioneers.
He tells local publication Monterey County Weekly, "I don’t think I’m (promoting an) exclusively black message. I have a humanist message for everybody: Treat people like you want to be treated. Culture is what brings humans together. All this other s**t is made up. Government likes to differentiate people, to divide people, categorise (people)...
"I think (U.S. President Barack) Obama is a wonderful symbol that we should be tireless... You can march forward with hope even if it looks like you might not succeed."
And the music producer is hoping his own personal background will resonate with the younger generation: "I use their language really well. I don’t talk down to them. I don’t talk about myself. I was a college student, too."