HSAN, WAL-MART AND BET RESPOND TO U.S. FINANCIAL CRISIS IN ATLANTA ON 10/17 WITH RUSSELL SIMMONS, LUDACRIS, MONICA, FAT JOE AND MANY MORE!

THE HIP-HOP SUMMIT ACTION NETWORK (HSAN), WAL-MART STORES, INC. AND BET NETWORKS RESPOND TO U.S. FINANCIAL CRISIS ON OCTOBER 17, 2008

ATLANTA, GEORGIA WILL BE THE SITE FOR THE NATIONAL
HIP-HOP SUMMIT ON FINANCIAL EMPOWERMENT

FROM HSAN’S “GET YOUR MONEY RIGHT” SUMMIT TO HSAN’S “GET YOUR HOUSE RIGHT” WORKSHOP,
RUSSELL SIMMONS, LUDACRIS. MONICA, FAT JOE, GORILLA ZOE, BET “106 & PARK” HOSTS ROCSI AND TERRENCE J, BRYAN-MICHAEL COX, DJ DRAMA, DJ TOOMP, ASHER ROTH, SHANTI DAS, DR. BENJAMIN CHAVIS AND VALEISHA BUTTERFIELD SPEAK OUT

New York, N.Y. -October 1, 2008- On September 25, The Associated Press reported “Weekly jobless claims surged to the highest level in seven years, durable goods orders took a bigger-than-expected tumble and new home sales plunged to the slowest pace in 17 years, according to government data released Thursday. The latest trifecta of bad news about the economy raised new worries about a possible recession and underscored the concerns that are driving Congress and the White House to reach agreement on an historic bailout of the financial system.”

The Hip-Hop Summit Action Network (HSAN), with four successful years of “Get Your Money Right” Summits, will be joined by presenting sponsor Wal-Mart Stores, Inc., media sponsor BET Networks and supporting sponsor Enterprise Rent-A-Car to respond to the US financial crisis on October 17, 2008 at Clark Atlanta University’s Cornelius L. Henderson Student Center at 223 James P. Brawley Drive, S.W. The program will take place from 5:00-7:00pm. Doors open at 4:00pm. The supporting sponsor is Enterprise Rent-A- Car. Tickets for the Atlanta Summit are available at www.hsan.org.

HSAN’s response, in particular, will be geared toward helping families and communities receive vital information to effectively navigate through the current, unprecedented financial challenges.

With the current crisis in the American economy, young people, especially, are in dire need of the necessary information on how to manage their finances in this volatile market, the best way to get out of debt and keep themselves out of debt. The Hip-Hop Summit on Financial Empowerment is a grassroots effort to help engage young people in discussions about the importance of personal finance. The “Get Your Money Right” agenda features an interactive panel discussion on financial literacy, including such topics as the basics of banking, repairing and understanding credit scores, asset and wealth management, vehicle financing and home ownership.
“The interest of the hip-hop community, ultimately, is always about empowerment,” declared Russell Simmons. “Given the profound financial challenges facing our nation and world, HSAN’s national Hip-Hop Summit on Financial Empowerment is very timely. Beyond being reactive, we will be proactive.”

“It could not be more timely for the Hip-Hop Summit to hold this forum for our young people who really need this information,” said Debra L. Lee, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, BET Networks. “Hip-hop has always been about calling attention to the critical issues in our community, and BET Networks has always shown a strong commitment to educating and informing our audience. We are proud to partner with Russell Simmons, Dr. Ben Chavis, Valeisha Butterfield and the rest of HSAN on this important initiative.”

“At Wal-Mart, we understand the impact an individual’s personal finances can have on their daily life,” said Jane Thompson, president, Wal-Mart Financial Services, Wal-Mart Stores, Inc. “Our partnership with HSAN in this event and ongoing financial literacy programs, along with expanded products, services and locations, are an extension of our dedication to helping people save money so that they can live better.”

Joining HSAN co-founder Russell Simmons, CEO/President Dr. Benjamin Chavis and Executive Director Valeisha Butterfield will be Atlanta native, Grammy Award winning hip-hop star and actor Ludacris; Platinum selling R&B star Monica; Platinum selling rapper Fat Joe; Atlanta native, Bad Boy Records artist Gorilla Zoe; BET “106 & Park” Hosts Rocsi and Terrence J; producer and Grammy Award-winning producer/songwriter Bryan-Michael Cox; Atlanta’s own DJ Drama; Grammy Award-winning producer DJ Toomp; Atlanta native and SRC Records artist Asher Roth and Universal Motown music executive Shanti Das.

“In my lifetime and the lifetimes of those who will attend the ‘Get Your Money Right’ National Summit, we have never before experienced the level of financial hardship that currently exists in our communities,” emphasized Valeisha Butterfield. “It is the obligation of those with the necessary resources and educational tools, to provide this critical information to those who need it most. The Hip-Hop Summit is proud to be the vehicle of change in this area.”

With the mortgage crises at the heart of the current financial turmoil, HSAN will introduce a special workshop entitled, “Get Your House Right” that will feature home ownership and mortgage lending professionals. The workshop will also take on the campus of Clark University, between 2-4pm EST, prior to the Summit. Lynn Richardson, Chair of HSAN’s Home Ownership National Advisory Council, will host the workshop. Partners include NAHREP (National Association of Hispanic Real Estate Professionals), NAREB (National Association of Real Estate Brokers) and Regions Bank.

“This is not the time to panic. It is a global crisis, but we’ve been through crises before. Hip-hop emerged out of the crucible of the crisis of poverty over thirty years ago, but maintains a transformative message of empowerment. The truth is, young people will be listening and watching for solutions to the economic challenges of our time,” declared Dr. Benjamin Chavis. “The poetry and music of hip-hop have always reflected both the hopes and the contradictions of life. ‘Get Your Money Right’ and ‘Get Your House Right’ will offer paths to a better future.”

The tour will utilize the “Get Your Money Right” workbook, produced and distributed by HSAN in both English and Spanish and given to all participants. The workbook is free and is also downloadable at www.hsan.org

Community partners for the Summit include The Ludacris Foundation and 100 Black Men. The radio partner for the Atlanta Hip-Hop Summit is V-103.

About Wal-Mart Stores, Inc. (NYSE: WMT)
Every week, millions of customers visit Wal-Mart Stores, Supercenters, Neighborhood Markets, and Sam’s Club locations across America. The company and its Foundation are committed to a philosophy of giving back locally. Wal-Mart (NYSE: WMT) is proud to support the causes that are important to customers and associates right in their own neighborhoods, and last year gave more than $296 million to local United States communities. To learn more, visit www.walmartstores.com, www.walmart.com, or www.walmartfoundation.org.

About BET Networks
BET Networks, a division of Viacom Inc. (NYSE: VIA, VIA.B), is the nation’s leading provider of quality entertainment, music, news and public affairs television programming for the African-American audience. The primary BET channel reaches more than 87 million households according to Nielsen Media Research, and can be seen in the U.S., Canada and the Caribbean. BET is the dominant African-American consumer brand with a diverse group of business extensions: BET.com, a leading internet destination for Black entertainment, music, culture, and news; BET Digital Networks – BET J, BET Gospel and BET Hip Hop, attractive alternatives for cutting-edge entertainment tastes; BET Event Productions, a full-scale event management and production company; BET Home Entertainment, a collection of BET-branded offerings for the home environment including DVDs and video-on-demand; BET Mobile, which provides ringtones, games and video content for wireless devices; and BET International, an extension of BET network programming for global distribution.

About Enterprise Rent-A-Car
Founded in 1957, Enterprise Rent-A-Car is headquartered in St. Louis and serves customers in the United States, Canada, the U.K., Ireland, and Germany. Enterprise is North America’s largest car rental company in fleet size, number of locations, and annual revenue, ranking No. 18 on the Forbes Top 500 Private Companies in America. Enterprise has ranked highest in customer satisfaction among airport rentals in eight out of the past nine years, according to J.D. Power and Associates Rental Car Satisfaction Study. Enterprise is owned by the Taylor family, which acquired the National Car Rental (nationalcar.com) and Alamo Rent A Car (alamo.com) businesses in 2007. For more information about Enterprise, visit enterprise.com.

About Hip-Hop Summit Action Network
Founded in 2001, the Hip-Hop Summit Action Network is dedicated to harnessing the cultural relevance of hip-hop music to serve as a catalyst for education advocacy and other societal concerns fundamental to the well being of at-risk youth throughout the United States. HSAN is the largest non-profit, worldwide coalition of hip-hop artists, entertainment industry leaders, education advocates, civil rights proponents, and youth leaders united in the belief that Hip-Hop is an enormously influential agent for positive social change which must be responsibly and proactively utilized to fight the war on poverty and injustice.
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