"I think we do need a third political force in this country," he said during the lecture, "A party that cuts across race."
Kitwana is the author of three books, former editor of the music magazine The Source, a former professor at Kent State University, and a guest lecturer at many universities including Harvard, Stanford and Columbia.
The audience of UAF students, staff and local high school teachers was, in the words of Student Activities Coordinator Jeff Stepp, "small but energetic."
"You can tell by the people who stick around after the lecture to talk to him that his coming means a lot," Stepp said.
James Peters, 21, a math and electrical engineering major at UAF, said he agreed with Kitwana's views.
"I grew up outside of Fairbanks, in a place that didn't have that hip-hop culture," Peters said. "So his talk about hip-hop culture is interesting."
Hip-hop is appealing to people of all races, Kitwana said. He presented several theories explaining why white people love hip-hop, including the perception that "black kids are just cool," as he said with a smile. He claimed that white people who take hip-hop culture seriously are in a minority.
"But the more we talk about race, the more that will expand," he said.
People are usually too quick to apologize when offending someone in terms of race, Kitwana said.
"Apologies sweep things under the rug," he said. "We don't delve into the issues, and we haven't even fixed them in the first place."
"Hip-hop," he added, "is like -- boom! Here it is."
The National Hip-Hop Political Convention was created to approach those issues. According to the convention's website, it's purpose is "to support the movement towards increased civic and political participation within the Hip Hop Generation."
Hip-hop is already casually networked between photographers, musicians, journalists, artists, and dancers. Kitwana wants these groups to formally organize with the goal of influencing national politics. During the 2004 election, the convention operated throughout 20 states. He said the convention is partly responsible for a raise in the young-voter turn out of that election.
The convention's platform includes universal health care, an end to military recruitment in public places, and another one that Kitwana couldn't remember.
"It was something that was just kind of feel-good," he said with a small laugh. "I wasn't too happy with that one."
Kitwana also discussed the generation gap between people who grew up during the civil rights era and those who were born post-civil rights, which includes the hip-hop age group.
"We have old people setting the tone for how young people engage race- this is a bizarre thing," he said.
"By not talking about race it gets you into trouble," he continued. "I hit on words that try to get a reaction out of people."
Perhaps that's why his newest book is called "Why White Kids Love Hip-Hop: Wankstas, Wiggers, Wannabes, and the new Reality of Race in America."
