Rock the Vote awards honor activist artists

NEW YORK – British superstar Robbie Williams, revolutionary rap group Public Enemy and 2003 Grammy nominees Vanessa Carlton and The Flaming Lips will perform live Saturday, Feb. 22 at 7 p.m., when Rock the Vote and MTV present the 10th Annual Rock the Vote Awards at the Roseland Ballroom here.

Recording artists Peter Gabriel and Alanis Morissette will be honored with Rock the Vote Patrick Lippert Awards and Chuck D, founding member of Public Enemy, will receive the 2003 Rock the Vote Founders Award.

Gabriel will be honored for his work with the Witness project and his continued activism on behalf of worldwide human rights issues. Gabriel co-founded Witness in 1992 to arm activists with video cameras and communication technology, empowering them to document abuses in an effort to end human rights atrocities. In addition, Gabriel helped to set up the “Human Rights Now” tour with Amnesty International, participated in Nelson Mandela concerts, and visited the USSR to help launch Greenpeace.

Morissette will be honored for her “tireless dedication on behalf of causes making the world a safer place for young people.” She has donated her talent and time to numerous benefit concerts including: Groundwork, a benefit for The Act To Reduce Hunger; The John Lennon Tribute Concert, a benefit for gun control and 9/11 relief; Music Without Borders, a benefit for the United Nations Donor Alert Appeal, and many more.

Chuck D, founding member of the legendary rap group Public Enemy, is being honored for his numerous contributions to community service organizations and his work with advocacy groups like Rock the Vote, the National Urban League, and the National Alliance of African American Athletes, among others.

The Rock the Vote Patrick Lippert Awards commemorate the group’s first executive director, who died in July 1993. The awards ceremony recognizes “the activist in the artist” and the belief that “each of us can use our talents to reach out to others and take part in creating a better future for our country and world.”

Tickets to the annual fundraiser are available to the public and can be purchased by calling The Blue Room Group at (310) 491-1401.