Eco-Rap uses hip-hop to educate people primarily in the Northern California Bay Area and the Bayview Hunters Point community, in particular, about issues ranging from toxic spills to teenage pregnancy. Eco-Rap makes numerous presentations at school assemblies and in classrooms regarding these issues. The After-School Workshops have been held in such places as the Bayview Opera House and San Francisco Educational Services; presently, the environmental group SLUG (San Francisco League of Urban Gardeners) also is hosting Workshops. Eco-Rap opens each 3-month program with a community Toxic Tour led by environmentalists and A.K. Black, Eco-Rap's artistic director and artist-in-residence. The tour gives youth different perspectives of their community. Next, the group examines environmental issues presented in news articles and a diverse range of periodicals. Meeting 4 days a week for 3 hours, each youth is assigned an article to read and share with the group and is encouraged to work on an individual performance art, poetry or book project. At the end of each session, the group presents to the community a hip-hop performance art piece that addresses an issue the youth examined. "Our aim is to bring knowledge out of youth, not always to instill it," says Black, a native of the Bayview Hunters Point community. Describing the success of the program, Black notes, "We have consistent requests for performances and continued student attendance. And we see a change in the outlook of the youth from hopeless to hopeful."