Editing Chuck D (section)

==Politics==
Chuck D identifies as Black, as opposed to African or African-American. In a 1993 issue of DIRT Magazine covering a taping of [[In the Mix (TV series)|''In the Mix'']] hosted by [[Alimi Ballard]] at the Apollo, Dan Field writes, <blockquote>At one point, Chuck bristles a bit at the term "African-American." He thinks of himself as Black and sees nothing wrong with the term. Besides, he says, having been born in the United States and lived his whole life here, he doesn't consider himself African. Being in Public Enemy has given him the chance to travel around the world, an experience that really opened his eyes and his mind. He says visiting Africa and experiencing life on a continent where the majority of people are Black gave him a new perspective and helped him get in touch with his own history. He also credits a trip to the ancient Egyptian pyramids at Giza with helping him appreciate the relative smallness of man.<ref>{{Cite journal|last=Field|first=Dan|date=1993|title=New York, New York; Chuck D, Public Enemy's Mouthpiece|url=https://oac.cdlib.org/findaid/ark:/13030/kt7489q3mv/|journal=DIRT Magazine|type=Zine|via=Online Archive of California; University of California, Los Angeles Library Special Collections}}</ref></blockquote>
Ridenhour is politically active; he co-hosted ''Unfiltered'' on [[Air America Radio]], testified before the United States Congress in support of [[peer-to-peer]] MP3 sharing, and was involved in a 2004 rap political convention. He has continued to be an activist, publisher, lecturer, and producer.

Addressing the negative views associated with rap music, he co-wrote the essay book ''Fight the Power: Rap, Race, and Reality'' with Yusuf Jah. He argues that "music and art and culture is escapism, and escapism sometimes is healthy for people to get away from reality", but sometimes the distinction is blurred and that's when "things could lead a young mind in a direction."<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.craveonline.com/music/articles/04648327/chuck_d_the_d_is_for_dangerous.html |title=Chuck D: The D is for Dangerous |publisher=Crave Online |date=August 6, 2007 |access-date=October 7, 2012 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130807110142/http://www.craveonline.com/music/articles/04648327/chuck_d_the_d_is_for_dangerous.html |archive-date=August 7, 2013}}</ref> He also founded the record company Slam Jamz and acted as narrator in Kareem Adouard's short film ''Bling: Consequences and Repercussions'', which examines the role of [[conflict diamonds]] in [[bling]] fashion. Despite Chuck D and Public Enemy's success, Chuck D claims that popularity or public approval was never a driving motivation behind their work. He is admittedly skeptical of celebrity status, revealing in a 1999 interview with ''BOMB Magazine'' that "The key for the record companies is to just keep making more and more stars, and make the ones who actually challenge our way of life irrelevant. The creation of celebrity has clouded the minds of most people in America, Europe and Asia. It gets people off the path they need to be on as individuals."<ref>{{cite web |last=Thorpe |first=David |url=http://bombsite.com/issues/68/articles/2251 |title=Chuck D |work=[[BOMB Magazine]] |date=Summer 1999 |access-date=June 13, 2012 |archive-date=September 20, 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130920225520/http://bombsite.com/issues/68/articles/2251 |url-status=dead }}</ref>

In an interview with ''Le Monde'', published January 29, 2008,<ref name="monde">{{cite news|title=Chuck D : let rap sans strass|language=fr|trans-title=Chuck D: Rap Without Rhinestones|work=[[Le Monde]]| date=January 29, 2008 |first=Véronique |last=Mortaigne|url=http://www.lemonde.fr/culture/article/2008/01/29/chuck-d-le-rap-sans-strass_1004960_3246.html#ens_id=1005052|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080131062649/http://www.lemonde.fr/culture/article/2008/01/29/chuck-d-le-rap-sans-strass_1004960_3246.html#ens_id=1005052 |archive-date=January 31, 2008|access-date=June 19, 2019}}</ref> Chuck D stated that rap is devolving so much into a commercial enterprise, that the relationship between the rapper and the record label is that of slave to a master. He believes that nothing has changed for African-Americans since the debut of Public Enemy and, although he thinks that an Obama-Clinton alliance is great, he does not feel that the establishment will allow anything of substance to be accomplished. He stated that French President [[Nicolas Sarkozy]] is like any other European elite: he has profited through the murder, rape, and pillaging of those less fortunate and he refuses to allow equal opportunity for those men and women from Africa. In this article, he defended a comment made by [[Professor Griff]] in the past that he says was taken out of context by the media. The real statement was a critique of the Israeli government and its treatment of the Palestinian people. Chuck D stated that it is Public Enemy's belief that all human beings are equal.<ref name="monde" />

In an interview with the magazine ''N'Digo'' published in June 2008, he spoke of today's mainstream urban music seemingly relishing the addictive euphoria of [[Economic materialism|materialism]] and [[sexism]], perhaps being the primary cause of many people harboring resentment towards the genre and its future. However, he has expressed hope for its resurrection, saying "It's only going to be dead if it doesn't talk about the messages of life as much as the messages of death and non-movement", citing artists such as [[NYOil]], [[M.I.A. (rapper)|M.I.A.]] and [[The Roots]] as socially conscious artists who push the envelope creatively. "A lot of cats are out there doing it, on the Web and all over. They're just not placing their career in the hands of some major corporation."<ref>{{cite news |last=Muhammad |first=Cinque |url=http://www.ndigo.com/coverstory.asp |url-status=dead |title=Hip-Hop Conspiracy? Critics charge conscious rap is silenced. |work=N'Digo Online |date=June 26, 2008 |access-date=July 5, 2008 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080807162245/http://www.ndigo.com/coverstory.asp |archive-date=August 7, 2008}}</ref>

In 2010, Chuck D released the track "Tear Down That Wall." He said "I talked about the wall not only just dividing the U.S. and Mexico but the states of California, New Mexico and Texas. But Arizona, it's like, come on. Now they're going to enforce a law that talks about basically racial profiling."<ref>{{cite magazine|url=https://www.billboard.com/articles/news/957694/chuck-d-takes-aim-at-arizona-public-enemy-in-the-studio |title=Chuck D Takes Aim at Arizona; Public Enemy In the Studio|magazine=[[Billboard (magazine)|Billboard]] |date=September 14, 2009 |access-date=May 8, 2012}}</ref>

He is on the board of the [[TransAfrica Forum]], a Pan African organization that is focused on African, Caribbean and Latin American issues.

He has been an activist with projects of [[Revolutionary Communist Party USA|The Revcoms]], such as [[Refuse Fascism]] and Stop Mass Incarceration Network.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://revcom.us/a/355/chuck-d-takes-the-pledge-for-the-month-of-resistance-en.html|title=Chuck D takes the pledge for the Month of Resistance|website=revcom.us}}</ref> [[Carl Dix]] interviewed Chuck D on The Revcoms' YouTube program ''The RNL – Revolution, Nothing Less! – Show''.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=tbOGKLb8fhQ| archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/varchive/youtube/20211117/tbOGKLb8fhQ| archive-date=2021-11-17 | url-status=live|title = CHUCK D on removing Trump, George Floyd, and the new Public Enemy video| website=[[YouTube]]| date=August 24, 2020}}{{cbignore}}</ref>

In 2022, he endorsed [[Conrad Tillard]], formerly the Nation of Islam Minister known as Conrad Muhammad and subsequently a Baptist Minister, in his campaign for [[New York State Senate]] in [[New York's 25th State Senate district|District 25]] (covering part of eastern and north-central Brooklyn).<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://politicsny.com/2022/08/15/mayor-adams-endorses-tillard-over-dsaer-brisport-in-bed-stuy-senate-race/|title=Mayor Adams Endorses Tillard over DSAer Brisport in Bed-Stuy senate race|first=Stephen|last=Witt|date=August 15, 2022|website=PoliticsNY}}</ref>

Chuck D is a US Global Music Ambassador in a programme established by the [[US State Department]] and [[YouTube]]. It is part of the State Department's Global Music Diplomacy Initiative, which is designed to "elevate music as a diplomatic platform to promote peace and democracy".<ref>{{cite web |last1=King |first1=Ashley |title=YouTube Partners with US State Department |url=https://www.digitalmusicnews.com/2024/06/25/youtube-partners-us-state-department/ |website=Digital Music News |access-date=9 September 2024 |date=25 June 2024}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |last1=Aswad |first1=Jem |title=Lainey Wilson, Chuck D, Many More Join YouTube's Partnership With U.S. State Department to Promote Peace |url=https://variety.com/2024/digital/news/lainey-wilson-chuck-d-youtube-partnership-state-department-promote-peace-1236047339/ |website=Variety |access-date=9 September 2024 |date=24 June 2024}}</ref>