June 23, 2011
Senegalese youth, many involved in the hip-hop scene, formed a group called “Y’en a Marre,” ( “fed up”) to protest proposed changes to the constitution which would have kept the current president in power. On this day hundreds of thousands protested outside the National Assembly chanting “Don’t Touch My Constitution.” Y’en a Marre employed what they called “urban guerrilla poetry,” spontaneous public performances of their music, typically with explicitly political lyrics. By the end of the day, the proposed amendments were withdrawn.
