Young, politically active, ready to influence

Music icons Clarence Avant and Quincy Jones paved the way years ago, bringing national politicians together with the entertainment industry’s African American community.

Now their protegees are taking up the mantle.

In a Brentwood high-rise this week, music executive Herb Trawick teamed with political analyst Kerman Maddox to put together a reception for some of the industry’s most politically active young African Americans. The turnout -- more than 70 in all -- included Avant’s daughter, Nicole, who heads up her dad’s music publishing company; Darrel Miller, entertainment attorney for Ludacris and OutKast’s Andre 3000; VH1 talent scout Denise Bishop; fellow music execs Candace Bond McKeever and her husband, Steve McKeever; billionaire Cathy Hughes, owner of Radio One and TVOne; and Earth, Wind and Fire’s Maurice White -- White and Trawick co-founded Kalimba Entertainment, which represents musicians, actors and entertainers.

Several national politicians have inquired in recent weeks about meeting with the group. But Trawick and Maddox decided that Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa should be their first political guest.

The mayor rearranged his schedule to accept.

“You’re working in an industry that is so much what this city is all about,” the mayor told the audience. “I want you to know that I’m on the job when it comes to that.”

Trawick said the group plans to have more forums in the coming weeks as they go about choosing which political candidates and causes to support.

But first, they need to decide on a name. “We were thinking of calling it ‘Culture Cabinet.’ ” He added: “We recognize that there’s a lot of power in the [entertainment] content that these people control. We want to put it to use as a change agent and a positive force to do good.”

Penn steps up criticism of Bush

In the wake of 9/11 and the start of the Iraq war, it was taboo for a celebrity to criticize President Bush in public. (Look what happened to the Dixie Chicks, who were ostracized when lead singer Natalie Maines made critical comments about the president at a London concert in 2003.)

But these days, it’s become de rigueur among the far left-leaning members of the Hollywood set to bash Bush -- in the strongest terms possible.

Among the most vocal is actor Sean Penn, who has stepped up his rhetoric against the administration in recent weeks. (He called Bush a “Beelzebub” at the Toronto International Film Festival.)

The actor sent a message Monday to 1,200 people gathered for the World Can’t Wait: Drive Out the Bush Regime! meetings in New York and San Francisco. (The group was formed last year by activists who have called the Bush administration “more dangerous than Nazi Germany.”)

“This is an administration that advocates torture, deceives the public, spends billions of dollars on a failed war,” Penn wrote in a message to the crowd, which was read by actor Mark Ruffalo. “This is an administration where in the year of Katrina, Exxon Mobil claimed the highest profit margin in the history of world business. It is an administration that belittles, demeans, deceives and indeed kills our brothers, our sisters, our sons and our daughters.”

Ruffalo, who stars alongside Penn in the current release “All the King’s Men,” then made a statement of his own.

“I don’t want to be up here today, but I feel I have exhausted the way we have been taught to affect change in the way our government conducts itself,” Ruffalo said. “I have voted, I have called, I have written letters, I have given of myself with my time and my money, and still we have a government that refuses to respect the Constitution.”

Working for change in Africa

News Corp. President and Chief Executive Peter Chernin and wife Megan are hosting an exclusive gathering of Hollywood politicos -- along with economist Jeffrey Sachs and Rwandan activist Mary Balikungeri -- at their home in Santa Monica on Thursday.

“Having visited Africa, we know the challenges it faces,” the Chernins wrote in an invitation to the event, which is being organized by the Foreign Policy Roundtable, a global affairs seminar for leaders in the entertainment and media communities. “We are especially excited to hear how these two dedicated individuals are working to change the fate of African nations from one of no hope and despair to one of survival and growth.”

Sachs was recently named by Time magazine as one of the world’s 100 most influential leaders. (He’s also friends with Bono and Angelina Jolie, both working to raise awareness about the plight of African countries.)

Balikungeri is the founder of the Rwanda Women’s Network, a group dedicated to promoting and improving the socioeconomic welfare of women in Rwanda.

She was nominated for a Nobel Peace Prize for her work addressing basic needs of women in her country.

The column explores the intersection of celebrity and politics. Tips and comments can be e-mailed to [email protected]