Spring Break
Political Leadership in the Black Community
Cornel West and Tavis Smiley give lecture at USC
Juontel White
Issue date: 11/29/06 Section: Campus News
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USC students, members of NAACP and others gathered in Bovard Auditorium on Thursday Nov. 16, eager to hear and see these exceptional speakers.
The pair came to USC to contribute in a discussion titled "Race, Class and Politics: A Disappearing America", sponsored by USC's chapter of NAACP along with the Black Student Assembly.
The discussion was moderated by Professor Jody Armour, who immediately after his introduction began asking political, historical, and partly philosophical questions.
"How should we think about the mass incarceration of [black] people," Armour said.
Referencing the position of African-Americans as slaves historically, Dr. West suggested that the mass incarceration of black people can be resolved if there were more black leaders in society.
"Where's the black leadership?" West said.
Smiley supported Dr. West's belief that African-Americans lack effective leadership quoting a Wesleyan philosophy, "you can't lead if you don't serve and you can't save if you don't serve."
According to Smiley, there is a need for political leadership within the African-American community but this leadership can only come about if individuals at a grassroots level "love and serve".
Smiley defined "love" as the ability to show compassion and "serve" as the ability to protect and defend the rights and needs of human beings.
The audience listened with attentive ears, captivated by the endless flow of thought-provoking words spoken by West and Smiley.
Mass incarceration within the African-American community consists predominantly of black males. In response to this, Smiley asked "How do black men find themselves in this situation?"
Dr. West said that black men have fewer opportunities available to them than white men. In comparison, he says, black males receive a lower quality education than their white counterparts.
According to Dr. West, individuals in the middle and upper class are more likely to attend high-quality schools while lower class individuals attend low-quality schools.
A majority of African-Americans are of a lower economic class and therefore African-American children receive a low-quality education by default.
"Shouldn't all children have the right to a good education?" Dr. West said. Following the Smiley's principle of 'love and serve', the answer is yes but in today's society "schools [are] entitled to vanilla suburbs rather than chocolate cities" said Dr. West.
The audience responded with rousing applause and a few "Amen's".
Lower education standards along with a lack of strong leadership within the community are two issues discussed within Smiley's recent book, The Covenant with Black Americ".
In it, he refers to the historical class position of African-Americans as evidence to the argument that black people feel they do not have a strong voice and power today.
Smiley and West argue that African-Americans do have power but that there is a lack of accountability in the community.
Recalling the Civil Rights Movement, figures such as Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. and Fanny Lou Hamer, Dr. West said that today few people in the black community today are dedicated to improving the situation of blacks.
Several "black politicians [and figures] adjusted to an unadjusted system" in recent years, said Dr. West.
Prominent individuals in the community should do more to defend the cause of African-Americans instead of essentially ignoring the plight of blacks in order to assimilate into mainstream society, Dr. West said.
At the end of the discussion Smiley reiterated the principle "love and serve", imprinting it on the minds of all those in attendance.
Dr. West and Smiley both received standing ovations. Their thoughts inspired some audience members to positively impact African American youth.
"My heart goes out to young black males." said Shatiya Williams, junior at USC, who intends to teach high school students. "It makes me want to teach even more."
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