Posted on 10/25/2014 1:30:36 PM PDT by 2ndDivisionVet
When I chose to become a public scholar in the 1990s, there were three people who inspired me the most: Michael Eric Dyson, Julianne Malveaux and Cornel West. I also found myself to be a strong supporter of the great Minister Louis Farrakhan and Rev Jesse Jackson. Rev. Al Sharpton might be one of the smartest public figures Ive ever met, but I confess that we dont always see eye-to-eye.
All of these individuals have made significant contributions to our society in their own way. However, in a time of political turmoil, Dr. Cornel West stands alone in his willingness to go to war for black and brown people around the world. In fact, the world needs him now more than ever.
Just this year alone, Dr West has been arrested in Ferguson, Missouri. Hes gone head-to-head with the most powerful government on earth. He has inspired an entire generation by showing us that love is always stronger than hate. He is a scholarly version of Muhammad Ali, fighting at the age of 61 with the ferocity of an energetic 19-year old. Even his enemies have a hard time hating him because, deep down, they know hes right.
If youll notice, most of those seeking to discredit Dr. Cornel West (i.e. Melissa Harris-Perry and a few others) have a difficult, if not impossible, time proving that Cornel is wrong. Instead, they tried to make us believe he was crazy, obsessed, petty, neurotic and hostile. This is how political operatives operate, and the last four years have led to Dr. West emerging as the winner of the stealth game of IncogNegro Politics, where numerous black surrogates have been well-paid to undermine the legacy of a man who only wanted to help his people.
It is for these reasons that that Dr. Cornel West could be the greatest black man alive. They wanted him gone, and it only made him more visible. They tried to break his back, and his spine transformed to iron. They tried to shut him down and it was like pouring grease on a bonfire. Cornel West is no longer a man .he has officially turned himself into a LEGEND.cornel-west-2014
Here are six reasons that Dr. West is the kind of leader who only comes along once in a generation:
1) Because hes brilliant: Few people can articulate the struggle of the masses with the same style and articulation as Dr. Cornel West. Hes not just highly educated, hes spiritually-developed enough to know what to do with that education. He isnt just powerful, hes focused enough to know where that power should be applied. This is an excellent contrast to the our perpetual cast of influential buffoons or people seeking to step on the poor so they can stand higher than the rest of us.
2) Hes courageous: Dr West has no problem saying things that are unpopular, which he has done consistently over the last several years. He didnt just gain this courage in 2008, hes been a consistent advocate for the disenfranchised for his entire 35-year career. Most people dont know how many friends Dr. West lost when he began to speak up for poor, black, brown and incarcerated Americans. Hes lost more money than most, and found himself banished from the crowd of black elites who got rich off the Obama presidency. His willingness to serve as a one-man army on behalf of the forgotten people of the world is nothing short of extraordinary.
3) Hes humble: Cornel West typically wears the same suit and shoes for the entire year. As a tribute to the struggles of those in poverty, Dr West doesnt waste his time obsessing over fancy cars, big houses, and all the other trappings that serve to distract many of the black public figures on television. He accepts the magnitude of his purpose, but doesnt believe that hes better than anyone else. He is determined to connect with everyone and to hear every voice, even those with whom he disagrees. He was even able to be kind toward Sean Hannity, which I was unable to do.
4) He cares about people: During our New Paradigm forum in New York last year, Dr. West and I spent several hours together. During that time, I saw him interact with people of all races, genders and socioeconomic classes. One thing I noticed is that Dr. West treated the janitor with the same respect he would have given The President of the United States. He often shows love in his words, deeds and actions, and everyone he meets seems to love him. Despite being pulled in every direction imaginable, he has the patience of a pastor dealing with a congregation of 50 million. This kind of spiritual balance is valuable and rare and serves as a critical component for his advocacy.
5) He cant be bought: The reason that most of your favorite black people on television are hesitant to speak the truth is because theyre too well-paid to do so. Steve Harvey is hanging out with Paula Deen. Al Sharpton is doing book deals with Lil Wayne. Snoop Dogg is apologizing to a white female rapper, but never apologized for appearing at an awards show with black women on leashes. Most of our major black media outlets (TheGrio, Essence, TheRoot, BET, and even a large percentage of NewsOne) are owned by whites. As Cornel has stated in the past, it almost seems that the entire world is eager to sell out.
We live in an age where youre considered stupid if youre not willing to be corporatized or bought out by the highest bidder. Weve traded lives of substance for an empty existence centered around worshipping the dollar bill. As a Finance professor, I can speak to the power and importance of money and the building of wealth. But as a black man, I can also talk about the dangers of a one-dimensional focus on the size of your bank account without considering the consequences of having a white supremacist benefactor. Fortunately, Cornel West is one of the few people who is able to remember that there are some things in life that are more important than money.
6) Hes not ashamed of being a black man: One of the greatest losses to the black community in the age of Obama has been the almost instaneous willingness to trade authentic black advocacy for some kind of weak, diluted, unfocused multi-culturalism that puts the struggles of black men, women and children at the back of the bus. Dr. West has been one of a very small number of black public figures with a national platform who has been willing to remind the world that black families are falling apart, black men are being eaten alive by the criminal justice system, and black children are dying in the streets. In other words, he truly loves his people and isnt willing to let go of his blackness in order to receive mainstream acceptance.
Lets be clear: Dr. Cornel West is the closest thing we have to Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Like Dr. King, there are people seeking to villify him at every turn and there are some who would rather see him gone altogether. But the spirit of Dr. West is so extraordinary, so forthright, and so powerful that his light will shine long after he is gone from this earth. So, enjoy his presence now, because this man will surely be in the history books of your great grand children.
Dr. Cornel West is truly one of a kind and might be the man who saves an entire generation.
Sure but has he gone to Peru to take ayahuasca?
He could be the 3rd or 4th biggest black asshole on earth.
Cornel West has done much to derail the education of black students from success into worthless and useless majors of study that leave them unable to get jobs.
If you added the lost wealth of his former students, it would likely now total in the hundreds of millions of dollars.
While his is just a shadow of the man who has ruined the lives of millions of black Americans, Noam Chomsky, West has ruined lives in a close and personal manner.
Didn’t see them,sorry.
NO NO NO, the greatest black man on earth HAS TO BE better looking than that guy.
Denzel Washington, please pick up the black courtesy phone!
“Is this the beer summit racist?”
No, that was someone else, but I can’t remember the name and am too lazy to google. Definitely not this guy. This guy is at Penn State or Princeton or someplace, not beantown (wasn’t it beantown?)
“He has very important hair.”
LOL! I didn’t know it was Gore Vidal who said that.
Did he live to see the flourishing of John Edwards, or had he gone before?
They all sound alike.
He was a professor at Harvard for several years but left in a snit after Larry Summers had the temerity to ask him to produce some genuinely academic research.
Right, right. Well he’s a much better fellow than West, despite his problems with the law.
I will be watching for it, thanks
Or a barber.
That ain’t him in the picture. That’s Grady, you fish eyed foos.
Point 1 above could have been a description of Adolf Hitler.
Point 2: crack is whack.
LMAO That is just crazy.
I miss the Ken Hamblin radio show, aka The Black Avenger.
I still have my Certificate of Absolution.
The author puts it as “smartest BLACK man”..
not smartest person..
not smartest man...
not ever a statement the smartest persons also happens to be black..
He may be the smartest BLACK man... (being that have your race as the focus of your existence is pretty damn stupid)
But there's a hell of a lot of people are smarter and many also happen to be black
So where’s the BARF ALERT?
“Al Sharpton might be one of the smartest public figures Ive ever met”
I’ve never heard of the author of this article, but it is clear he is a raving lunatic.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.