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August 19, 2009
E-mail a friendYOUNG VOICES
Cornel West, Kanye West, and America's Blues People
Cornel West will be featured on tonight's program, and although a man never short on words, he will have plenty to talk about. For one thing, the renowned intellectual, Princeton professor, author, and consistently best-dressed-man-in-the-room, had a new CD drop last month. In it he addresses some of the most important issues facing Americans today, particularly Americans of color. In one especially resonant track, called 911, West describes how, post-September 11th, Americans of all races can learn from the experiences of America's “blues people”. He cites the example of Emmett Till's mother, whose son was lynched in 1955, and said at his funeral, “I don't have a minute to hate… I'll pursue justice for the rest of my life.”
West's commentary is, as usual, keen, and his collaboration with the likes of Outkast's Andre 3000, and rapper Talib Kweli gives the compilation tremendous potential to transmit West's messages to a wider audience than ever before.
West will also likely discuss the recent news that no less than four candidates have declined to appear at this month's Republican presidential debate, moderated by Tavis, at the historically black Morgan State University. In a commentary posted yesterday on The Huffington Post, West took a clear stance on the candidates' absence, which has been widely interpreted as a snub. “At this moment in American history,” he wrote, “it is clear that either the Republican Party wisely embraces people of color, or it chooses to be a losing political party in the future.”
The candidates' decisions to blow off a nationally televised debate are puzzling. At best it shows foolhardiness by passing up a chance to woo an increasingly powerful demographic. At worst it is just another example of the GOP's flagrant disregard for the interests of Americans of color. Kanye West's sentiments come to mind. That these candidates have not heard Cornel West's CD can be assumed. If they had, they would surely be more inclined to listen.