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Cornel West on Campus to "Challenge the Sleepwalkers"

Photo credit: Douglass Toussaint/Southern Digest Cornel West says he came to say "something that unsettles, something to unnerve."

By Gabrielle Maple
Black College Wire

With the fervor of a Baptist minister and the rhythmic flow of a conscious hip-hop poet, Dr. Cornel West, philosopher, professor and author, stirred hearts at Southern University with a passionate speech on hip-hop culture, politics and love for ourselves and our community.

"He gave a charge to the new middle class that was created by the struggle of their parents and grandparents, to resist the seduction of material culture and continue the good fight," said Derryl Scriven, associate professor of philosophy at Southern.

West, the Class of 1943 University Professor of Religion at Princeton University, spoke to a standing-room-only crowd on Sept. 25.

"I came to say something that unsettles, something to unnerve, something to challenge the sleep walkers," West said. "It’s time for us to shatter the sleepwalking that is so pervasive today."

He continued:

"9/11 was a historic day for us. It is the first time America had to raise the question, “how does it feel to be the target of random violence and hating for who we are?" West said. "This is the same thing we as blacks have been living all our lives."

West used the term "niggerized" to describe the state of white America after Sept. 11, 2001.

"Now that the nation has been niggerized, how do you respond to niggerization?" he said.

"If we developed the same gangster mindset like them, ‘kill ‘em as soon as you see ‘em,’ there would be a black civil war every generation."

West encouraged both younger and older generations to connect with one another. He posed the question, "What is the degree to which we can build on those who came before us?

"Who are we really?” West asked. "Not the mask or the role we play, what kind of character do we connect with the past, present and future? Without respect for each other, we cannot transmit tradition."

West said African Americans are disconnected from their past and caught up in the "bling-bling" culture and superficiality of the present.

"When you have self-respect, it can shape your destiny beyond the "bling-bling," West said.

West spoke as the Southern University community prepared to vote in Louisiana races on Oct. 4. With that and the presidential election next Year in mind, West said that he was more concerned with the younger generation and their grassroots leadership efforts within the community.

"You need to look for the candidates who have your interest at heart on issues such as education, jobs and health care," West said.

West said the first step for young people to be successful is deciding what to do with their talents.

"Are you going to provide a service or become a link in something bigger," he said. "We are so caught up on trying to be the first Negro to do this and the first Negro to do that and those are same people that are the furthest disconnected from our community."

To make our communities stronger places for generations to come, West said African-Americans must have love as a people.

African-Americans need the same type of love expressed in John Coltrane’s “Love Supreme," Marvin Gaye’s "What’s Goin’ On," and even R. Kelly’s "Step in the Name of Love."

"Our Brother R. Kelly has some issues, and we will pray for him, but he is a musical genius," West said, prompting laughter and applause throughout the assembly. "He is aware of his history. Throughout his “Chocolate Factory” album, you can hear Donny Hathaway, Curtis Mayfield and Marvin Gaye."

Ending his speech on what he called a democratic and a blues note, West said, "We don’t have grounds to be optimistic. We need hope. When you are optimistic, you are not in touch with reality," West said. "We need to be full of hope; keep pushing, keep your eye on the prize, and keep your hand on the plow."

West stayed late to answer questions on topics such as prison reform, the upcoming presidential election and the state of historically black colleges and universities.

He spoke passionately on the importance of giving back to HBCUs. He has a son at Clark Atlanta University in Atlanta.

"We are reluctant to support our own institutions. At Princeton, 98 percent of their alumni give back annually," West said. "We are so sharp at homecoming, but we should be asking each other how much are you giving back to the university you love so dearly.

"I don’t give a penny to Princeton or Harvard but I give relentlessly to the United Negro College Fund," West said.

Gabrielle Maple is a student at Southern University in Baton Rouge, La., who writes for The Southern Digest.

Posted Oct. 6, 2003