Saturday, September 16, 2006

How do you stop injustice?


Hello all. I've been a total slacker when it comes to updating this thing, but I'll give it a quick go. This week I was priviledged to see the famous Dr. Cornel West speak at Philander Smith College in Little Rock. Cornel West has written several books on race in America and is a professor of religion and African American studies at Princeton. He spoke for several hours on a Friday night and I wasn't bored once. It was a profound experience to be surrounded by a group of educated people recognizing that race does indeed matter. The inequalities we experience in this country are inexcusable. Dr. West said that after 9/11 all Americans experienced what it felt like to be violated, subject to random violence, and hated for who they were, but African Americans had been experiencing that all along. Through all this injustice, there was never a black Alkadea, but instead the production of some of the greatest lovers of humanity. In the words of Dr. West himself, “Who wants to be well-adjusted to injustice? What kind of human being do you want to be?” This school is so wonderful, because it provides me with opportunities to question what I know, to open my eyes and look around at the "whole world" and not just what is easy to see. If any of you get a chance, come to some of the lecture series at the school, you might see something new.

2 comments:

Elizabeth Spann said...

Power to the people! :) Have a good week- hope it's a little slower. Talk to you soon!

Anonymous said...

This seems like it was really powerful stuff. I'm glad you're enjoying school. This blog pretty adequately captures what I'm doing in school. Stay sane grad student.