Bomani was musing about heavy hitters he's down to meet before the end of his days. It just so happened that I had met a couple of them. Sometime before meeting any of them I had, through my association with NSBE been in the position of meeting many others. And that quest had been a personal mission of mine for some time.
So I went digging down to look for something I wrote called 'The Rapsheet' waaay back in the early days of the web while I was still on that quest. It took me to The Cool Zone, my first ever website and the concerns of a younger me. Here's a discussion I had with Makala from the good old days at SCAA, back when I was still an intellectual insurgent of the progressive stripe. Makala's comments are italicised.
(from the archive April 1993)
In <[email protected]> [email protected] (Makala P Mweene) writes:
>My favourite part of the academic year has come to a close with the end
>of Black History month. I am talking about the public lecture circuit
>and those sagacious, intrepid individuals who come around to tell all the
>truth without fear or favour....I am going to play devil's advocate and
>pass judgement on some of those I have seen in my stay in this great
>land of yours........
>1) Haki Madhubuti;
> Soft spoken, very well reasoned. Very realistic, very
> intellectual and intelligent. Very articulate, well travelled and has
>taken the lessons of life realistically and responded well to them....
>"The essence of his approach seems to be that families must be strengthened.
>Children, especially boys, must have a father figure. He believes in the
>power of fatherly example, by responsible men on behalf of single mothers
>and wives of irresponsible husbands. He seems to intimate that polygamy shou
>ld be a consideration for those women who cannot find compartible single
>men......He espouses principles of economic self reliance and the raising
>of children in a politically conscious, psychologically positive enviroment.."
>A strong advocate of Education ...... grade A+I've read a little bit of Haki's stuff here and there. His achilles heel is
that he a vicious homophobe. If he can get over that, he'll have a bit more
credibility, but with many he is beyond reclamation. He still can't
get over the idea of familiy values. That may be good for some folks
but, quick who was Martin Delany's daughter? Catch my drift?
Of course my focus was upon institutions and my presumption was that the black middle class and especially the talented tenth would be a great deal more into institution-building than they actually are. I'm certain that I had overestimated their capacity and willingness to do so.
I have to say that I was, at the time of reading and thinking about Haki, under the dangerous influence of radical feminists. Now as I look at Madhubuti, he looks a great deal more appealing, not that I'm likely to find an essay from him anywhere online. But part of this effort is one of recovery and maybe we'll find some of these folks and coax them out of their hidey holes.
> 2) Sister Souljah;
> Well proportioned, very articulate and extremely intelligent
>fire brand. SS does not pull any punches and advocates Black progress on a
>world-wide scale.
>"SS is strong advocate of strong personal discipline. Believes in doing and
>breathing for the race. Everything else does not matter. Appears to have come
>to the conclusion that black people alone will save themselves, that absol
>utely no one else will ever sincerely commit himself to right the innumerable
>wrongs that have been wrought against black people............"
>.........grade A.I like her. She is an original. May she live long and prosper. She is strictly
a political activist though and falls through philosophical holes. Nothing that
she can't get over, I think.
Is Soulja online anywhere, or are people completely oblivious to the net once they make it to television?
>3) Maulana Karenga;
> A man who has read widely. His precise objectives were
>not clear to me. In my judgement somewhat burdened by an ego, as evidenced
>by his love for flowery quotations which at least half of his audience could
>not be reasonably expected to understand.
>
>He has however the skills of a teacher by which he is an enabled to present
>a well organised oratory. Tends to get too technical with the result of end
>ing up like a technical manual fully including the whole appendix of refere
>nces. Could do better by presenting his case in easy everyday logic rather
>than trying to look more full of information than encyclopedia Brit
>annica. He is an interesting entertaining orator, who in retrospect leaves
>you wondering what the gist of his presentation was ...
> ........grade B+I havent heard brother Ron in a long time. Better he too technical than
completely wack like some other brothers out of Long Beach...
Not going there again until the third week of December.
>4) Kwame Toure;
> Former firebrand appears to have mellowed and become a cynic.
>A man whose marxism and uncompromising outlook is not bound to please many
>in the light of rencent political history. Now residing in Guinea Africa,
>he believes that Black People should come together in a political party as
>the only way to best ensure their own suirvival. An intersting principle he
>espouses is that "bad organisation is better than no rgainisation". To this
>end his main thrust is to organise. He has correctly observed that the most
>organised portion of man kind rules over the disorganised part. The extent
>of the rule appears to be directly proportional to the extent of disoarganisa
>tion of the ruled. He is a man who could write an important chapter in black
>history if his call for organisation and the federation of Africa into one
>state is heeded
> .......grade B+I doubt that Toure gets much respect in Africa as a political leader. I like
the fact that he is on the spiritual agenda. I take him as a wise man. Still,
he has little or no chance in my view of ever involving himself integrally
with any mass movement here in the US. It is our loss that we are not in
touch with him and have had to deal with upstart politicos before his life
has played out. It is precisely during the 80s where men such as himself
and old heads from the civil rights and black consciousness movements might
very well have done together what, as young men, their fire would not allow.
It only demonstrates the wrath of those in power that he must be at this
time, an expatriot. Thus he has his credibility and alas his hopeless position.
Nothing changing here. I believe he's dead now, no?
>5) Amiri Baraka;
> Appears to have no consistent political position and his
>appeal seemed to be based on his highly publicised objection to Spike Lee
>making the movie "Malcolm X". Insists that his actions were vindicated by
>the resulting of the movie, though he failed to give convicing evedence of
>this. The major part of his discussion consisted of criticizing Spike.
>Most of the rest was a diatribe against the black middle class as exempl
>ified in his poem;
> "The first generation of negros were intimidated by white supremacy"
> "The second genaration of Negros believed in white supremacy"
> "The third generation of Negros WERE white supremacy"
>Appears to believe that the black middle class is a big part of black America's
>problems. Insists he is a socialist and revolutionary who should be remembered
>as having fought to destroy western imperialism..
> .....Mr. Baraka is a complex man. If he has something to say, he was not
> able to communicate it in a convincing and useful way...
>To make matters worse, at the end of his presentation he went in to a tirade of
>insults and epithets, which ironically got him a standing ovation.
> .......grade B-Baraka is a true radical thinker and artist. It's unfortunate that we look to
him for politics. Such a man, inevitably will contradict himself. Yet none of
us have unity of pen and sword, so let's see what he does next. Dissin the
sisters was not a smart move...
'Dissin' the sisters? What was I talking about? Full disclosure, I had a massive crush on his daughter, Lisa Jones. It was one of those, heart-in-your-mouth on the verge of fainting things. I used to read her stuff in the Villiage Voice and just fall to pieces. I was sure that she was like some wisened old throwback who had miraculously appropriated the language of my generation - she just seemed too wise to be my age. Then I caught her in person at a reading on the westside and I literally fell out of my chair. This was many years before 'Bulletproof Diva' during my years as a failed salonist in The Planet.
>6) Chuck D;
> Chuck D was billed as the highlight of the lecture season. He how
>ever turned out ot be more of an anticlimax. He was supposed to run the anch
>or leg and almost lost the race. His presentation was billed "The influence
>of hip-hop on the liberation movement". It would be more appropriate to say
>that man did not have direction. He jumped from one issue to another and did
>not articulate any well. The majority of the audience was disappointed and many
>walked out as soon as he said the last word from his speech, well before the
>question and answer began. Chuck came across as a militant blackman who is
>however not analytical. His speech was too profanity laced and cursed 3 words
>out of every four. He did not address the issue and his most notable point
>was to whine about exploitation in the music buisness for young blacks.
>This was the first time I had ever paid for such a presentation, and it would
>not have been worth it at any cost.
>......grade , I am tempted to give him the D in his name but I will give him a
>C+ for effort.Had we some more people in the space between Baraka and Chuck D, neither would
be so lost. Unfortunately our middle class is only so large. This will be
rectified...
No it won't. People will still expect hiphop as an art to serve politics. It never could and it never will.
>I would like to see the following whom I missed.
>a) Molefi Asante (all my friends give him rave reviews..)
>b) Frances Welsing (submitted a speech which left white students in uproar)
>c) Angela Davies....(I heard and read a lot abou her in Africa..)
>d) Alice Walker ....(I have a bone of contention with her..)
>e) any other interesting subject...
>Flames expected and accepted...I have yet to hear Asante. I'm not sure if I want to.
Welsing? forget it.
Angela Davis flows in a continuum which is entirely different from the parade
of black male role model/cum lecture celebrities. She is progressive and
possesed of more integrity in my view. She speaks not of conspiracies but
of liberating thought. She continues her academic work with dedication.You feel
above all, that the woman has a life and a purpose and does not exist in
any easily appropriated context. As a philosopher, she is not restrained to
bow to political pressures and walks immune. As a creative spirit, she
convinces you that all revolution is not violent but thoughtful. She
understands that there is no one simple concept. That's why you won't see her
on television.
Amen.
Alice Walker is cool. Leave her alone. She has no reason to get into
arguments with anybody and there are enough folks to deal with your
issues whatever they may be to leave her out of it. However if you
think you can challenge her on any ground she has written about, you
might find yourself very embarrassed by a woman who is more precise
than most anybody would think. Except for people who have read 'In
Search of Our Mother's Gardens'
I haven't thought about Alice Walker in a long time. Even when I watch 'The Color Purple' (about twice a year), she disappears behind her characters.
I have unrestrained vehemence against that great fraud whose name causes me
such discomfort I'm rather pleased to have forgotten it. His 50 page book is
entitled the Conspiracy to Destroy Black Boys. There is a point at which
good intentions are done a disservice by incompetence. This man is quite the
model for that. I don't know which is worse, the fact of his bogus statistics
or the number of freshmen and sophomores who applaud him.
That would be Jawanza Kunjufu. The vehemence has diminished. I don't hate, I just cluck my tongue and thank God for my ability to distinguish fraud from wisdom.
Get to see Na'im Akbar. He is one of the few on the tour who is intelligent
enough to know when to stop pretending that he has all the answers. It gives
everything he knows, which is plenty, an urgency and authority which is
inspriring and never overwrought. His delivery is smooth but not slick. He
truly outclasses the bunch in my eyes. He still writes the 50 page books,
which to me is unnverving. Nonetheless, he measures himself well and keeps
his ego out of things. Every one should have a big brother like Akbar. As a
psychologist by academic profession he understands better than most the
social component of black success and failure. Thus he requires less reliance,
and probably uses little, on Afrocentric allusion.
Akbar is still serious and still makes sense. Of the lot, I had the most respect for him and still do.
John Henrik Clarke is losing his mind. Yet he is refreshingly beyond politics.
He has the irascibility of an old genius who is pissed at his audiences for
not reading his books, which they should, and having the intelligence to ask
him a decent question for once. I ask myself, hasn't anyone studied this man's
work? He sits unchallenged, a quirky repository of arcana and gems of wisdom.
His slow delivery is both a pain, and an opportunity to think about the great
implications of a historical perspective which transcends the short term
mentality of activist politics. It was Clarke and Van Sertima in my estimation
who through 'Black Mental Liberation Weekends' on Pacifica energized what is
this lecture circuit. Somebody ought to follow him around with a video before
he is gone for good. He is a man past caring about details and apologies -
his palette is history. Nuclear riots wouldn't phase him and he is trying to
get the rest of us to be so bold.Van Sertima has the precision of an evil genius. It is always the evil genius
who is impeccably dressed, flawless in diction and logically devastating in
effect. I wonder if he lectures in this country any longer, because I'm sure
he'd take a great number of his 'contemporaries' to task on their fuzzy
thinking. It has been years since I heard him. I can't remember if he had any
political component to his historical perspective. Nor can I say that he
expected folks to get riled up. Fluent in many languages, you get the feeling
that he is simply here to set the record straight and damn what his opponents
who probably cower in his presence, think.Dr. Ben gave me a good laugh. As a matter of fact I saw him at City College
several years back with his crowd of 'hoteps'. I thought it was a goon show.
It is criminal what the American academy does to ostracize heretics. Dr. Ben
is likely the finest heretic on the lecture circuit. I certainly hope he has
found a more credible crowd of 'hoteps'. I found nothing essentially
unbeleiveable about what he said, but without any context his presentation
could easily be dismissed. He loves to beat up on the black bourgeios and
brought a few light skinned freshman girls to tears. He doesn't conceal his
feelings about his ostracism and sometimes it can get rather tedious. But
if you have a thousand bucks he'll show you the pyramids the way they are
*supposed* to be seen, and things will be happy again.Cornel West, in my estimation is heir to the throne. (the throne being occupied
by the ghosts of martin, malcolm and web) If you see none of the
above, do whatever you can to hear this man speak. In fact, go to your
favorite bookstore and buy all his books now. He is unquestionably head and
shoulders above the rest in scope, depth, relevence, intelligence,
conviviality, discipline and spirituality. He is hooked up politically,
academically and most especially with the church having taught at Union
Theological Seminary, Princeton and being President of the Democratic
Socialists of America. I could gush on. If the man has one failing, it
is that there is only one of him.
Cornel West's very appeal was that he was a mile wide. I didn't care that he was only an inch deep, because of what my estimation of what a public intellectual ought to do was very much aligned with what he wrote in Breaking Bread. What I have come to realize about West and the whole notion of the public intellectual is that sooner or later, you're going to have to know something. You need to be the king of at least one mountain, and that cannot be the mountain of getting your face on television. West, like Michael Eric Dyson defies definition. Because he's so glib, you get the distinct impression that he doesn't care about any single thing enough. Instead he always seems to be winging it. What West perhaps doesn't realize is that the need for meliorists has been satisfied by the Web, and we don't need academic superstars doing anything but writing the best, most well-researched references they possibly can. We'll handle the discourse ourselves, brah.
But I must say that my favorite public intellectual is Christopher Hitchens.
bell hooks knows more about the existential dilemna of the black
intellectual than any woman alive. not only that, she's probably our
finest feminist theorist. but that's only half her story
because her's is a triumph. often in tandem with cornel west, she
lectures about meeting the challenges of everyday life and
constructing viable, strong lives in the belly of this beast, America.
In addition to that, she has written the most cogent criticisms of
portrayals of blacks in media and literature of anyone. See her!
I'm probably going to piss off a lot of people, still I'm going to say it. Never trust a feminist who is not a mother.
I would like to see.
Nell Painter
Skip Gates
Houston Baker
K. Anthony Appiah
Derrick Bell
Wole Soyinka
Toni Morrison
Patricia J. Williams
Adrian PiperI also highly recommend
Kimberle Crenshaw
John A. Williams
Richard Yarborough
I did meet Nell Painter, and she is as refined as they come. She really set me straight about the proper expectations to have of academics. Basically, they have no obligation to go to the 'hood. It shut up a bunch of students who were thinking that her academic stardom would be sufficient to get 'the message' of mental liberation to those (back in the 'hood) who need it most. She said, Hey, that's your job.
I did meet Skip too, but it was very brief. He was working on Encyclopedia Africana when it was coming out in CD_ROM. Cool guy to have lunch with, very pleasant. He seems like he is everybody's friend.
So that's that.
I've probably met several other of these types of luminaries but my head is full of other kinds of things right now and I can't muster the memories. Remind me one day to tell you about Audre Lorde's funeral.
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