A couple of weeks ago Rev. Al Sharpton and other prominent African Americans (including NAACP head Benjamin Jealous and Council of Negro Women President Dorothy Heights) were invited to the White House to discuss President Obama’s job bill. Afterwards some of them suggested that Obama would be better off not explicitly touting a “black agenda”. Both Tavis Smiley and Cornel West have attacked such a position, arguing that an explicit call for a black agenda is necessary given how hard blacks have been hit by the new economic normal (some have called it a “crisis” but this presumes that what we’re looking at is somehow temporary).
After the meeting, Tavis Smiley called into the Tom Joyner show, and strongly criticized what he understood to be Sharpton’s comments. Sharpton responded in turn, and this led to a heated exchange between Smiley and Sharpton on Sharpton’s radio show.
It also led to a thoughtful piece by Cornel West.
I had a chance to talk to Dedrick Muhammad briefly about this issue. Although I think there’s a tendency to take something like this and examine it through the lens of ego, particularly given the individuals involved, Tavis and West are on point.
imoho – west is on point.
tavis is decidedly NOT on point, and, he's working the angles pursuant to his own selfish agenda.
This is a brilliant analysis by Dr. West, particularly his articulation of the full scope of the Black Agenda within various historical situations. It’s Barack Obama who has a narrow and distorted understanding of this history, as he has consistently demonstrated.
I thought that Tavis Smiley was most definitely on point in questioning the statements by Al Sharpton, et al, after their meeting at the White House. The statement by Sharpton indicates that he has accepted the narrow Obama definition of the Black Agenda as if it was his own. Sharpton et al were accommodating Obama’s position which itself is accommodating to liberal/moderate white supremacy.
During the radio conversation Sharpton’s massive ego would not allow him to even respond to Smiley’s legitimate criticism. That was the basis for his ad hominem attack on Smiley.
Makheru Bradley
With all due respect – these are two sides of the same coin having a tactical disagreement. The analysis made by most observers I have yet to hear someone note that both sides are strong supporters of both Barack Obama AND the establishment machine that dominates every single Black community. The one that BOTH of these factions helped get into power.
I my view it is time for the Black community to make note of the fact that there is a difference between “methodology” and “goals”. Today we lack an INSTITUTION/INFRASTRUCTURE that can appraise the antics of BOTH of these Left-wing factions of the Black community to confirm that EITHER of them are doing the most fundamental two elements:
1) Develop the COMPETENCY of the people in our community
2) Have people direct their RESOURCES toward the support of the goals
Instead we have Sharpton who wants to be “Obama's Man On The Street”
and Smiley/West who seek to hold Obama to his commitment to quasi-socialist points of measure or else they'll attack him – SHORT of damaging him but far short of adequately representing the interests of the community when THEY ALL are apart of the machine that dominates it.
Black elites fighting over black eliteship.