Cornel West and the Fight to Save the Black Prophetic Tradition

[rhett o rick]

http://www.truthdig.com/report/item/cornel_west_and_the_fight_to_save_the_black_prophetic_tradition_20130909/

By Chris Hedges

There is an insidious and largely unseen effort by the White House to silence the handful of voices that remain true to the black prophetic tradition. This tradition, which stretches back to Sojourner Truth and Frederick Douglass, has consistently named and damned the cruelty of imperialism and white supremacy. It has done so with a clarity and moral force that have eluded most other critics of American capitalism.

Does anyone else see this as ironic?

[rhett o rick]

1. Kick for the after work crowd. nm

[arely staircase]

2. still pissed about those inaugural tickets

is he?

[riderinthestorm]

3. Cornel West's comments came around the DU block about a week ago

and I stayed out of it that time but will offer a kick for your thread rhett o rick and a comment now....

Imho, West wants to continue to paint all economic, social and cultural ills as black/white. And that only the black prophetic tradition is truly authentic.

While that legacy is inspirational, historic and epic, Wall Street has forsaken most of its racial prejudice and now is avariciously going after everyone who isn't a 1%er, regardless of color. I think "black prophetic tradition" is fading, not because of Obama per se, but because the economic and cultural injustices are now playing out across all colors and the public exposure of it via the 2008 crash especially has demonstrated we are all considered prey and all of our possessions are considered theirs.

You're either a 1%er, black or white. Or you're not, black or white.

Cornel West has lost his traditional touchstones. The black prophetic tradition was/is an integral part of everything but as Occupy demonstrates, the wave of the future isn't in dividing us on our skin color - its how to unite us under an economic injustice banner.

[rhett o rick]

5. You make some good points, unfortunately. nm

[Blue_Tires]

4. I don't entirely agree with West

He has some decent points, but is all over the place with the rest of his comments...

God bless Glen Ford, but some of his recent blogging has kind of fallen into the deep end, too...Both are missing the forest for the trees, IMO...