Militarized schools, police misconduct and Beyonce’s lack of soul are just a few of the social critiques Dr. Cornel West offered during his latest lecture in St. Petersburg.
West spoke at St. Petersburg College’s Third Annual Heritage Lecture Series held in the SPC Allstate Center Campus last Wednesday night, ahead of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Day, an event thousands of Tampa Bay area residents celebrated with particular enthusiasm given recent events highlighting the still-tangible struggle of race relations in the U.S. West's lively presence roused the eager audience as he discussed ongoing racial oppression and social injustice.
He emphasized the importance of tradition, particularly that of “the black freedom struggle.”
He said he worries that too many young black people neither contemplate nor experience the practice of their predecessors rising together and striving to acquire liberation and opportunities that would otherwise remain unavailable to African-Americans. West encourages these individuals to reflect on endeavors of their ancestors.
“Get your R-O-O-T-S together,” he said, “because your R-O-U-T-E will go astray if your R-O-O-T-S weak.”
West maintained that Ferguson propelled many African-Americans to echo the tradition of coming together and working to obtain justice.
“The young folk here, we want you to learn how to be free in order to be taught of the grand tradition which is the black freedom struggle,” said West, “We live in the age of Ferguson. We live in the age where all young black folk already reached the conclusion that they're sick and tired of being profiled. They're sick and tired of being of being abused. They straighten their backs up any time of the month, of the day.”
West attributes many present-day problems to the impact of “market culture.” He says many Americans can’t think critically because they are too preoccupied by consumer culture.
“We live in the age of stupidity, the love of money,” he said, “We live in the age of venality.”
West asserts that these capitalistic views are influencing the “militarization” of American schools.
He says the privatization of education creates issues like limited funding for music and arts programs at black schools.
“The schools themselves have been militarized,” he said, “That’s what the neoliberal ideology and our capitalism age is all about. You financialize, you privatize and you militarize.”
He also talked about the growing disparity between America’s affluent and underprivileged, noting that 40 percent of America’s wealth is owned by one percent of the population. Forty percent is also the percentage of African-Americans living in poverty.
“Four-hundred billionaires in America,” he said, “and over 40 million people living in poverty."
West said he thinks these concerns can be curtailed if people are more attentive to those who face obstacles regarding race and economic status.
“In America, having status means being adjusted to having injustice,” he said.
This article appears in Jan 14-20, 2016.