The Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. was a "wave in an ocean" of social activism, said public intellectual and Princeton University professor Cornel West in a lecture on King's legacy last Friday.
"There is no Martin Luther King Jr. without ordinary people," West told a packed Salomon 101.
West, a professor of religion at Princeton, has published 16 books, including the widely acclaimed "Race Matters" in 1993 and "Democracy Matters" in 2004. West's captivating speech, "The Life and Legacy of Martin Luther King, Jr." was the 11th annual lecture named for the civil rights leader.
Darnell Fine '08, an Africana studies concentrator, introduced West to the audience by saying, "I friended him on Facebook." Unfortunately for Fine, West did not respond to his friendship request.
After praising the University for its recent report on its ties to slavery and President Ruth Simmons for her leadership, West moved on to discuss King. "It's almost like talking about my mama," West said of King. "I love him."
But West avoided turning King into a glorified icon and explored the implications of his legacy. "He frightens me because his standards of greatness so radically call into question who I am," he said.
West cited King's constant questioning of life and society as distinctively powerful. King wanted people to "engage in self-examination - that's a Socratic note," he said. "You have to come to terms with learning how to die in order to learn how to live."
West encouraged the audience to engage in King's brand of self-examination and do the same for the United States. There is a "dogma of white supremacy" alongside which democracy cannot survive in the United States, West said.
Midway through his hour-long speech, West talked about the role religion played in King's life. Speaking as King, West said, "Lord, you promised to be with me always."
"I had some doubts about you in the seminary after reading Nietzsche," he added, provoking laughter from the audience.
But race informed religion as well. "We can't even worship God without white supervision," West said of slaves in the United States. Despite this historical white control, he said, religion became part of black identity - for communities and for King himself. "Martin Luther King Jr. was a child of the black church," West said.
Imagining what King would say about American society and politics today, West said the United States "can never be great" with 21 percent of children in poverty. "Where's the moral outrage?" he asked.
West ended the lecture encouraging the audience to "dig deep to the sources of our own self-formation, of our own American society." He received a standing ovation.
After the lecture, West lingered for another half hour to answer questions, including one from Simmons about Sudan's war-ravaged Darfur province. "I think it's a disaster," he responded. But he did praise the American government for describing the situation as "genocide" because "that kind of language needs to be used."
West also talked about his new spoken word album, which features Talib Kweli, Rhymefest and KRS-One. "I'm so excited. ... It's a hell of a CD," he said, adding that even as an "old generation Motown" fan, he was willing to experiment with hip-hop to communicate his message of empowerment to young people who might not attend the Ivy League universities where he speaks.
Later, a student asked West how she could bridge the gap between emotional reactions to race and the use of racism to give structure to society. West told her institutionalized racism will not end in her lifetime but it is still important to ask, "How do we attempt to make the world better based on who we are?" Rather than seeking to revolutionize the system as a whole, he said, young people should resist racism individually and collectively.
West ended the evening speaking about black leadership, specifically Sen. Barack Obama, D-Ill., and his 2008 bid for the presidency. Calling contemporary black leadership in the United States "mediocre," West said he is cautious of Obama because he is "suspicious of leaders who are very much a creation of the white mainstream media." Still, West said he plans to give Obama time to see how he evolves as a politician.
As members of the audience crowded around West after the speech, students told The Herald they were impressed by the lecture.
"He doesn't spew out anything that's trite," said Nicholas James Dolan Greene '10. "He doesn't succumb to wanting to say something flashy. He just says what's true."
Julianna Alson '10 said she loved West's lecture. "It was really moving," she said.
Benjamin Boas '06.5, special assistant to the chief of police of the Department of Public Safety, said West made an "incredible impression" on him. "(He was) one of the most engaging and impressive speakers I've ever seen."
Allex Fambles '10 was also enthusiastic. "Cornel West was able to depict the life of an extraordinary man while inspiring the audience to question the status quo."
