This is likely my final post on the Cornel vs. Obama battle.
These Internets are such a source of surprise and wonder. While we lament the decline of the Black public sphere, acknowledge the reality of the Black counter-public, and embrace the hard truths of the black superpublic, much good has come from an expansion and overflowing of Black genius and the diversity of thought in our community towards the direction of audiences that may not have (in other circumstances) been exposed to it.
To point: Crooks and Liars has a great interview with Princeton University's own Dr. Eddie Glaude, Chair of the Department of Af-Am studies, where he adds some nuance to Cornel West's critique of President Barack Obama. This brother is tight and on point. He is also the author of the amazing In a Shade of Blue (for those curious as to how I came upon my embrace of Black pragmatism look no farther than Brother Glaude's amazing, efficient, and sharp work).
Next to American Theocracy, Democracy Inc., Black Visions, A Nation Under our Feet, The Slave Ship, All the World is a Ghetto, The Black Fantastic, and Democracy Remixed, Professor Glaude's In a Shade of Blue is one of my favorite books of the last few years. I don't shill for products on this site, so take my endorsements as real talk--these are works you all need to read.
In the following interview Dr. Glaude does a great job of discussing the hows and whys of Cornel West's position, and what it signals to about the terrain of, and discourses surrounding, contemporary Black politics.
Listen to Dr. Glaude's great interview here on The Majority Report.
5 comments:
Hey - how'd it go on the Ed show? I don't get the podcast so could not listen in.
It was weird. Talking to Mike P is always great, but I think the segment was rushed and our give and take was a bit stunted because of it. The conversation was also on a slightly different topic than I expected. I don't think I did badly per se. But, that is not for me to decide. Hopefully, there will be other chances.
i could've done without the host's perspective, but i did enjoy hearing dr. glaude's insight.
Dr. Glaude was superb and I think at end of the saga he affirms CWest..
My final comments remains the following:
West's talking points create a presidency that values the future of Black America beyond the arc of Obama's tenure..
Finally got the chance to listen.
One thing I was glad for was Glaude's highlight of Obama the candidate vs Obama the president. The former struck me from the outset -- from the Purple States speech to the saberrattling against Iran and throughout the 08 election season -- as basic DLC. There wasn't a lot of difference, policy-wise, between him and Hillary.
Symbolically, though, well we know what became of the D race due to the symbolic importance of the first.
So I never saw the visionary radical that the teabagging left and antiBlack right saw. The former run around "disappointed" that their personal, often-race-based fantasies about Black men haven't been fulfilled. Ironically, those of us who saw Obama as a DLC type now get the Obot label even though we never really "believed" in the first place.
So that's why this week's episode, to me, is all showbiz and dogwhistles. My suspicion is still that a lot of the anti-Obama, "disappointed" left are really latecomers to PUMA and are perhaps searching for continued relevance as loyal opposition - Smiley comes to mind.
Lol I see also that the white leftybaggers in that Firedoglake "New Progressive Alliance" think they're going to comandeer West into articulating their anybodybutobama "cause". One would think after Nader 96, 00, 04 and PUMAtude 08, they would have learned the lesson. That would require people to pay attention, though.
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