The whirlwind is in the thorn tree

Yesterday I had the pleasure of seeing one of the most amazing speakers I have ever witnessed. Do yourself a favour and track down a video of Cornell West speaking, and you will not regret it. He was visiting my university for a two day lecture thing; the day before yesterday he talked all about Edward Sayid, but yesterday his topic was 'Race Matters in America'. It was beyond amazing.

He talked about slavery, and oppression, but not focusing on the actual acts. You know, some people talk about slavery and oppression, and they just discuss how slavery happened, and the horror of it, and the terrible deeds, and how things have been so horrible. Cornell West did all of that, to an extent, but he somehow made it more than that. He talked about all of humanity, and he talked about the American Civil War, and he talked about spirituality. He did not draw any noticeable black/white lines, he did not demonize the slaveholders, and he did not make any bland 'slavery is the cause of the lamentable state of African-Americans in the US today' arguments. He somehow handled the subject of race by transcending the subject, and instead discussing the human spirit and love. He kept bringing everything back to the fact that humans are capable of the most wonderful, loving, beautiful deeds, and they are also capable of alarming pettiness and horrible acts.

One of the most amazing things he said concerned the murder of Emmet Till in 1955. Emmet Till was from Chicago and was murdered in Mississippi while visiting relatives, and his body was found horribly disfigured and damaged. His mother insisted on bringing his body back to Chicago, and then insisted on keeping the casket open for the funeral. She basically got up in front of everyone at the service, stood up where she could look at her son, and said that this was her baby, and that she hated what had happened to him, but she could not hate the people that did it. She basically said that she could hate the deed but never the doer, and Cornell West expounded on this beautifully. (For a lot of what he said, he carefully avoided making normative statements or claiming that 'this is what I do, and it is what we all should do'). He went on to say that in this world he could not hate agents, he can only hate actions, and that love is the most important thing. He said that justice is the public form of love.

He also talked about what he liked to call the 'night' side of things. I'm not going to try and describe what he meant by that, because I'd probably mis-describe it. It had a lot to do with what is on the underside of things; in the building of America, this shining city on a hill, he wants people to look at the underside of that hill. He talked about the capitol building, and how it is the symbol of freedom and democracy but it was built by slaves. The way he phrased things was really moving, and he managed to paint this excellent picture of the underside of things, and how absolutely important it is. He also talked about 'the funk', into which he managed to tie so many things and concepts and so much importance. I really want to find a transcript of his speech, and maybe buy his books.

The most amazing thing was that, all content aside, this man was the absolute best speaker I have ever heard. The man is a master at his craft, he is an orator in the tradition of the most powerful, moving, inspirational dudes. Some people speak, and some people speak well, and some people even manage to give commencement speeches that are fairly moving and beautiful (Steve Jobs, I'm looking at you). But this dude has perfected the art of rhetoric, and he said words like some people play music or paint pictures. He would become quiet at moments and then much louder at others, he would accent his speech differently depending on the point he was making, and he would gesture perfectly with his hands and with is whole body; great oration does not stop at the voice. He played the words just right, using all those little tricks that Winston Churchill used to use--repeating phrases, using the same word to begin sentences, playing on rhymes....utterly amazing.

I am really carrying on, here, but there are a few more things that he said that I want to cover. He made the point that history is so, so important, because if you take it right, then your culture and your history (and by history he meant what happened to the people that ultimately resulted in where you are today) can be the wind at your back that helps you impact the world and shape your future so that it will not be a repetition of the present. He talked about how each and every voice must be raised, but to raise your voice, you first have to find it.

I thought this was so powerful, and such a good thing to say to people, especially at AUC. And, of course, I tied it back into AIESEC, because that is what I do these days. But really, Cornell West is on to something, there: one person cannot single-handedly reshape the world, but change is possible, and the groups that make up the movements that create the impetus that leads to change are by definition and default made up of individuals. Humans can do powerful and beautiful things, if we all raise our voices, but every single voice must be raised. Activating leadership is so important, as is awareness of who we are and where we come from, not just on a self-centered basis, but on a learning one, too. I mean that I have to be aware of not just where I come from, but where other people come from, and how history has brought us here. I always feel that I have to hold my history close; this has to be done carefully, because if you hold the wrong things too close, they end up holding you and keeping you locked up. This goes back to how we're capable of great pettiness as well as great love--if I hold my past dear and hold my history close, and if I keep aware of the bad and constantly remember the good, history really can provide the wind that pushes us to develop our potential to change the world.



That's all from me, for now. This all got me thinking so much about individual potential, and the possibilities of change that we all possess. It never ceases to be important to remind ourselves and others of this, and it seems like our duty as people (and moreover as AIESECers!) to raise our voices, and to help others find theirs. Love you all!