Some of the nation’s most prominent Black scholars were among those who gathered virtually at this year’s National Action Network’s (NAN) annual convention, a civil rights organization founded by the Reverend Al Sharpton.
The panel, titled “The Role of Blacks Intellectuals in the 21st Century,” was moderated by Dr. Jamal Watson.
The conversation began with a one-on-one discussion with Dr. Cornel West, who noted there are a variety of voices within the Black freedom struggle. West praised Sharpton for his “Christian walk, calling and vocation.”
Watson said that West, who recently announced that he was returning to Union Theological Seminary after Harvard refused to tenure him, has embodied what it means to be a scholar-activist, adding that the prominent intellectual was influenced by his upbringing in Shiloh Baptist Church in Sacramento.
“Whatever text, whatever words, whatever books, whatever records, these are always various ways in which you’re trying to give back,” said West, author of numerous books including Race Matters. “Serve others such that whatever gifts you have are something to give to others to empower.”
West referenced the late singer James Brown, calling him a “servant artist.” If intellectuals could become as indispensable to the Black community as musicians, there would be an increase in political consciousness, he said.
Still, West said that he is not encouraged by what he sees among so many scholars writing about social justice issues, adding that academia has become too commodified. There is little risk taking or sacrifice, he added.
