Cornel West captivates at Ivy Tech's Doing the Dream

Jan. 28—Cornel West took part in counter-protests during the 2017 Unite the Right rally in Charlottesville, Virginia, that saw dozens of neo-fascist, white nationalists and neo-Nazi groups.

West, a Black man, recounted to an audience Thursday at Ivy Tech Community College Kokomo his surprise at hearing Stevie Wonder's music coming from the right-wing groups.

He paused for a moment, letting the irony sink in, drawing laughs from the audience.

"I said, 'only in America,'" West said to more laughs.

For West, the juxtaposition of Stevie Wonder, "one of the greatest love warriors in the history of the country," at a fascist rally showed Black influence will never be erased, permanently ingrained in American culture.

"The music affected them when they were young at the deepest level," he said as he recounted the anecdote to the local press earlier in the evening. "So, they actually, paradoxically, in a contradictory way, hate the Black people who produced it, but they can't deny the humanity coming out of the Black people."

West, a philosopher, author and political activist, was the keynote speaker at Ivy Tech Kokomo's annual "Doing the Dream" banquet, which honors the legacy of Martin Luther King Jr.

He is best known as the author of "Race Matters" and "Democracy Matters."

West brought humor, cultural references and righteousness as he touched on King and his message, while connecting the reverend's impact with other Black figures in history.

Love and justice were focal points of his speech.

"What we're seeing is that Martin Luther King Jr. tried to galvanize and energize all of that love tied to a quest for justice," West said.

But what does justice mean?

"Justice is what love looks like in public," West said. "That it means then anybody who loves an unloved people, anybody who loves a hated people, hates the fact they are treated unjustly."

West said as a Christian it is important to have a notion of Christian hatred: hate the sin, love the sinner.

"You hate the domination and injustice and subjugation and degradation and still try to stay in contact with the humanity of the persons who are doing that," West stressed to the audience. "Why? Because part of that greed and hatred is in you."

King's commitment to the teachings of Jesus Christ was a point West made repeatedly Thursday.

He noted how unpopular the civil rights activist was at the end of his life, due to his criticism of the Vietnam War.

"He had a deep love of Vietnamese babies who were being killed," West said. "Jesus loves the little children, all the children of the world. Black, red and yellow, Black and white. They are precious in his sight. He was a fundamentalist about that kind of love."

King's message of love and justice was also tied to local happenings. West noted the development in the Kokomo community but reminded the audience to remember the marginalized.

"I can hear brother Martin saying from the grave, from the porch of Heaven, 'what kind of concern for the least of these will you have?'" West said to applause. "What kind of quality of relationships will you have?

"This is about morality, spirituality, integrity, honesty, decency, generosity, serving the least of these," West continued to more applause. "And it usually results in being misunderstood, misconstrued, and that can result in character assassination, if not literal assassination."

A question-and-answer session followed West's speech.

West was asked how to turn love into action. He encouraged people to spend time with other people trying to live a love-filled life. He also channeled Irish author Samuel Beckett's mantra of "Try again. Fail again. Fail better."

"Just spend time with it," West said. "And then recognize that no matter how good or great you are, there's always so much more that you can do. Because all of us fall short."

In response to another question, West spoke about the importance of learning from different traditions. He mentioned Marxism and its history of repression and harsh treatment, but also what the ideology says of big business.

"When Marxism says it's very important to be concerned about monopolies and oligopolies, and if they don't have accountability and contribute to the common good, then poor people will be an afterthought, that's still an insight," West said.

West said he learned from Malcolm X and Muhammed Ali, both Muslims, as well as Gandhi, though it doesn't mean he's abandoning his faith anytime soon.

"Engage in the dialogue; be Socratic enough to learn and listen," he said. "All of us are fallible."

Thursday evening concluded with the announcement of Ranisha Young as the 2023 Doing the Dream Diversity Scholarship recipient. Ticket proceeds for the annual banquet go toward the scholarship.

Young is a registered medical assistant and mother of four, and she works full-time at Community Howard Regional Health. She has completed the necessary classes to be admitted into Ivy Tech's nursing program.

The Diversity Scholarship is available to minority Ivy Tech students who live in the Kokomo service area.

West stuck around Kokomo and spoke to college and high school students Friday morning at Ivy Tech.

Spencer Durham can be reached at 765-454-8598, by email at spencer.durham@kokomotribune.com or on Twitter at @Durham_KT.