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I may be a tad bit late on this, but I wanted to add a little to this discussion.

I don’t know how many times I’ve discussed this, but I suppose it’s worth mentioning once more:  All black people do not live in a special box in black town.  We don’t all have the same opinions on everything, and we don’t all share one giant ebony brain.  We don’t send signals to one another when one of us has an original thought of our own.

That’s why this discussion between Cornel West and Al Sharpton is nothing but a tiny blip on the radar.  Sure it may make good television.  It’s may be entertaining for some to see two prominent men of color raging at one another.  In the end, it’s nothing but a disagreement.  We do have them from time to time.

As far as the content and context of the disagreement, well I tend to side with Reverend Al more than the good Dr. West.  Again that’s my opinion, and I am no more uncomfortable expressing it than the next black man who disagrees with me should be.  Black folks are not a monolith, despite how some try to paint us as such.

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The American Prospect’s Adam Serwer weighs in:

Smiley has taken the same sort of position that Republicans take on national security issues — Republicans say Obama doesn’t say “terrorism” enough, while Smiley doesn’t think Obama engages in enough direct public advocacy on behalf of black Americans. Smiley doesn’t actually engage on the question of whether or not Obama’s attempts to de-racialize black issues have been successful; he just seems to think that if Obama simply talked about black issues more, problems would get solved.

It seems strange, but it’s Sharpton who supports Obama’s decision to de-emphasize race, while Smiley wants more racial grandstanding. While both men have been justifiably ridiculed for continuing to play the increasingly archaic role of “racial spokesman,” it’s funny to think that over the years Sharpton is the one who has mellowed, while Smiley still seems mired in the identity politics of the mid-1990s.

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Let me preface the introduction of this amazing clip by giving you my abbreviated take on the state of “Black American politics.”  As a writer and a black man, I cannot presume to speak for all of black America.  For any “black leader” in the black community to presume to speak for all black folks is fallacious as well.  The black community is not some monolithic entity with one collective thought.  The issues within are both diverse and complex– just like the people themselves– therefore they require more than just painted lip service from some in positions of prominence.  

With that said, listen to this amazing clip featuring Reverend Al Sharpton and commentator Tavis Smiley, engaging in a war of words regarding Mr. Sharpton’s participation in a meeting about black unemployment with President Obama earlier this month.  Mr. Smiley questions Reverend Sharpton’s comment about the president “not needing to push a black agenda.” Pretty scathing stuff. It’s the kind of debate that should have been had off the air, but it makes for good radio. 

I will have more on my thoughts about politics in Black America, and how it has or has not evolved in the Obama era in a later post.

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