Internationally and nationally recognized activist-scholars and ethical philosophers, Dr. Cornel West and Dr. Maulana Karenga will come together in Los Angeles, Wednesday, May 18, 7:00pm at the “, 3018 West 48th Street, to dialogue with each other and the larger community around the topic of “Issues of Black Life and Elections: Resistance, Justice and A Black Agenda”. The dialogue will address critical issues facing Black people and the world focusing on creating a Black agenda, the relevance of the presidential elections to the Black community and the urgency and requirement of building a movement to achieve racial and social justice and transform society. This community conversation is a contribution towards establishing an African American communal voice of moral courage, political reason and expanded righteous and relentless resistance.
Timed to coincide with the birthday of Min. Malcolm X, the martyred human rights leader and moral teacher, the dialogue will also explore his ideas concerning elections and the moral obligation of resistance. Malcolm X had stressed righteous and relentless resistance saying, “If this country is a country of freedom, let it be a country of freedom; and if it is not a country of freedom, change it.” For him freedom, justice and equity were essential values that people had not only the right, but also the responsibility to struggle for with both unbreakable courage and commitment.
Dr. West and Dr. Karenga stated that this is a good time to review and raise up the best of Malcolm’s teachings to help us sharpen our vision and reaffirm and reinforce our commitment to struggle in the interest of our people and for the well-being of the world.
Dr. Cornel West is one of the most prominent and provocative democratic intellectuals of our time. He is a Professor of Philosophy and Christian Practice at Union Theological Seminary and Professor Emeritus at Princeton University. He has also taught at Yale, Harvard, and the University of Paris. He has written over 20 books and has edited 13. Though he is best known for his classics, “Race Matters and Democracy Matters”, and for his memoir, “Brother West: Living and Loving Out Loud”, his most recent releases, “Black Prophetic Fire and The Radical King” were received with critical acclaim also. He has made three spoken word albums including “Never Forget”, collaborating with Prince, Jill Scott, Andre 3000, Talib Kweli, KRS-One and the late Gerald Levert. Dr. West is also active in the Bernie Sanders Campaign.
Dr. Maulana Karenga is Professor and Chair, Department of Africana Studies, CSULB and has served as Distinguishing Visiting Scholar at the University of Nebraska, Omaha and Visiting Professor at the University of Washington, Seattle and Stanford University. An activist intellectual, he is executive director of the African American Cultural Center (Us) and he and his organization Us have played a significant role in Black intellectual and political history since the 1960s. Dr. Karenga is most widely known as the creator of Kwanzaa and the Nguzo Saba.
He is the author of numerous scholarly articles and books including “Kwanzaa: A Celebration of Family, Community and Culture”, “Introduction to Black Studies”, 4th Edition, “Essays on Struggle: Position and Analysis” and a forthcoming book, “The Liberation Ethics of Malcolm X: Moral Grounding, Critical Consciousness and Transformative Struggle”.
In addition to the overarching issues, critical issues such as police and general systemic violence, mass incarceration, quality education, employment and economic equity, increasing homelessness, extensive poverty and international policy will also be discussed. The moderator for the dialogue will be Ms. Erin Aubry-Kaplan acclaimed journalist and author of the recent book, “I Heart Obama”. The doors will open 6:00pm. For more information contact the African American Cultural Center, (323) 299-6124 or e-mail: [email protected].
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