Several years ago I reviewed Breaking Bread by bell hooks and Dr. Cornel West for National Public Radio. I stated in my commentary that the conversation or dialogue between the two public intellectuals was filled with nourishment and inspiration. I felt their views provided us with a reason for hope, in a constantly changing world. Now a few years later, the popular West – with the help of Kelvin Sealey – has given us a series of exchanges with nine interesting individuals.
Upon first picking up Restoring Hope, one might jump to the conclusion that West is simply adding another book to his impressive resume – or worsen, this is a book released for quick cash. Publishers have a habit of doing this. It’s similar to the recording industry exploiting singers and musicians long after people have stopped dancing to their music.
Mention the name Cornel West and one is talking about the “celebrity” intellectual. The type of person who might be more comfortable on television than in the library.
West, however, is a man of substance as well as style. He is also a good listener, and Restoring Hope finds him in the company of Harry Belafonte, Bill Bradley, Charlayne Hunter-Gault, Reverend James Forbes, Jr., Reverend James M. Washington, Wynton Marsalis, Patricia Williams, Haki Madhubuti and Maya Angelou.
The best way to “swim” in this book is to get your feet wet by reading the conversation West has with the person you most admire. For me, it was no contest. As a poet and activist, no living artist impressed me more than Harry Belafonte. My $25 would purchase this book just for his words alone.
Belafonte talks about the influence of Paul Robeson, Marcus Garvey and Haile Selassie on his life. The Robeson connection is one which appears again in the conversation West conducts with Haki Madhubuti. If there is a recurring theme throughout the book, it is the acknowledgement of the need for mentors, respect for elders, and the appreciation of African American history and culture. As cultural workers, individuals such as Belafonte and Haki Madhubuti serve as a barometer of where our society is heading.
If there is a cause for despair and an absence of hope, it is due to what Belafonte sees as the considerable amount of negativity which saturates Black culture today and which is exploited by monopoly capital. Our economic condition has determined the spiritual as well as material conditions of our lives. For Belafonte, the culture of a people is the soul of a people, expressing their hopes and aspirations.
Cornel West has often spoken about the need for what he defines as hope. One can view this as either a concern for the future or simply the need to determine the various possibilities which confront us. It is not an easy task. It is good that West talks to others and not just himself.
There is a slight groping by West throughout the book, an attempt to probe others for insight and understanding. At times, one wonders if he is simply a preacher interacting with a congregation of thinkers. These conversations seem like an example of call and response.
The law professor Patricia Williams tells West that “hope is a force that ties people together in an almost theological sense.”
In his exchange with Maya Angelou, West links the concept of hope to the principles of courage and one’s strength to tell the truth about America. Angelou responds to West by equating hope with love. Here we find both of them reaching a level of understanding on which such figures as Martin Luther King Jr. and Howard Thurman were known to ground their philosophy and actions.
It is good that Angelou’s conversation is the last entry in Restoring Hope. It encourages one to ponder the remarks made by the other contributors.
It is Wynton Marsalis who makes the remark that “civilization is effort” and it is uplifting to find people like Haki Madhubuti talking about institution building, and Charlayne Hunter-Gault mentioning the need to give young Black people protective armor in order to guarantee their survival.
I was surprised to find a conversation with Senator Bill Bradley included in Restoring Hope. Here we find West opening “the door of his church” to include everyone in the important dialogue on race. Although Black people must determine their own future, the future is not just a Black thing. It belongs to all of us.
Senator Bradley talks about transformation and the coming together of people. If this is done, then we will find that hope resides in our own spirituality. We are reminded of this by the ministers James Forbes and James Washington.
Restoring Hope is a collection of conversations that were recorded in New York, Chicago, and Cambridge, Massachusetts. The book is better than talk radio. One should listen to the men and women in this book. They are all teachers and mentors – people of the heart. They continue to point us in the direction of a bright and shining star.
Dr. E. Ethelbert Miller is the director of the African American Resource Center at Howard University.
COPYRIGHT 1997 Cox, Matthews & Associates
© Copyright 2005 by DiverseEducation.com
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