A special thank you to Dr. Cornel West for his visit to the town I learned he was conceived in before his parents arrived to his birth place of Tulsa, Oklahoma from Ft. Bliss. When I walked in to the Magoffin Auditorium took in the sounds of Sam Cooke & Marvin Gaye before Dr. West's intro from KTEP radio host Monica Gomez. Dr. West referenced a lot of music throughout his presentation, gave the crowd a lot to think about, and left me thinking most about lifting as we climb, cross bearers of unarmed truth and unconditional love, how integrity faces oppression, school not as a smart tank but a site of encouraging courage, honesty in the face of deception, our time of Jim Crow Jr., learning humility, the quest for originality, dying for something bigger than you, being radically gentle, being serious about EDUCATION, the beautiful chronicle of the blues, the conversation between MLK and Malcolm June 27, 1964, his work teaching in prison, and the act of COMPASSION.
As a music enthusiast, I could hear the artists he'd reference. From Mahalia Jackson, Donny Hathaway, Billie Holiday, Coltrane & Monk, Curtis Mayfield, Teddy P, Lou Rawls, Otis Redding, David Ruffin, Sly Stone, Roberta Flack, B.B. King, Isley Brothers, Luther Vandross, Public Enemy, Aretha Franklin, Ashford & Simpson, and Isaac Hayes.
Dedicating the track below to Dr. West. "People Never Give Up"
Dedicating the track below to Dr. West. "People Never Give Up"
-Lee R.
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