There. This is your thread to list/name the person(s) you feel Black America would be wise to follow - their lead, their advice, their philosophy, etc.





So there's plenty of space. But that's only part of the bargain here. I know this is a grand opportunity and I know you want to seize it but there is just a tiny detail, a small obligation you have to fulfill before we can let you just go all willy nilly "venting your spleen" (and revealing much) telling Black people what to do and who they should follow doing it. Don't worry, this obligation is nothing to be concerned about and literally cost you nothing. All you have to do is talk about the number of times you've heard another race/ethnic group wax paternalistically and tell Whites who they should listen to and heed.

As soon as you take care of the minor obligation, have at it:
list/name the White BILL COSBY's, MLK's, Juan Williams', Tom Sowell's, John McWhorter's, etc.


*

I feel there is something to learn from many Black speakers and writers. No one side has a monopoly on good suggestions or ideas. There are many things that James Baldwin said that I agree with totally and the same goes for Booker T. Washington. W.E.B. DuBois was an eloquent speaker and so was MLK. I think there are many things to be learned and applied from each speaker.

The only time I've seen whites be told to 'learn from examples' is when Northern Whites move to the south (like myself) and try and make the Southern people (not ONLY white but more of than not) act a little differently, more often than not like other Northerners. It doesn't happen often, but I've seen it done subtly. Having said that, sometimes the ones from the north want nothing more than to assimilate to the Southern culture (ME, in some ways ).

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Does saying what "the US" should do count as telling white people what to do? I'm sure that Malcolm X and Du Bois suggested at what white people should do sometime. Probably Booker T. Washington too. Those are three people that I've read/listened to (speeches of Malcolm X). I've probably heard someone say what white people should do, but I can't remember the exact place and time. I may have heard some people say "what black people should do" but I don't generally hang around people who make blanket statements like that, so I can't say I can recall where I've heard that either.

OK, so who should black people listen to? Bill Cosby, Julian Bond, and I'm just going to throw out the name of a black sociologist: William Julius Wilson. I think Henry Louis Gates Jr. is pretty good too. He should be listened to. He's pretty balanced and fair. My final answer is Henry Louis Gates Jr.


WEB

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No. That is unless these historical figures paraded "X" as the White person who "gets it" or some-or-other along with whatever prescriptions they proposed for the US which, last I checked, wasn't synonomous with White no matter how people have and continue to assert that it is, directly or by allusion.


Why just yesterday a poster (Tokenconservative) here said:

• "Blacks might try taking some of Bill Cosby's advice..."

Now I've heard comments like that, left and right, but I've hardly ever seen it reciprocated, reversed or whatever you want to call it. And it's odd that both you, WEB DuBois and EP would mention historical personalities and not contemporaries of, well, contemporary, living people: Bill Cosby, Tom Sowell, Juan Williams, John McWhorter, etc.

Okay, I know I included MLK but I can find you plenty of statements where he is used against certain African Americans by Whites who kindly offer their advice or thoughts (often clearly ignorant) about how African Americans/Blacks have betrayed his example and philosophies.

I mean, maybe it's me but you rarely if ever hear Blacks, e.g., tell Whites that they "might try taking some of Lydon Johnson's advice" much less John Brown or, even today, Tim Wise, Robert Jensen, Peggy McIntosh, etc.

And, no, once again saying what the US should do is totally different. I'm talking about very race-specific White people - White leader type messages - one parallel to Black people - Black [leader/persona] comment Tokie made.

Wow, I wasn't expecting such an ignorant comment from you. I mentioned 3 contemporaries of Bill Cosby: Henry Louis Gates Jr., William Julius Wilson and Julian Bond.


WEB

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How about the Rev. Jesse Lee Peterson? Eh, just kidding. I don't think that you'd like him (I know I could be wrong about that), though I'm sure you've heard of him. One contemporary black person that I really look up to is Herman Cain. But seeing as how I think that both white and black people could learn a thing or two from him he doesn't really answer your question.

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Neither am I the means to any end others may wish to accomplish. I am not a tool for their use. I am not a servant of their needs. I am not a bandage for their wounds. I am not a sacrifice on their altars. ... I owe nothing to my brothers, nor do I gather debts from them. I ask no one to live for me, nor do I live for others. I covet no mans soul, nor is my soul theirs to covet.

Ayn Rand, Anthem.

Ha! Ha! Ha! CONTEXT!!!

Which historical personalities did you name? and in what CONTEXT?


I can lead you by the hand, though... I responded to your references to Malcolm X, Du Bois and Booker T and your question regarding whether they counted or not by saying:


No. That is unless these historical figures paraded "X" as the White person who "gets it"


So, let's see... What White person did Malcolm X, Du Bois or Booker T suggest that Whites should heed and follow? since you can't think of any WHITE CONTEMPORARIES of Cosby, Sowell, McWhorter or even Gates.


WOW!!!

ADDITIONAL CONTEXT:

"you rarely if ever hear Blacks, e.g., tell Whites that they "might try taking some of Lydon Johnson's advice" much less John Brown or, even today, Tim Wise, Robert Jensen, Peggy McIntosh, etc."

So, WEB DuBois? What contemporary/living White person did you name? I noticed you didn't mention either of the ones above and Henry Louis Gates Jr., William Julius Wilson and Julian Bond all identify as Black, not White.

The fact that you were unable to name even a single historical White figure like LBJ or John Brown that Malcolm X, Du Bois or Booker T named as a White person (all) Whites would be wise to listen to and follow is what I found odd.

No need to lead anyone by the hand, and I doubt that would be good guidance. If you would like to make some comments that make sense, that would be all that I would ask.

I did not mention black OR white people who are currently alive who gave advice to the other side, so it just made no sense why you would think it odd that I gave no examples of black people who gave advice to whites. Since I gave no well-known living examples of EITHER race there's no reason for you to be suspicious at all of that statement. Of course that didn't stop you.

Don't you mean to say since you can't think of any BLACK CONTEMPORARIES of Malcolm X, Du Bois or Booker T" who make suggestions to whites?


WEB

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You are making baseless racist innuendos again. I named neither black NOR white contemporary figures who tell the other race what to do. You come up against the absence of a class of people (contemporary people who tell another race what to do) but due to the speed at which you play the race card, you automatically assume that it ONLY ommits white people.

No, the fact that you interject your own argument into mine and then basically call me a racist for not having the pro-black part of an argument which I was UNIVERSALLY uninterested in shows that your primary discussion tactic is baseless accusations of racism and that the logical process which you use is racially biased as well.


WEB

__________________
"Of course the fact that a person believes in racial equality doesn't prove that he's a communist...but it certainly makes you look twice, doesn't it? You can't get away from the fact that racial equality is part of the communist line." - Joseph McCarthy

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