Summary
Race Matters by Cornel West provides a detailed account of the African-American history within the United States. The book presents various controversies regarding the African American advancement. In chapter two and three titled The Pitfalls of Racial Reasoning and The Crisis of Black Leadership respectively, West discusses racial reasoning, its effect on African American leadership as well as how it reflects on the entire black community. According to West, racial reasoning is a concept that is based on the belief that for the struggle for equality to be effective, blacks have to speak with one voice and concentrate on achieving one thing at a time. However, West observes that racial reasoning produces leaders who only focus on the color of the skin rather than whether a person is qualified to hold a position in public service. West writes that this form of reasoning leads to the appointment and confirmation of Clarence Thomas as a United States Supreme Court justice (West 35). In chapter three, the author concludes that racial reasoning among the black leadership causes considerable harm to the African American struggle for equality. Consequently, the author blames the leadership of the African-American community for remaining silent at the time when senate was holding confirmation hearings to confirm Thomas’ appointment yet they were aware that he had not proper qualifications. West observes that the African American leadership concentrates more on token representation than eradication of racial stereotypes that hinder legitimate inclusion of the blacks within the American society. For instance, even though the black leadership knew of Clarence Thomas’ dismal performance at his prior work at the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, they did not oppose, which seems to suggest that they also shared the stereotype sentiments regarding the black’s inferior intellectual capacity (36).
Concerned about the manner in which the black leadership fails to contribute to the debates regarding the qualifications of black appointments to positions of leadership, West advices that the leadership must take a multidimensional approach in their beliefs in order to challenge traditional stereotypes that get in the way of merited inclusion of the blacks into the American society. He also cautions that allowing appointments of blacks based on their skin color rather than qualification is likely to be more harmful to their efforts towards creating equal opportunities for the black community (64). It is clear that the author is annoyed about the inability of the black leadership to make independent decisions regarding the inclusion of the blacks in positions of power based on qualification. It is clear that West believes that the inevitable failure of the African Americans appointed in positions of power in disregard of qualification would be a measure of inadequacy on the entire black community. In order to remedy the crisis in the black leadership, West suggests an honest discussion regarding its existence and establishing a more tactical based leadership that would initiate courageous engagements based on collectiveness and moral commitment to the black cause (69).
Link with Let Nobody Turn Us Around
The focus on specific leaders and leadership approaches by Marable and Mullings reveals that black leadership should be selfless and must always focus on the wellbeing of the entire African American community rather than individual appointments because basing an entire cause of the black community on individual performances in public service may not always lead to desired results. Ultimately, the two texts show that black leadership should always see beyond the color of the skin and focus on the qualifications that are likely to elevate not only the status of individuals but also the entire community. West tends to believe that having qualified individuals in leadership positions provide significant momentum for the communities they represent to move closer to achieving greater inclusion within the larger American society. On the other hand, Marable and Mullings in their discussion of the Civil War that provided platform for the destruction of racial domination seem to believe that the black struggle for freedom and equity cannot be achieved by few, but by the participation of every member of the black community (Marable 7).
Reflection Question
Does the current African American community need black politicians and intellectuals to act as its lead voice for equity?
Answer
Although the African Americans have greater participation in the political, social, and economic aspects, there seem to be lack of coordinated responses when blacks are faced with recurring racial challenges. It is clear that the black community does not have leaders in the caliber of Malcolm X, Martin Luther King Jr., and booker T. Washington who were able to use their intellect and political power to mobilize and focus the cause of the African Americans towards achieving specific goals (James 18). Nevertheless, although there seems to be uncoordinated response among the blacks regarding the racial challenges they face today, their greater participation in virtually every policy-making process provides them with a strong position to articulate their issues and this means that they do not need strong leaders to help them achieve equity (83).
Work Cited
James, Joy. Transcending the Talented Tenth: Black Leaders and American Intellectuals. New
York: Routledge, 2013.
Marable, Manning and Leith Mullings (Eds). Let Nobody Turn Us Around: Voices of Resistance,
Reform, and Renewal. Oxford: Rowman & Littlefield Publishers, Inc., 2003.
West, Cornel. Race Matters. New York: Vintage Books, 1994.
