|
|
Article: Reevaluating a hierarchy of values. (The Black Collegian's 25th Anniversary Essay Contest on the American Dream: The Winning Essay)
- Article from:
- The Black Collegian
- Article date:
- April 1, 1996
- Author:
CopyrightCOPYRIGHT 1996 IMDiversity, Inc. This material is published under license from the publisher through the Gale Group, Farmington Hills, Michigan. All inquiries regarding rights should be directed to the Gale Group. (Hide copyright information)
|
The fundamental addiction is an addiction to status, an addiction to visibility precisely because Black people have been invisible. We have been nameless and are now in a quest of name recognition. Jesse Jackson's statement speaks for most of Black America when he says, "I am somebody." We've got to say this over and over again because its embodiments have been so thoroughly assaulted. We are addicted to status, which means - and this is true for our middle-class and our Black leadership - we will do anything for status.[1]
Cornel West
Breaking Bread: Insurgent Black Intellectual Life
The history of Black men and women in America has been one of ...