'Hip-hop intellectual' urges civil rights action over words

“There’s work to be done.”

In his speech dedicated to motivating social movement, Dr. Marc Lamont Hill encouraged attendees to become more aware of their individual responsibility towards ending social misery.

Hill presented his speech, “Civil Rights Movement and Today’s Struggle for Equality”, as the keynote Black History Month speaker Wednesday presented by Union Board.

Hill’s lecture discussed topics of gay rights, women’s rights and the importance of critiquing the government. He spoke about the civil rights movements of today, encouraging those who attended to realize that the struggles of today have been formulating over time.

“America may not just be growing old but America might just be growing up,” Hill said.
His speech covered topics such as President Obama’s election, which he said came 43 years after blacks had full emancipation.

Hill said deep forms of listening are vital in forming coalitions towards change. He pointed to blogs, talk shows and the wide range of ideologies and identities.

“There is no shortage of talk,” he said. “Yet we don’t listen. We need to make a commitment to listen.”

Hill talked about how the same voters who asked for change and got a black president turned around and voted against gay marriage in California. He asked attendees to think about the injustices that were still being upheld. He wanted the audience to learn to listen across all differences, generational gaps and realize that “Princeton-trained philosophers” are not the only ones that have something to say.

“Look for pockets of resistance,” he said. “Speak even when it appears as though America is not listening.”

Erika Hall, the Union Board director of lectures, agreed.

“It was very appropriate that he talked about critiquing the government,” she said. “Being active participants is our individual responsibility to make things better.”

Hill said remembering was the other important factor in the movements and that somehow events don’t get molded into America’s public consciousness.

“Don’t forget not so we can be prisoner to the past but so we can fully understand our progress,” he said. 

Sophomore Stefanne Jackson came to the event interested in what Hill thought about the progress of the U.S. in terms of civil rights movements.

“I thought it was really interesting,” she said. “Minorities still have a lot of work to do and we have to be willing to put in the work.”

Hill also covered the intellectual commitment that everyone has to have for today’s movements. He asked that everyone dig deeper, ask tougher questions and work harder to get to the heart of each issue.

“To continue with the civil rights movement is not to wait for the media to tell us what’s important,” he said.

Hill spoke about the disability that occurs with lack of unity. He pushed towards the forming of coalitions and told leaders that instead of having an ego, they should set aside the need to be in front of the camera. Behind the scenes is hard work, he said, encouraging this generation to forge alliances in order to move towards a greater good.  
“Also, and I know this will hurt, but get off the computer,” he said. “There is such interesting activism that can happen through Facebook. The Jena Six happened through Facebook, but there is something about leaving your house and actually being active in the movement.”