Fox news Pundit Professor Marc Lamont Hill gives up alot of jewels on how we should be dealing with relentless right wing attacks
We sat down and spoke with Professor Marc Lamont Hill of Columbia University and Fox News.. We spoke with him on a variety of topics including the controversy surrounding former Obama advisor Van Jones who was forced to retire.
Hill talked honestly about the types of mindsets many of his colleagues like Glenn Beck and Sean Hannity have when it comes to dealing with the Left and what sort of steps we as young people, members of the Hip Hop generation, communities of color and progressives need to do in the face of relentless attacks.
Hill noted that many on the right see the removal of Van Jones as an indication that there is a serious soft spot within the Obama administration and among those who identify with the left. They understand that if they kick up enough dust and yell real loud there will be some sort of concessions made. They know that if they jump start a campaign that targets people within the administration there is a likelihood at the very least they will get an apology from President Obama and the person targeted being tossed under the proverbial political bus.
Hill talks about how its important that people who helped put Barack Obama into office hold him accountable and that they not blindly vote for people without having them promise to champion important issues. Young people, members of the Hip Hop generation, progressives and communities of color can not afford to remain silent
We asked Professor Hill, if his fellow pundits actually belive some of the outlandish claims they make and put out over the airwaves i.e Birther claims. Hill said that O’Reilly to his credit is not into the Birther claims, but Hannity and Beck definitely believe in the stuff they put out and are willing to ride hard for them. He talked about how Hannity once remarked that he could not believe Obama won the Presidency after he spent two years throwing everything at him.
Hill noted that there are many on the left who are quick to give up and try to make friends with a group of people who absolutely will smash on you and take no prisoners. Hill also talked about the short sightedness we have in believing we should ease back on our demands and let Obama ‘have time to figure things out’. He said if you keep doing that you will find issues for poor people and Black people on the back burner and eventually off the table. He scoffed at the notion that Obama has somehow been doing a strategic ‘rope a dope’ act where he is luring his right wing attackers into a trap. Hill noted that no one allows their popularity to dip below 50% and members of their staff to be picked off.
He encouraged folks to organize and seek alternate sources of information and start pushing their issues to the forefront and not to let up until they are addressed. He said it was extremely important that we look at the upcoming 2010 midterm elections where Congress and Senate seats are up for grabs. he said thats the time to hold folks to the fire. he also said young people and progressive need to be working toward starting or joining a third party that best suits their political needs.
This interview is very eye opening…The piodcast is the full 30 minute interview
Breakdown FM podcast-Interview w/ Fox News Pundit Marc Lamont Hill
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Below are brief excerpts from our Interview w/ Marc Lamont Hill
Here he speaks about Van Jones and the relentless atacks of the right
Here Marc Lamont Hill speaks about Black leadership and holding Obama and The Democrats accountable
Big shout out to Jasiri X for stepping up and doing this video and song. (see video and his article below) He has the right message and understanding. Far too many people think this is solely about Van Jones the person and not Van Jones and the people he represents. What I mean by that is this.. President Obama said that he wanted to surround himself with a variety of voices that represented the rich tapestry of this country. He said he wanted to hear from everyone-all sides.
Yall know I’m a Media Literist. (Yeah I went Keith Murray on that one.) So when Glenn “Looney Tunes” Beck started to take shots at Van Jones I watched the situation very closely. Of course Van’s old group which he co-founded but is no longer associated, Color of Change set it off on Beck costing him almost 60 advertisers and almost his job, but these Right Wing dudes do not lay down.
Not many people know that reknowned producer J-Dilla who died two years ago from Lupus was uninsured. Thats horrific when you consider he produced multi-platinum selling songs for everyone ranging from Busta Rhymes on down to Janet Jackson to De La Soul and Common. One would think a man of his fame would be insured like the record label executives who own part of and oversaw the placement of Dilla’s music.
In the wake of the recent skirmish between Joe Budden and Raekwon‘s entourage at Rock the Bells and the skewering remarks that Game has directed toward Jay-Z, the topic of beefs in Hip Hop has reared its head once again. For many of today’s rap fans they look at success of 50 Cent and him using beef as way to bring about much needed attention as the blueprint for navigating the maze we call the music industry. They also look at 50 as a pioneering figure who jumped all this off.
A flick came out in the mid 90’s called “Tales from the Hood,” it was kinda like a ghetto version of “Scared Straight;” only with zombies. Perhaps the best part of the movie dealt with a gangsta named Krazy K who was undergoing some heavy sci fi rehabilitation by being forced to relive scenes of the many murders of black folks that he had committed against a backdrop of lynchings and cross burnings. After listening to the latest youtube hit “Whip it “(Like a Slave), I wonder if such a rehab session would work on Lil Wayne? Naw, he’d probably just sit there with that spaced out permanent grin on his face sippin’ Sizzurp through a styrofoam cup and mumbling auto tune lyrics as visions of black death flash before his eyes.
Unlike other rappers, Lil Wayne aka Weezy has never prided himself as being the “Malcolm X of the Hip Hop generation” and when he has his frequent run ins with the law he isn’t all over the TV yellin’ that he is “a black man being persecuted in America just for being black” a la Dr. Henry “Skip” Gates.