Dr. Cornel West and Solutions to Nihilism in Black America

Throughout Dr. West’s article he speaks about Nihilism and how if it continues the black race will continue to struggle and diminish. But he gives a glimmer of hope at the end of the article where he says, “Work must get done. Decisions must be made. But charismatic presence is no legitimate substitute for collective responsibility. Only a charisma of humility and accountability is worth of a leadership grounded in a genuine democratic struggle for greater freedom and equality. This indeed may be the best-and last-hope to hold back the nihilistic threat to black America.” As I mentioned in a different blog an individual must take steps to change things and make their cause a noble one. A perfect example of that is Malaak Compton-Rock. In the Black in America article “Brooklyn kids give back in South Africa.” It talks about how Compton-Rock chose students from a struggling community in Brooklyn to travel to South Africa and become student ambassadors. Through a program called Journey for Change Compton-Rock is giving children who would typically never see outside of their community a chance to expand their minds and see how other children live and make it from day to day. I’m not saying that in order to make a difference you have to be a globetrotter and donate thousands of dollars to the needy, but just start however you can. With the technological advances available today you can use Facebook, MySpace and many other social networking sites to make your voice be heard.