What is a Black Public Intellectual?

In the black world of higher academia it seems that everyone wants to be a public intellectual. First of all, I feel it is important for me to operationally define what a public intellectual is. A public intellectual is a person who uses his or her intellect to study, reflect, or speculate on a variety of topics. Ascending to the rank of public intellectual is quite an arduous task. The candidate must be well versed in his or her respective discipline and able to commentate on various topics.

In his quest to be granted the title, he feverishly canvasses the lecture circuit in order to create a buzz. He also incessantly writes scholarly pieces and submits them to periodicals and journals alike. He presents original research to the scholarly community and reaps the benefits of his empirical gifts. He is the reincarnation of past intellectuals; bold, gifted and black. His janus-face allows him to channel the zeitgeists of various eras and infuse their essences into his work. Never one to be jaded by the color line, he reads the works of Marcus Aurelius and W.E.B. Dubois, giving equal credibility to their theories and paradigms. He realizes that “To whom much is given, much is required.”

The universe smiles favorably on the Black Intellectual and his racial counterparts are astounded by his gifts. No longer can they purport that they are intellectually superior to him. Michael Eric Dyson, Cornell West, Tavis Smiley, and Henry Louis Gates have all successfully labored to bring greater visibility to the Black Intellectual, and with the new breed just a few steps behind, it is safe to say that we will not see a decrease in their numbers anytime soon. From Marc Lamont Hill to Rodney Washington, they are coming! The black intellectual is ready to offer fresh dialogue on the variegated problems that plague Black America. He is always aiming to use is intellectual gifts to push the envelope and keep the “old heads” from getting soft. Now granted the public intellectual can be a bit pedantic at times and erudition is often at the root of the aforementioned affliction. He can be seen at the Schomberg Center pontificating in a rather bombastic manner, always ready to showcase his oratory skills. Whether the subject is reparations or Hip Hop, he can and will move the crowd into a hysterical frenzy.

Some see him as a savior who has come to lead his people to the promise land and others see him as charlatan who uses sophistry to pray upon the hopes and dreams of his brethren. Others see him as a Shaman who holds a panacea in his left hand and a crystal ball in his right. He can be sanctimonious and tawdry all in the same breath.

However you feel about him, you cannot knock the hustle. Now, do not get it twisted, the Black Public Intellectual is not circumscribed to the academia. He can be seen delivering his sermons in his pulpit or rocking the mike at sold out venues. He has been responsible for some of the most memorable verses in Hip Hop and Pulitzer Prize winning novels.

Often Black Intellectuals are stereotyped as being supercilious, haughty, and pedantic. Their speeches perceived to be composed of pontifications and rodomontade, therefore devoid of any intellectual nourishment or food for thought. Black Intellectuals as a whole need to be lauded for their efforts, but any potential intellectual tyro must first have an altruistic view of the world. He needs this in order to ensure that he will not forget his purpose. Often imitated, never duplicated, he is the authentic black man. The authentic black man is an intellect, whether he uses it to play professional basketball, or to service cars in his auto body repair shop.