An Influential Black Leader
A leader is someone who leads a group and has social influence that increases and improves other people’s lives and efforts in aspects of their lives. Marc Lamont Hill strives to make a strong positive impact inside and outside of the Black community. To have a Black man who is named as a leader is very important because, within America, a black man is killed every 28 hours by police enforcement according to the MXGM study (“Operation Ghetto Storm: 2012 Annual Report on the Extra Judicial Killing of 313 Black People” MXGM.org 7 Apr 2013. Web. 4 Mar 2015) Black men in America are treated as problems to often before they are treated as a human being-as a person. Black men are labeled at a young age and carry so many stereotypes on their backs that they are not even aware of yet.
For a black man to break past those stereotypes is very powerful and uplifting for many other black men. Hill is one of many black people who pushed barriers that were placed on them before they were born. Many white people are in denial of the privilege they are born with and are blind to the obstacles black men and black people have to overcome to succeed which are the same obstacles that were set up by white supremacy. Many people at a young age have a dream of what kind of change they want to make and are trying to figure out what their calling is; for Hill journalism and TV show hosting was what he was drawn to and what was drawn to him.
What we take interest in during our childhood shapes many of us. We take interest in many things and some of the stuff that we take interest in stick with us and influence our later decisions and interests in life. We are beings that are naturally attracted to things. Marc Lamont Hill grew up in North Philadelphia, when discovering that it was very compelling because Philadelphia, Pa is such a diverse place and it is so huge. When you have a city that has so much diversity and is so upbeat and has a lot going on you draw near many things and engage in so many activities because there are so many things going on especially in North Philadelphia. Hill though was not the outgoing type. He spent much of his time in the house watching television. Within his Huffington Post interview Hill explained,
What I saw growing up made me want to weigh in. I’d turn on the TV channel and a very particular type of conversation was going on; the same conversation you hear in many cities framing problems a certain way, framing my neighbors a certain way, my friends a certain way my family (so to speak) a certain way. So part of what I wanted to do was intervene on that conversation and offer a different perspective…I wanted to be on the other side of the screen so I could weigh in. Once I got there I realized it’s not only important to contribute to the conversation but to also set the tone of the conversation to direct the conversation and to direct who is going to be in the conversation and that was when hosting became important to me. (One on One w/ Nasir. “One on One with Marc Lamont Hill.” YouTube. YouTube. 5 May 2014. Web 1 March 2015.)
He is one of many people that give young Black men hope to break barriers and labels. There are not many and were not many Black men that young Black boys saw on the television screen growing up that were well represented and that was so driven and outspoken on social issues.
Hill was not only a past CNN and Huff Post Live host or journalist, writing for Huffington Post to the Philadelphia Inquirer, but he is also a social justice activist and author, he teaches adult literacy courses for high school dropouts in Philadelphia and Camden working directly with Black and Latino youth. Marc also has been a professor at many Colleges such as Temple University and the University of Pennsylvania. What is really compelling about him is that he is so driven to speak on racism and social issues. He must be commended for doing so many interviews that left people with new thoughts and stand points on topics.
Hill deserves admiration for standing his ground on issues, especially when someone of ignorance is arguing with the side of a white oppressor and not only does he keep his calm but he also stands his ground and projects his argument strongly. During an interview with Fox, an infamously known racist news station Lamont Hill responded to former president Bush for calling Obama “articulate”:
You can call someone articulate, that’s not a problem, it’s the sense of bewilderment and surprise that often accompanies black achievement in white main stream circles. When articulate is used by white people to black people, it’s often accompanied by a sense bewilderment or surprise i.e. I’m surprised you are able to speak that well. The fact of the matter is we live in a world where black intelligence is called into question, even at the highest level. I’m not sure what they were expecting for a soon-to-be president; you shouldn’t be surprised that he is articulate, you should be surprised if he’s not and that’s the issue (Dr. Marc Lamont Hill “Bill O'Reilly and Marc Lamont Hill Debate Articulate.” Online Video Clip. YouTube. YouTube. 7 Feb 2007. Web. 3 Mar. 2015.)
Many have seen many videos of Marc Lamont Hills many being of him responding to news anchor questions about racism, black on black crime, and activism from the early 2000’s up until today and his character is the same. His growth as an individual is very apparent; one can tell that he has become more educated and grounded. One would appreciate and respect how calm and collected he remains when he is being challenged and attacked. To remain cool and level headed in an aggressive conversation requires patience. On a CNN live show Larry Elder who was everything but calm and collected disagreed with Hill’s stand point on racism in America. His argument was that racism is not a problem in America because there is a high level of black on black crime, there is a high level of absence of black fathers. Marc Lamont Hill’s argument was that the absence of black fathers does not make black people disposable, racism is still an issue because there is a high percentage of unarmed black people being killed by law enforcement, law enforcement is killing black people with impunity. Marc Lamont Hill although being argued down by Larry elder remained collected which would have been hard for many people to do. Larry Elder can see very well but he is blind to racism in America. Marc Lamont Hill is not and he is so woke which makes him very admirable.
Marc Lamont Hill is definitely on the rise and is not allowing people to label him whether that is his level of intelligence that is being labeled, his educational background or what he is capable of. He definitely is trying to better the Black Community and make more people aware of racism and social injustices. He maintains his cool even in a heated situation which is very respectable. I am striving to do what he had done in his earlier years and what he is doing today towards opening up people’s minds, speaking up on social issues and speaking out against racism on a wider level, as well as doing other things. I want to do what he has done but I want to do more. I want to tap into other outlets that he did not. I am not trying to put him down, as he was one of the black people who has set the foundation and pathway to move us forward. In saying that I want to move forward, I want to go farther; I want to reach that high that is too far for me to see, and then proudly watch someone else of my ethnicity go further than I have imagined. We are pioneers for each other, growing off of each other’s accomplishments and knowing that the limitations white America has thrown towards us can be dodged.
