I had the great pleasure of seeing Amiri Baraka and Kwame Dawes speak at Hue-Man Bookstore and Cafe on Saturday night. There was a decent crowd when we arrived at 7pm, but my wife and I were still able to get seats in the back.
Both men read sections from their new books. This kept the crowd interested, but I was waiting for the dialogue that would come out of the question and answer session.
Predictably, most of the questions were directed toward Baraka. He made many points, but the one point that he consistently hit upon was that of minorities in power ‘selling out’ their people. He explained that he and others fought so hard to get Blacks in office and in the police leadership, but that those leaders did little to affect change once given the reigns of power. He gave the examples of Condoleeza Rice, Colin Powell, and Newark mayor Cory Booker.
A great day indeed.
Upcoming Events: TriBeCa Performing Arts Center
Posted on April 2, 2007 by reefinyateef