Kevin Powell is a nationally known public speaker, journalist, poet, essayist, hip-hop historian, political activist and TV, radio and Internet commentator, as well as a member of the first season’s cast of MTV’s “The Real World (New York City).”
However, Tuesday night at the Culp Center Auditorium, Powell’ accomplishments were not the focus of his lecture. In honor of Martin Luther King Jr. Day, he spoke about “Dr. King, Civil Rights and the Hip-Hop Generation.”
Powell wanted to present to students a version of King that went beyond what they might have learned on TV or in a history class.
“Dr. King got reduced down to and is still reduced down to, in my humble opinion, sound bytes and symbols … sound bytes and symbols,” he said.
Powell expressed his agitation over the fact that African-American history is not covered in-depth in history classes.
He said that there are discussions about how they were enslaved, how they were freed and the fact that they marched.
“All I learned about Africa was from those Tarzan movies,” he said.
He said that this caused him to have a large amount of anger beacause of the lack of teaching.
“For the first 18 years of my life, I hated myself as a black man,” he said.
Powell’s bluntness and honesty was one thing he was not ashamed of. “Some people were expecting a kumbayah speech, but that’s not gonna come from Kevin Powell,” he said.
Powell said that many people think the Civil Rights Movement was just about one race of people. However, in his opinion, many different groups have benefited from it, such as woman and homosexuals.
The country is not where it needs to be in dealing with different races, genders, etc., although it is further along than it once was, Powell said.
“Clearly, sisters and brothers, there has been a lot of progress in this country since the Civil Rights Movement,” he said.
Powell said that racism and racial intolerance still exist.
He also said classism is a large problem in the United States. To him, this could be refusing to speak to the lady in the lunch line, a custodian or even a waitress. He said classism also extends to the Oval Office. He called George W. Bush’s tax break for the wealthy an example of classism.
He said, “Are the wealthy going to be the ones to fight the war in Iraq, North Korea or wherever else we’re going?”
Sexism was also a main topic during the lecture. He challenged men to redefine what being a man truly is and to not see women as objects or playmates.
He also challenged all students to have an informed opinion, saying it was the best weapon they could use.
“We need to get back to a level of activism and ask the critical questions,” he said.
Some students left the lecture with a new sense of self-awareness. “I think that Kevin Powell opened our eyes to problems that not only affect African-Americans, but all people of color,” said Theresa Harrison, freshman.
Powell urged students to dig deeper and settle for nothing.
“You gotta search for truth, not myths,” he said.

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