James T. Jackson of the University of Toledo spoke at the 10th annual Black Issues Conference as the keynote speaker this past weekend.
The kickoff for the conference was Saturday night in the Union and the conference took place Saturday from 10:30 a.m. – 4:30 p.m. in the Union. Included were sessions for the public to attend, a lunch in, a speech by the keynote speaker and a panel discussion on the psychological problems for black people.
Some of the sessions included a session on the “Ideal Family” (The Obamas), a session entitled “Hoodwinked: Who the media made me,” a session on how black people are perceived in the media, “Black is, Gay ain’t,” dealing with the black gay community and another session about Barack Obama, “He made it, now what?”
The theme for the conference was the “talented tenth,” a theme which focuses on W.E.B. DuBois and his belief that 10 percent of the African American population would rise up and lead the rest on to the greater good. The fact that Barack Obama became the first black president the same year as the 10th annual Black Issues Conference was a complete coincidence according to members of the Black Issues Committee.
Eight colleges attended the conference including Ohio University, Owens Community College, Ball State, Miami University, Indiana Purdue University at Fort Wayne, University of Toledo, University of Toledo and Lords College.
Spark Tabor of Ohio University said it was a new experience for him. “I especially loved the panel discussion. Crowd interaction is a must,” he said.
Jackson, who said speaking at the conference was his greatest personal honor, gave many points of advice for college students who consider themselves to be part of the “talented tenth” and help pull the other people up with them.
“You must pull them up with you, otherwise they will pull you down,” Jackson said.
Jackson spoke on a level to try and relate to each generation in the room mentioning great black leaders of every time including DuBois, Malcom X, 2Pac through Lebron James and Kobe Bryant.
The speech by Jackson gave many points of advice for the members of the audience including a common theme – “College is not a right, it’s a privilege.” Jackson compared the college experience to the old adage “If you give a man a fish, he will eat for a day, and if you teach a man to fish, he will eat for a lifetime.” Jackson explained that the college experience from freshman year to commencement is teaching students how to fish.
Members of the audience repeated after Jackson as he recited the words “STOP PLAYING,” which he explained meant “Study, Think, Observe, Participate, Persevere, Learn, Achieve, Yield, Incorporate, Negotiate and Graduate,” words which are advice for those in the talented tenth.
As the speech came to a close Jackson mentioned seven points of advice including that African Americans must fight ignorance, do for yourself, be qualified and learn to operate around all people, not just black people, he said.
“Barack Obama didn’t just run for president of the Black United States but the United States,” Jackson said.
Jackson kept with the theme through to the end, giving one last piece of advice for the “talented tenth.”
“The time is now for the talented tenth to rise. You sit in the seat of a history maker,” Jackson said.
