On Wednesday, Dr. Cornel West had to be in Tallahassee, Florida for a paid speaking engagement at Florida State University that evening. Dr. West had notified Occupy Tallahassee that he would like to come by the camp to speak prior to heading over to FSU.
The Occupy Tallahassee camp is located (with permission) on a vacant piece of City of Tallahassee owned property in the downtown area between the FSU campus and and the state Capitol. Unlike many occupations, the relationship between Occupy Tallahassee and city officials has been cordial thus far.
Occupy Tallahassee camp is relatively small as far as the number of permanent Occupiers, but there are many people who support the group on a regular basis without actually camping on site. For Dr. West to want to visit Occupy Tallahassee was a great honor indeed.
I regularly follow Occupy Tallahassee via their website and on Facebook. When I saw that Dr. West would arrive to speak to Occupy Tallahassee between 4:30 and 5 pm, I decided to attend. After Dr. West's expected time of arrival had passed, I was concerned that perhaps he would be a no show. Word was that his flight had been delayed, but that he would still come to speak.
While we were waiting for Dr. West, some of us took a tour of the camp. The delay in Dr. West's arrival also gave me a chance to talk with a few of the regulars at Occupy Tallahassee. One thing I have noticed in talking with the occupiers is their joy and optimism in what they are doing. Later when Dr. West spoke, I was able to better understand it when he said that the two pillars of the Occupy Movement are the "unarmed truth and deep unapologetic love."
And then Dr. West arrived and wow, did he arrive!
Dr. Cornel West is a larger than life personality and one of the warmest human beings I have ever met. He is a hugger. And every one in attendance there, young and old, male and female, wanted a hug from him. I got my hug from Dr. West and even spoke with him too! The energy he radiates is so contagious and positive that it lights up the space around him.
Dr. West was an early and enthusiastic supporter of the Occupy Movement. Because his flight was an hour and a half late, it did not allow him the time he had originally wanted to spend with Occupy Tallahassee. Still, after spending about ten minutes greeting and hugging people, he spoke for about fifteen minutes. And what a powerful fifteen minutes it was! There were so many wonderful quotes in his speech, but the title of this diary says it all. "I don't want to run the empire, I want to bring it down." And he was so very right.
Below is a video of Dr. West speaking to Occupy Tallahassee. I hope everyone will spend a few minutes watching it. If this does not fire you up, nothing will. His speech combined substance with humor to make every word pure to joy to listen to.
If you ever get the chance to hear Dr. Cornel West, do it! I feel very fortunate to have had the opportunity to listen to him, briefly talk with him, and get one of his patented hugs!
Meanwhile, we don't want to run the empire, we just want to bring it down with the unarmed truth and deep, unapologetic love.