The lecture given on Wednesday, September 22, 2010, was by Alton B. Pollard. Mr. Pollard’s lecture was named “Civil Rights, Hip Hop, and Hope: The Power of Young People.” Mr. Pollard started his lecture by informing my peers and me that our generation is one of hope. Other than that description, he states that our generation easily defies description. He proposed that we define our own generation.
Mr. Pollard’s lecture was split into 3 parts. The first section was about civil rights. Before this lecture, I thought that I was thoroughly informed about the Civil Right’s Movement. Of course I knew about the well-known Civil Rights activist, but I also took time to learn about the people who were equally active but less known. However, Mr. Pollard introduced people and demonstrations that I had never heard nor learned about. For an example, I had never heard about Ronald Walter and the Wichita, Kansas sit-in. I learned that this sit-in occurred before the actually Civil Rights Movement; therefore, it probably had some kind of impact on the movement.
The second section was on Hip-Hop. According to Mr. Pollard, the Hip-Hop Generation was born from the Civil Rights Movement. At first, I didn’t quite understand Mr. Pollard’s rationale. I always thought of the Civil Rights Movement Generation as one of mature and dedicated youth. Contrarily, when I think of Hip-Hop, I think about ruthless, reckless, and immature youth without morals. Yet, when Mr. Pollard introduced his Hip-Hop artist, they were artist that promoted change, stood for human rights, and had a story to tell; artists like Mos Def and Jill Scott.
I don’t think that Mr. Pollard fully got into his last section but he did say that you should become the prayer that you pray for. I love that statement. Many of us, including me, pray for certain things but we don’t change our lifestyle or the things we do in order to obtain the things we prayed for.
Overall, I enjoyed this lecture. It’s my favorite thus far.
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