Student reflects on Black History Month speaker Marc Lamont Hill


The Black Student Union has arranged a series of events to celebrate Black History Month. The signature event, “I Am Social Change: Marc Lamont Hill,” took place Feb. 4. Freshman English major Daga Nyang attended the event and shared how the guest speaker left a lasting impression.

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by Daga Nyang

Not to be “that girl,” but rarely have I had the opportunity to be in the presence of a mind that I truly admired—until last night. Dr. Marc Lamont Hill was a presence that orbited on the outer limits of my mind. I had seen his segments on CNN and the Huffington Post in passing, but I held him in little regard due to my personal distrust of public intellectuals.

Before his main event, I was lucky enough to have been invited to a meet and greet on behalf of my organization, the African Student Organization (ASO). Horribly under dressed and without any real expectations, I sat only with the knowledge that he was a Big Deal. It was meant to be an intimate event, with less than 40 people present and since everyone seemed really jazzed, I decided to match my enthusiasm to theirs. After a few moments of waiting, he arrived.

I was caught off-guard by the ease with which he interacted with us all. He wasn’t self-aggrandizing – he was real. The meet and greet served as a Q&A and he took great care to answer our questions as thoroughly as possible. I am ashamed to admit that I do not remember the majority of these questions; my short term memory appears to be my weakest function. However, what I remember most and what will probably remain with me for the rest of my life was his idea of the importance of love in a radical context.

I reached a point in my life where my idea of the world had become mired in cynicism. But after hearing him speak, I realized that I had lost the love with which I had started my own (for lack of a better term) activism. Inspired by the words of Assata Shakur, Hill believes that a love of self and a love of others is important in order to center oneself in the face of the world’s ills. I really admired his ability to be vulnerable. He spoke of his love of Assata, Malcolm, Toni, and James. He spoke of Palestine, and the people’s struggle for freedom. He was not afraid to critique the culture of neo-liberalism that exists today, and, by the end of the meet and greet, I was mad at myself for not previously being aware of his presence. I knew then he was the sort of person I aspired to be.

At the main event, Hill was so much more electrifying, but he still managed to maintain the same aura that transfixed me only moments before. He spoke of the importance of Black History Month and the importance of blackness in general. He spoke of the greatness and the legacies of the progenitors of this modern black era, always making sure to include the achievements of black women, whose achievements so often become obscured over the passage of time. He spoke of the need for this nation to come to terms with the atrocities it has committed and also continues to commit. He spoke of the necessity of community and reminded us again and again about the power of love.

I am eternally grateful to have had the opportunity to hear him speak. Last night was a night I will not forget for a very long time.