{"id":1371,"date":"2010-12-31T14:59:26","date_gmt":"2010-12-31T19:59:26","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.dcdistrictdiva.com\/?p=1371"},"modified":"2010-12-31T14:59:26","modified_gmt":"2010-12-31T19:59:26","slug":"the-archetype-dr-marc-lamont-hill","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.brookeobie.com\/districtdiva\/the-archetype-dr-marc-lamont-hill\/","title":{"rendered":"The Archetype: Dr. Marc Lamont Hill"},"content":{"rendered":"

Ar\u00b7che\u00b7type<\/strong> <\/em>\u2013noun: “the original pattern or model from which all things of the same kind are copied or on which they are based; a model or first form; prototype.” The Archetype Series — a companion series to “The Prototype<\/a>” series — honors Black men who are doing amazing things in the world to remind us that: 1) they exist, *do not believe the hype*; and 2) we can all do amazing things, too. Break down their model, explore their mindset, adopt their habits, and use them to reach your own goals. Anyone can do it. Everyone won’t.<\/em> <\/em> <\/strong><\/p>\n

December’s Archetype: Dr. Marc Lamont Hill<\/a>, host of TV One’s “Our World with Black Enterprise<\/a>,” regular contributor to Fox News, CNN, MSNBC, distinguished author, social activist, and Columbia University professor. <\/strong> <\/strong><\/p>\n

When 17-year-old African American high school honor student, Genarlow Wilson was unjustly convicted and sentenced to 10 years in prison, Dr. Marc Lamont Hill was at the forefront of action calling for the overturning of Genarlow’s conviction. Dr. Hill used every platform available to advocate\u00a0 for Genarlow, and actively worked with Genarlow’s attorney B.J. Bernstein, to bring national attention to this grave miscarriage of justice.\u00a0 After spending two years in prison, Genarlow’s conviction was finally overturned, but Dr. Hill and Ms. Bernstein knew that more had to be done:<\/p>\n

Even though Genarlow should never have been incarcerated and even though we could each play a role in the defense of young people after they’ve had unjust encounters with the legal system, we knew that we had to start doing more.\u00a0 We knew that to be effective, we had to equip young people to make better decisions, to know how to make better choices so they can make it home at night after a party and be safe while they’re out in the streets.\u00a0 My5th.org<\/a> <\/span><\/span>[The non-profit organization dedicated to educating young people on the law] <\/span>grew out of that.\u00a0 [Ms. Bernstein] knew that educating youth is something I have been committed to my entire life, so I became a founding board member of the organization.<\/span><\/p>\n

And Dr. Hill’s advocacy work doesn’t end with youth; he is invested in equipping as many of the disenfranchised as possible with literacy.\u00a0\u00a0 None in this country are more disenfranchised than those in the prison system. Dr. Hill devotes himself to working in the prison ministry, by securing books for them and teaching adult literacy skills.\u00a0 To him, there is no greater responsibility:<\/p>\n

It is my intellectual commitment as a scholar that motivates me to equip the disenfranchised with literacy as a pathway to social mobility and pathway to learning\u00a0to read\u00a0the word and the world.\u00a0Literacy isn\u2019t just about being able to decode a text, it’s about being able to understand the world.\u00a0It has a direct relationship to the distribution of social resources.<\/span><\/p>\n

And also, because of our [African American] history, we should value literacy.\u00a0[The poet] Phyllis Wheatley had to go on trial to prove that she wrote her book herself. Frederick Douglass had to write \u201cwritten by himself\u201d on his works, because black literacy was so challenged. Black folks used to believe that if they could learn to read the Bible and books, they could\u00a0obtain freedom.\u00a0 And on a practical level, we’ve got to understand that there\u2019s a direct correlation between literacy and incarceration. If we want better fathers, better ideals, we have to have a citizenry that is committed to reading the world and the word differently. <\/span><\/p>\n

The relationship between our history of illiteracy and our community’s current social predicament is just one example of why Dr. Hill says that to understand what is going on in the Black community today, there must be an understanding of the impact that slavery has had and continues to have:<\/p>\n

Whenever you look at Black people in America, you have to analyze them within historical conditions. You cannot isolate Blacks today from the impact of slavery. We\u2019re still dealing with slavery and white supremacy; it is not at all esoteric, there is a very concrete relationship between exploitation in black labor during slavery and the current exploitation of Black labor in the prison system.\u00a0 There’s a very concrete relationship between\u00a0the black codes in 1860 and the crime deals in 1990, the incarceration numbers in Jamestown and the incarceration numbers right now. So, we can never disconnect these things because we cannot understand these moments without an analysis of past history.\u00a0 So anyone who denies this history is truncating them and can never get to a solution. <\/span><\/p>\n

Another key\u00a0distraction to solution is to get into an either, or<\/em> posture: either we have to accept personal responsibility for our actions, or the system is to blame. Yes, we have to think about how how the system\u00a0can be fixed, and on the other hand, we also\u00a0have to think about what can we do even if the government gives us nothing.\u00a0\u00a0We allow the right wing to tell us that any time you talk about systems, you\u2019re avoiding responsibility; I think that is an unwise move. On the other hand those who just say the system is to blame are ignoring the other\u00a0part of the puzzle. I’m saying let’s do both. <\/span><\/p>\n

And\u00a0ultimately, Dr. Hill says that a solution to many of the problems in the Black community is to “abolish prison”:<\/p>\n

We need to abolish prison. It’s been the most oppressive and regressive system in modern society and\u00a0has done nothing but undermine the Black community. If we abolish the prison system, we return people to their homes, the labor market and consumer market and we move from incarceration to excarceration and we create new more productive communities.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0I don\u2019t want to use prisons as the primary place of adjudicating justice.\u00a0In the 1970s, we had 300,000 people in prison, today we have 2.5 million. The rise in prison population does not\u00a0correlate.\u00a0It’s not that people are committing more crime, we\u2019ve widened the net, we’re putting the wrong people in prison.\u00a0If we decriminalized all of the\u00a0victimless crimes, like\u00a0prostitution, public drunkenness, the prison population would decrease significantly. We had a war on drugs during the Clinton era that led to millions of Black and brown people going into prison, so we\u2019ve essentially criminalized a medical problem. We emptied out mental health care facilities and dumped them in prisons.\u00a0 So they\u2019re being abused, isolated, and ignored in prison and go back on the street\u00a0and create larger problems for society. <\/span><\/p>\n

But I think we need to use pre-trial bondage, and erase mandatory minimums for these victimless crimes to\u00a0get people out of this system. If you excluded child molesters, rapists, murderers, violent criminals, you could put most of the people back out on the street without a rise in crime.\u00a0For these violent outliers, they should\u00a0definitely face punishment as well as\u00a0treatment, but I don\u2019t think the prison should be the place for that and I think those people represent a very small number of the population. <\/span><\/p>\n

Every other country serves as the model as to why our prison system is counterproductive. We incarcerate more than Pakistan and\u00a0Iran combined.\u00a0One in every 100 Americans is incarcerated. In Canada, they don\u2019t have this kind of incarceration problem and\u00a0when you look at other capitalist empires, we incarcerate more than the third and fourth countries on the list. That’s because other countries don\u2019t have the same kind of hypercriminalizing policies on the books. We just criminalize more and I think its because of this country’s history of dealing with\u00a0Black and Brown bodies.\u00a0We have found other ways to make them wards of the State and to keep them wards of the government. We went from slavery to other forms of indentured servitude and then the Black codes which led to Blacks\u00a0getting incarcerated for things White folks were doing every day. Then we had the birth of the prison system\u00a0after slavery, as another\u00a0league of social control. <\/span><\/p>\n

Unfortunately, all evidence suggests that the prison is here to stay and we\u2019re just transferring people from one institution to the next. Sure, it’s better than slavery, but its not that much better for those in the system and targeted by the system. There is no cause for hope that suddenly we\u2019re going to decarcerate and excarcerate.\u00a0\u00a0But slavery didn\u2019t end because the masters retired, we stopped it.\u00a0\u00a0Activism is the answer,\u00a0fighting back is\u00a0the answer, and\u00a0personal responsibility is the answer. <\/span><\/p>\n

Prison doesn\u2019t have to exist; we can have a world without poverty and\u00a0jails. Another world is possible<\/strong>, and that\u2019s what I am actively working towards. <\/span><\/p>\n

Impacting social policy and affecting social change are clearly Dr. Hill’s passions, and yet when he advocates for his causes as a commentator on CNN, MSNBC, Fox News, or any other outlet, he manages to maintain a calm, cool, and collected debate style,\u00a0even in the midst of the most offensive and ridiculous statements by\u00a0his political opponents (i.e., Fox News Host Bill O’Reilly telling Dr. Hill he “kind of look[s] like a cocaine dealer<\/a>.”) Most notably, Dr. Hill debated right-wing radio host <\/a>Ann Coulter on Larry King Live<\/em> in September in which Coulter purports to educate Dr. Hill\u00a0on “what Black people think.”\u00a0He just laughed this off and annihilated Coulter with an analysis of facts and a smile:<\/p>\n

Some of it is just disposition, I’<\/span>m just not a hot-tempered, quick-tempered person. But I’m also very conscious as a pundit on\u00a0right-wing media outlets. I think about myself as a public defender. I think about myself as someone speaking for those who otherwise wouldn\u2019t have their voice heard, so there is a kind of responsibility that comes along with having that role. The stereotype of liberals is to be mean-spirited, snarky and angry, and for Black men, it’s ten-times\u00a0that. So I think not just how it will affect me personally, but how that will impact the causes I’m advocating for. I am\u00a0trying to create a space to talk about poverty when people are only committed to talking about the recession, the prison industry when people really only want to talk about reducing crime.\u00a0I have to avoid anything\u00a0that can become a distraction to the cause,\u00a0whether it’s storming out of\u00a0 a set or not staying on my agenda.\u00a0In the grand scheme of things, it’s not about me at all.<\/span><\/p>\n

Dr. Hill credits his sense of responsibility and duty to the community to his upbringing in an impoverished area of Philadelphia:<\/p>\n

I grew up in a community of support and love. I grew up in Philadelphia and getting love and encouragement as somebody who was a good reader. And even though I grew up in a neighborhood that was poor and high crime, it never allowed us to ignore our full humanity. We come from a tradition of lifting as we climb,\u00a0so\u00a0I say yes to helping people and younger scholars, writers and activists because, from a moral and ethical standpoint, I was taught\u00a0to take a little bit out\u00a0and give a whole lot back.<\/span><\/p>\n

Not to romanticize it, but I think the best parts of African American\u00a0tradition have been commitment and service. I do my best to follow that tradition. Somebody helped me. You may walk in alone, go on\u00a0T.V. alone, but somebody prayed for you, somebody signed your name for you, and that\u2019s the motivation to keep the thing going. <\/span><\/p>\n

The other piece of it is\u00a0that I grew up around people who were so much more talented than me, so much smarter, naturally gifted in areas but who didn\u2019t have the opportunity the support the benefit of the doubt or a second chance. When I think about my own, work my own life, I think about\u00a0being on the front lines but for grace and mercy. It could’ve been me. I want other people to be able to shine in their gifts. Those who didn\u2019t make it, they now have a chance to make it. It\u2019s a moral duty and an ethical duty to help open the door for them, maybe open it wider if possible.<\/span><\/p>\n

As a professor at Columbia University Teacher’s College, Dr. Hill continues his career as a distinguished author<\/a>. He has several books coming out in 2011: Why Don’t I Feel Free? Black America in the Age of Obama<\/em>,\u00a0 Knowledge of Self: Race, Masculinity, and the Politics of Reading<\/em>, and You Ain\u2019t Heard It From Me: Snitching, Rumors and Other People\u2019s Business in Hip-Hop America<\/em>, and an essay on Black Muslim identity in a post-9\/11 context (in addition to a top secret project with a February release, stay tuned to DCDistrictDiva.com for the latest!)<\/p>\n

But with great success and advocacy for unpopular issues, one learns to expect pitfalls as an inevitability. In October 2009, Dr. Hill was fired from Fox News <\/a>and smeared as having “a reputation of defending cop-killers and racists.” But Dr. Hill takes it all in stride:<\/p>\n

This is the life I chose; this is what I signed up for. I\u2019m not who they said I was, I don\u2019t “support cop-killers”; I do, however, think that certain people like\u00a0[social activists] Assata Shakur and\u00a0Mumia Abu Jamal\u00a0were wrongfully convicted [of murder]. That\u2019s not based on an anti-cop sentiment, I\u2019ve investigated their cases, and saying I don\u2019t think they\u2019re guilty\u00a0is what\u00a0I have a right to do. <\/span><\/p>\n

I think that it’s interesting that after I was fired for expressing my viewpoint [on Shakur and Jamal’s innocence], Fox was so outraged that [Fox conservative commentator] Juan Williams was fired<\/a> [from NPR in October 2010] for expressing his viewpoint\u00a0[Williams said that he\u00a0gets “nervous” when he sees Muslims\u00a0in Muslim garb on airplanes].\u00a0But I am still grateful for the opportunity to argue my points to a broad audience. There is no way you can take an unpopular stance on an issue and not expect some hardcore feedback and some repercussions. The only ones in clean uniforms are those who don\u2019t play the game. I made the decision to put myself in the game and I took a hit. I\u2019m grateful for the opportunity to stand up for what I believe in. I lost a bunch of money and I took a hit,\u00a0but I\u2019m just grateful for what I have.<\/span><\/p>\n

But Dr. Hill was not down for long. In addition to his work as an advocate, commentator, distinguished author and activist, Dr. Hill hosts the new Sunday morning show “Our World with Black Enterprise<\/a>”\u00a0which airs on\u00a0TV One\u00a0at 6 A.M. and again at 1 P.M. in 40 cities (watch online at http:\/\/www.blackenterprise.com\/tv-video\/our-world-with-black-enterprise<\/a>):<\/p>\n

\n

His goal with this show is\u00a0“to create a space for a different kind of discussion and analysis.” He explains:<\/p>\n

I have an episode on the Black church. We analyzed the Black church in terms of prosperity gospel and sexuality, we went through it for a full hour. Other shows aren’t\u00a0talking about that. I talked about Haiti with Wyclef Jean and the problems Haiti is still facing even after the earthquake.\u00a0I’m loving the show\u00a0and the staff\u00a0\u00a0at Black Enterprise<\/a>, we\u2019ve had an awesome season and there are some big surprises coming up. We’ve had Ne-yo, Jill Scott, Terry McMillan, we\u2019ve had all sorts of folks\u00a0who\u2019ve all brought their own piece\u00a0to African American culture, African American thought, and African American progress.<\/span><\/p>\n

Dr. Hill hopes his legacy will be:<\/p>\n

[T]hat I left the world a little bit better.\u00a0 I’m not naive or hopelessly idealistic about what my role is or what it could be in 50 years, but\u00a0 when I die, I’d hope the world is a little more free, more just, and more livable. I’d like to think that I helped free somebody and created peace where there wasn\u2019t peace. I’d like to offer some idea that animates a movement towards freedom. I don\u2019t know what the ideal will be but I would like to use my space as a speaker that helps effect change.<\/span><\/p>\n

What we can learn from Dr. Hill:<\/strong> “It’s not about me at all”; find a cause that you are willing to take a hit for. Dream wide awake, and put feet to your words, because “another world is possible.”<\/p>\n

Dr. Marc Lamont Hill is: The Archetype.<\/p>\n

Follow DCDistrictDiva on Twitter<\/a>.\u00a0 Become a fan of \u201cThe Dithering of a District Diva\u201d on Facebook<\/a>.<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Ar\u00b7che\u00b7type \u2013noun: “the original pattern or model from which all things of the same kind are copied or on which they are based; a model or first form; prototype.” The Archetype Series — a companion series to “The Prototype” series — honors Black men who are doing amazing things in<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":1385,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":false,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[22],"tags":[82,282,555,742,861,863],"class_list":["post-1371","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-the-archetype","tag-another-world-is-possible","tag-dr-marc-lamont-hill","tag-literacy","tag-prison","tag-slavery","tag-social-change"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p7nB6F-m7","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.brookeobie.com\/districtdiva\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1371","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.brookeobie.com\/districtdiva\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.brookeobie.com\/districtdiva\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.brookeobie.com\/districtdiva\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.brookeobie.com\/districtdiva\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1371"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.brookeobie.com\/districtdiva\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1371\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.brookeobie.com\/districtdiva\/wp-json\/"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.brookeobie.com\/districtdiva\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1371"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.brookeobie.com\/districtdiva\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1371"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.brookeobie.com\/districtdiva\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1371"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}