Word: hamilton
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Dates: during 1960-1969
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...start redefining what radicalism is all about," Hamilton added. "Our problems are radically bad, and their solutions must be radically different from those already proposed. It's going to take more than just radical rhetoric--we are going to need people like you to initiate radical, pragmatic programs of action...
...Hamilton's sharp insights and impressive discussion on a wide range of issues beyond those just related to the plight of the black man in America only reinforced the thoughts of many students, particularly the black students, that the need for black instructors at Harvard can no longer be ignored or overlooked. Hamilton's impact on whites and blacks was equally important and impressive, even if for different reasons. "It irks me," one black student commented, "that we see individuals like you once or twice a year, if that often. We need people like you here at Harvard...
Charles V. Hamilton impressed his audiences here with his ability to conceptualize and articulate the manifold problems and tensions imposed by the American racial dilemma. There was no doubt that Hamilton had done his homework, and he drew often from recent experience outside the classroom. He faced questions directly, often taking them beyond their obvious conclusions, and always with striking candor. To the question of what the white's role is in Black Power politics, Hamilton quickly replied: "The (Kerner) Report speaks to whites, not blacks; what happens as a result of it depends on whites. Your place...
...Hamilton replied, in one of his few emotional moments here, to a white professor's question as to what academics can do: 'If your ranks can grow and mine can grow, we can affect a rapprochement and try to end this mess." It is indeed unfortunate that there aren't, as one student said, more Charles V. Hamilton's around. His very presence here is a salient indication of the black leadership void which exists in academia as in politics...
With an acute awareness of the crisis to which he spoke--but without the tortured rhetoric of frustration which usually accompanies it--Hamilton has provided crucial and timely answers. But the tension between the rhetoric and the reality--the need for translation of ideas into answers--weighs heavily even on a Charles V. Hamilton. As he said in his last meeting: "I'm tired of just talking...