Poll Position: Cornell West Is The New King Of All Blacks.

Last week here at AB.com, we talked about the need for the media to find a new mouthpiece for Black America, in light of Jesse Jackson's final, permanent fall from grace. Rather than allowing the MSM to choose this person for us, I suggested that we nominate a new King Of All Blacks here at AB.com, with hopes that some clueless newbie at the New York Times might pick up on our choice instead.

The people of AverageNation™ have spoken. The results are as follows.


What can I say, this poll was fatally flawed from the start. I didn't seriously mean to put my name in there, it was really just a joke. But some of ya'll actually pulled the lever for AB.com and as a result, the final numbers were skewed. So in the interest of serious discourse, I'm effectively tossing any vote tallied for me out. Sorry for the Systematic Disenfranchisement.

That leaves a very perplexing winner, Dr. Cornell West. I'll admit, while West's shtick used to be a pretty cool novelty, somewhere after that Matrix cameo, I started to sour on him. The man sometimes (like many other KOAB nominees) seems to be talking just to hear himself speak. He has a lust for polysyllabic words, which I like when we're talking about rappers, but for the KOAB, this just won't cut it. You need to get what you're saying out succinctly and to the point. This is something Dr. West has seemingly yet to figure out.



Sooooo, town hall talking head? Sure. Author of thought provoking intellectual tomes. You betcha. But KOAB? I'm sorry ya'll, I just don't see it.

But then again, I only had one vote.

Actor Hill Harper and chronic Intellectual Masturbator™ Michael Eric Dyson tied for a distant second. I like Harper a lot, but dude is an actor, so technically, since I wasn't putting any entertainers on the list (you'll notice no Tom Joyner or Michael Baisden either) he shouldn't have been included. Still, he's got some ideas worth hearing. Dyson on the other hand, suffers from a lust of $5 words that often amount to little other than applause.



My personal choice (Roland Martin) didn't show very well, which is a bit surprising considering the fact that dude has really held it down this year on CNN. Others who did well, but not well enough include the always interesting Melissa Harris-Lacewell, rapper Nas, Congressional candidate and reality show alumnus Kevin Powell, and (shocker) rapper David Banner, who proves that some of my readers do indeed have a sense of humor.

So, congrats to Dr. West, I suppose.

This Week's Poll is a lot less weighty, but serious bidness nonetheless. In the pantheon of all time great hood' snacks, there must be one that stands above all others. Vote early and often you-know-where.

Question: Do you agree that Cornell West should be the new KOAB? Are you surprised that Roland Martin didn't do better? Who the heck actually voted for David Banner?