Dread Scott Lecture and Lunch

When Dread Scott visited Rhodes, I was able to both attend his lecture and the intimate lunch gathering he held the next day with a handful of students. Scott gave a powerful lecture to around 600 people about his life as an activist and artist, although not mutually exclusive, at a time when black life and its position in American society has come seriously into question. What was so refreshing about Scott is that he has been protesting our systems and structures of racism since his time at the Art Institute of Chicago. He has not waiting until the appropriate time of the Black Lives Matter movement to make his thoughts known to the American public on the plagues of racism that face our country. What surprised me so much was how candid he was with students about his beliefs in Communism and the negative ways Capitalism has affected our country.

Suring the lunch specifically, he talked about his association with the communist party and how he sees these beliefs as what should come next for the United States. He believes that a revolution is in order for our country to become what it says it is founded on despite the fact that it was founded on stolen land with stolen people to develop it.

Scott as an artist also was very opinionated on the ways in which art should be created, reflected upon, and sold. He spoke about how art is how he makes his living but how our Capitalist system is broken. A question was asked how he sell his art and believe that our economic system is not one some people can thrive on while others can’t. This point was particularly interesting for someone who identifies as a political activist and yet must somehow sustain himself.

I think as Rhodes students we need more speakers like Scott to help us question our liberal home we so easily situate ourselves in patting ourselves on the back for being progressive and accepting while so many of our country’s systems are broken. We often have authors whose opinions fit within the structure and beliefs of our college but we do not often have as many outspoken speakers who ask our students to think beyond the realm of possibility for the future of the country. This is valuable for students who need to hear perspectives other than those who identify with a certain mainstream political party.