sonia sanchez. [applause] >> thank you. thank you very much, herb boyd. i wanted to acknowledge, a belated acknowledgment, but the city of new york, john lewis is here. and unfortunate could not stay but i want to put on the record that he had come. we hope that we see them again on the front pages about -- >> the comptroller was here? did he bring money? >> no. but we hope to see him around in the big leadership aspect of the city of munich the and i will leave it at that. [applause] yeah, thank him for coming out because it's kind of a tit-for-tat thing because he knows i'm a journalist with the amsterdam news. [laughter] hey, i'll give you some clay, you did? but it would be only fair though. okay, -- >> i just want to say something because you know, there weren't a lot of us out there in the '60s. coming, that's just a reality. and the other thing that i wanted to let you know is that those times were so dangerous, and you just don't get it. if you look at it in 2012 time, you listen, you know, you have to really look at a time when africa was bubblin

we've got sonia sanchez. [applause] professor b8 is a national and international treasurer.she's a human rights activist, poet, civil rights activist, feminist, humanist, mother, teacher, daughter, and really one of the heroic figures of the post civil-rights and civil rights of black power era. her latest book is morning haiku and she has edited 44 african-american writers on the election of barack obama, 44th president of the united states. [applause] next we have professor cornell west. [applause] with cornell as we all know is another national and international icon and in national treasure in his own right. he is a professor of civil rights activists philosopher, human rights activist who and really one of the boldest public intellectuals that we have in the united states today. he speaks truth to power even when when he speaks is unpopular he has the structure to be critical and against the grain even when it's hurt him and is standing in the black community. so cornell's latest book is the rich and the rest of us and we are proud and happy to have him here today. [app