|
Written by Byron Williams
|
|
Wednesday, 07 January 2009 |
Back in 2007, I wrote a column about the Supreme Court’s ruling on the First Amendment rights case involving Joseph Frederick, a high school student, who along with several other students, held a 14-foot banner that read, "Bong Hits 4 Jesus," as the torch for the Winter Olympics was scheduled to pass in front of the high school.
I checked my voice mail that day for the usual suspects who traditionally like a piece because they agree or dislike it because they are not in accord with my views. But there was another voice that said, “This is Nat Hentoff, I am columnist and I wanted to quote from the wonderful piece you wrote today!”
I initially thought it was one of my friends playing a joke. But it was indeed Hentoff—whose writings more than any other inspired me to want to write a column that emphasized the Constitution as the basis for America’s public morality.
On December 30, citing tough economic times, The Village Voice, whom Hentoff had a 50 year relationship announced that the iconic writer would be laid off.
Hentoff is the preeminent commentator on the Constitution, in particular the First Amendment as well as rest of the Bill of Rights. I gained more appreciation for our public morality from Hentoff’s columns than any political science course taken as an undergrad.
Reading Hentoff’s columns became an epiphany allowing me see what Martin Luther King saw as he placed the Constitution at the bedrock of the Civil Rights Movement appealing to nation’s better angels.
It was through Hentoff that I learned that the values embedded in Constitution must trump what I may feel personally. And it was possible to possess the oxymoronic position of defending the constitutional rights of someone with whom I disagreed intently.
Hentoff was born in Boston in 1925. He received his B.A. from Northeastern University, he was a Fulbright fellow at the Sorbonne in Paris in 1950, and he has received numerous awards during his illustrious career. In addition, Hentoff has written 30 books, edited four others, spanning a variety of genres and subjects.
But to exclusively speak of Nat Hentoff through the prism of his commitment to the Constitution is like limiting the greatness of Picasso to his “Blue Period.”
As a jazz critic and aficionado, Hentoff stands alone. In 2004, the National Endowment of the Arts named Hentoff as a NEA Jazz Master; he was the first non-musician to win the award.
Those of you who are old enough to remember albums and the accompanying liner notes may very well possess something in your jazz archives penned by Hentoff.
But the economic times being what they are, especially within print journalism, the news of layoffs comes as little surprise. We are not shocked when local papers merge, fold, or discover newsrooms that were once the epitome of cacophony are practically vacant and tragically silent as a result of the cuts required to stay afloat.
Though intellectually we know that no one is immune from the impact of the current economy, when it happens to an icon like Hentoff it becomes newsworthy.
In a recent interview with National Public Radio, Hentoff described his firing as being “like reading your own obituary while you're still alive.”
But this is not an obituary, a eulogy perhaps. It is a tribute to an individual, who has inspired my career and whose reach and influence extends beyond those who are intimately familiar with his work.
The news of Hentoff’s firing means he will have one less deadline to meet. He will continue to write a weekly column for the United Media syndicate, which reaches approximately 250 papers. He will contribute pieces to The Wall Street Journal. He also has two books scheduled for release this year—not surprising one on jazz, the other on the Constitution that’s asking the collective question, “Who are we?”
At 83, it’s clear that Nat Hentoff still has something to say. I, for one, am pleased that he is still saying it.
 |
Subscribe to this comment's feed
Post a Comment. 
