In 1976, I became involved in the National Black Political Assembly, an African-American political group that attempted to build an independent movement outside of thetwo-party electoral system. We attempted to draft Julian Bond as our presidential candidate in 1976. Thekey intellectual who helped to frame our deliberation was a young Howard University political scientist, Ronald Walters. I had only just completed my Ph.D. at the University of Maryland, and I looked to Ron as an intellectual older brother. I frequently sought his advice and his ideas about his own work, as well as my own. As I began to publish articles and then books on black politics and African-American history, Ron provided important insight and reflections, which greatly shaped my writings.

After coming to Columbia University nearly twenty years ago, I established various programs as well as a journal, Souls, that addressed key issues in the political life of Black America. One of our strongest and most consistent friends was Ron Walters, who by this time, was a distinguished scholar and professor at the University of Maryland at College Park. Ron was a contributor to Souls and we welcomed his analysis and review of articles submitted to the journal for publication.

What I admired most about Ron was that he was not an armchair theorist, detached from the struggle and concerns of the masses of black people. He had a remarkable skill in effectively presenting arguments that everyday people could easily understand. He was an effective critic in the media and especially on television. The aspect of Ron’s political analysis that I found very attractive was that he placed at the very center of his work a sharp critique of white supremacy, and forms of institutional racism. In this era of colorblind racism, or race-neutrality, Ron did not flinch from calling racism its ugly name, racism. Ron’s heart and spirit were dedicated to black liberation, and he did not care if everyone knew that. To me, he will always be an intellectual hero in the cause for justice for black people.

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BlackCommentator.com Editorial Board member, Manning Marable, PhD is one of America’s most influential and widely read scholars. Since 1993, Dr. Marable has been Professor of Public Affairs, Political Science, History and African-American Studies at Columbia University in New York City. For ten years, Dr. Marable was founding director of the Institute for Research in African-American Studies at Columbia University, from 1993 to 2003. Dr. Marable is an author or editor of over 20 books, including Living Black History: How Reimagining the African-American Past Can Remake America's Racial Future (2006); The Autobiography of Medgar Evers: A Hero's Life And Legacy Revealed Through His Writings, Letters, And Speeches (2005); Freedom: A Photographic History of the African American Struggle (2002); Black Leadership: Four Great American Leaders and the Struggle for Civil Rights (1998); Beyond Black and White: Transforming African-American Politics (1995); and How Capitalism Underdeveloped Black America: Problems in Race, Political Economy, and Society (South End Press Classics Series) (1983). His current project is a major biography of Malcolm X, entitled Malcolm X: A Life of Reinvention, to be published by Viking Press in 2009. Click here to contact Dr. Marable or visit his Website manningmarable.net.