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GREENSBORO — America remains divided along racial lines 40 years after a landmark report warned it was happening, according to two prominent African American thinkers.

Are the conclusions of the Kerner Commission still relevant today? Join the discussion at the Debatables blog.

"The Kerner Report wasn't a report to black people; it was a report for a white mainstream living in denial," said Cornel West, a writer and historian. West and public television talk show host Tavis Smiley were keynote speakers Sunday at a symposium hosted by N.C. A&T reflecting on the Kerner Commission Report.

President Lyndon Johnson appointed the commission, led by Illinois Gov. Otto Kerner, in 1967 after more than three years of race riots across the country. The commission's charge was to find the root cause of the violence and suggest solutions.

The commission's key finding — that the United States was heading toward two separate and unequal societies — was nothing new to African Americans, West told the packed house at Harrison Auditorium.

West said little change has been made in black America since the release of the report, citing what he called a "political ice age" beginning during the presidency of Ronald Reagan. He spoke with caution of the potential for change with the presidential campaign of Barack Obama.

Well known for his interest in music and the role it plays in black culture, West also touched on the influence of hip-hop, both negative and positive.

He spoke about the power that earlier artists, such as High Point native John Coltrane, had because they captured the "catastrophic circumstances" of everyday life for black America.

Randall Ellington, a senior at A&T, said he thinks this year's presidential race will bring more young people into the political system than it will disenchant.

"Young people aren't fooled, but we're frustrated. I think you gotta want to work with the political system," he said.

The political system and the media were topics for Smiley's discussion. He noted the Kerner Report's finding that journalists failed to adequately cover issues facing black America. It's a problem that persists today, he said.

Smiley helped create The State of the Black Union, a daylong panel discussion about African American issues held annually and aired on C-SPAN. This year's event was held Saturday in New Orleans. Smiley questioned why, if the Kerner Report had an impact, issues faced by black America were debated only once each year.

"They get a chance every Sunday morning" to wrestle with the issues he said, describing the weekly political talk shows popular on major television networks.

Smiley said it was important that black people ask difficult questions and that the role of the black journalist is more relevant now than ever before.

The presidential race and Obama also came up during Smiley's talk. He talked about the significance of having a woman and a black man running for the office but warned that voting for Obama did not give someone a pass from "really addressing the hell that everyday blacks are facing."

Discussion about the Kerner Commission Report continues with workshops through Tuesday at A&T.

Contact J. Brian Ewing at 373-7351 or brian.ewing@news-record.com