Neurosurgeon could help bridge gap between blacks in both parties

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US President George W. Bush presents the Presidential Medal of Freedom on June 19, 2008 to Benjamin Carson, a pediatric neurosurgeon and director of pediatric surgery at Johns Hopkins Hospital in Baltimore, Maryland during ceremonies at the White House in Washington, DC. The Presidential Medal of Freedom, the nation's highest civilian award, recognizes exceptional meritorious service. AFP PHOTO/Karen BLEIER (Photo credit should read KAREN BLEIER/AFP/Getty Images)

Updated: February 16, 2012 8:24AM

There’s probably no one better suited than Dr. Benjamin Carson to bridge the ideological gap between black Democrats and black Republicans.

Carson, a world-renowned neurosurgeon, is to the international medical community what President Barack Obama is to the political world.

Despite his impoverished childhood in Detroit and early academic deficiencies, Carson went on to become a rock star in the medical community, and performed the first and only successful separation of twins joined at the back of the head early in his career.

He is also founder of a fund that has awarded $4.5 million dollars to more than 4,500 scholars.

In 2008, President George W. Bush awarded Carson the Presidential Medal of Freedom, and in 2009, Carson’s autobiography, Gifted Hands, was made into a movie starring Cuba Gooding Jr.

On Monday, I will moderate a conversation with Dr. Carson as part of Northwestern University’s “Martin Luther King, Jr. Commemorative Program.”

The program will begin at 1 p.m. in Thorne Auditorium, 375 E. Chicago, on NU’s Chicago campus. Admission is free.

Given the challenges facing African-American youth in Chicago, I am excited about Carson’s visit. If you don’t know his story, Carson and his older brother, Curtis, grew up in an low-income, female-headed household in Detroit. Although his mother had only a third-grade education, when she became aware that her two sons were doing poorly in school, she restricted their TV viewing to just two TV programs a week. She also ordered her sons to read two books a week and to write a book report.

At that time, Carson had never read an entire book. Now he is the author of five books, one an autobiography. He credits his mother’s strict rules with awakening his insatiable appetite for knowledge.

Obviously, Carson’s narrative is an extraordinary pull-yourself-up-by-your-bootstraps-tale.

But it is important to note that Carson’s life reflects the dream that King envisioned. Here is a man who rose to the top of his profession and is now giving back tremendously to help others do the same.

Although Democrats are much more likely to be associated with King’s legacy, we can’t forget that it is often men like Carson, a Republican, who reflect it.

They are successful rather than downtrodden despite the racial inequities that still exist.

“I believe that God expects us to do our best at everything we undertake,” wrote Dr. Carson in Think Big.

“If we always do our best and trust in the Lord’s guidance, we automatically conduct our affairs better than most other individuals who do not have the same mindset.”

Young people may be justified when they complain about failing schools and unsafe neighborhoods, but Dr. Carson is living proof that it is possible to overcome the worst of circumstances.

Indeed, Carson is a real role model for young people who are convinced they are trapped by poverty and neglect.

These youth don’t get to hear from achievers like Carson as often as they should, and that’s part of the problem.

There’s no question in my mind that the black community, overall, would be better off if people like Carson were regularly included in the dialogue that shapes public policy affecting black people.

The appearance of this distinguished doctor, scholar, and humanitarian in our city is a huge blessing. I hope many of you will decide to join this conversation.

For additional information, go to law.northwestern.edu.