By Ron Meyer, Young America's Foundation Spokesman

"I'll take them both on."

Star Parker, Young America's Foundation speaker and nationally syndicated columnist, called out Tavis Smiley and Cornel West to a debate on race and poverty at last week's National Conservative Student Conference.

Smiley, a commentator, and West, an academic, have teamed up to write the book, The Rich And The Rest Of Us: A Poverty Manifesto,  which pits Americans against each other using class warfare. Star Parker calls the contents of the book "secular socialism," and said she could debate both men at the same time because, "their ideas are the same."

West is an honorary chair of the Democratic Socialists of America, and Smiley and West have traveled the country on a "Poverty Tour" for the book.

Parker says the book's purpose is "to separate out black America to keep buying these same lies that they have bought for the last 50 years that have totally destroyed their families, totally destroyed their communities, [and] totally have left their schools in ruins."  

Campuses across the country hear from West, Smiley, Al Sharpton, Jesse Jackson, and other redistributionists on a regular basis, but rarely do these speakers face any opposition. Parker wants students to hear both sides of the spectrum-even if it's an unbalanced debate.

Young America's Foundation is open to hosting this debate on your campus. Any interested student should email pcoyle@yaf.org for more information.