Cornel West
Cornel West is a prominent American philosopher, political activist, and social critic, known for his work on race, democracy, and social justice. Born on June 2, 1953, in Tulsa, Oklahoma, West was raised in a working-class family that valued education and activism. His exposure to the Black Panther Party and the teachings of the Baptist church shaped his early views on social struggle and love. He pursued higher education at Harvard University, where he graduated magna cum laude, and obtained his doctorate from Princeton University, focusing on Black theology and Marxism.
Throughout his academic career, West has held faculty positions at prestigious institutions, including Harvard, Princeton, and Union Theological Seminary. His writings, such as "Race Matters" and "Democracy Matters," reflect his deep engagement with issues of race, class, and faith, challenging readers to consider their societal roles. A vocal critic of political leaders from various backgrounds, West has been involved in multiple social movements, including the Occupy Wall Street protests. Through his work, he continues to inspire many, particularly young Black Americans, to critically engage with the complexities of race, culture, and economic inequality.
Cornel West
Philosopher
- Born: June 2, 1953
- Birthplace: Tulsa, Oklahoma
Scholar and activist
Best known for his cultural critiques, youth advocacy, and academic works, West has had a prolific career as a public intellectual, lecturer, writer, recording artist, and actor. In his writings, he dissects race and religion, democracy, and the need to empower youths through education.
Areas of achievement: Education; Scholarship; Social issues
Early Life
Cornel Ronald West was born June 2, 1953, in Tulsa, Oklahoma, to Clinton and Irene West. His father, a civilian contractor for the Air Force, and mother, an educator, moved the family several times before settling in a working-class segregated community in Sacramento, California, during the late 1960s. The Sacramento chapter of the Black Panther Party provided West with early exposure to the necessity for struggle and activism. His burgeoning activism was tempered with lessons of love from the local Baptist church and from his paternal grandfather, Baptist minister Clinton West, Sr. Although West was profoundly shaped by the views of the Panthers, he never joined the party, citing its hostility toward religion. West, an adamant church attendee, found the black Christian liberation philosophies of James Cone equally influential in his development as the community programs implemented by the Black Panther Party.
In 1970, at the age of seventeen, West received a scholarship to attend Harvard University. He recalled his mind-set upon first reaching the university: “I arrived at Harvard unashamed of my African, Christian, and militant de-colonized outlooks.” His outlook was further expanded through the teaching of Stanley Cavell and Robert Nozick. West graduated three years later magna cum laude with a bachelor of arts degree in Middle Eastern languages and literature. He then entered graduate school at Princeton University and received his doctoral degree in 1980. West’s studies were informed and influenced by the sociological perspectives of Karl Marx. His dissertation, Black Theology and Marxist Thought, later was published as The Ethical Dimensions of Marxist Thought (1991).
In his mid-twenties, West accepted a W. E. B. Du Bois Fellowship and returned to Harvard University. For the next decade, he taught at the Union Theological Seminary in New York, as an assistant professor; Princeton, as the director of African American studies; and Harvard, where he had a joint appointment in African American studies and divinity. In 1987, while serving as a professor of American studies at Yale University, he was arrested at a protest urging divestment from apartheid South Africa. He was reprimanded by the university, which canceled his leave the next semester, forcing West to commute between Yale and the University of Paris. In 1989, West was awarded the Alphonse Fletcher Chair, the highest distinction given to a faculty member at Harvard University. This honor gave West the freedom to teach in multiple disciplines, and he elected to teach in the areas of divinity, religion, African American studies, and philosophy.
In 2001, West was embroiled in what he called “a monumental conflict” with Harvard president Lawrence Summers. According to West, Summers accused him of frequently canceling classes to campaign for Democratic presidential hopefuls Bill Bradley and Al Sharpton. Summers also reportedly accused West of grade inflation and shirking his academic responsibilities in favor of personal projects such as a rap album. The confrontation sparked public debate and led West to leave Harvard for a tenured position at Princeton in 2002, which he held until 2012, when he returned once again to Union. In the book Democracy Matters: Winning the Fight Against Imperialism (2004), West writes about the disagreement in relation to the state of academia: “A market-driven technocratic culture has infiltrated university life with the narrow pursuit of academic trophies and the business of generating income from grants and business partnerships taking precedence over the fundamental responsibility of nurturing young minds.”
Life’s Work
West’s first several books and articles reflect his lifelong interest in Marxism and religion. Prophesy Deliverance! An Afro-American Revolutionary Christianity (1982), Prophetic Fragments (1988), and The Ethical Dimensions of Marxist Thought all discuss the social responsibility of the Black church to the Black community. One of his most popular works, the essay collection Race Matters (1993), was published to coincide with the one-year anniversary of the Rodney King beating and Los Angeles riots. In this work, West shifts his focus to race relations and nihilism among Black Americans. He criticizes many Black American leaders for being short-sighted and self-serving.
West was very critical of President George W. Bush and his administration during the Iraq War, often calling them “evangelical nihilists.” In 2004, West supported Ralph Nader’s campaign for president, although he declined to be Nader’s running mate, citing his political support for Democratic Party hopeful Al Sharpton. In 2008, West supported Barack Obama’s campaign for president. He was critical, however, when Obama accepted the Nobel Peace Prize, calling him “a war president with a peace prize.”
West also became a pop-culture figure later in his career, appearing in the 2003 philosophical science-fiction films The Matrix Reloaded and The Matrix Revolutions as Councilor West. West appeared on countless television talk shows; received dozens of awards; given numerous talks at colleges and universities; and recorded the hip-hop/spoken-word albums Sketches of My Culture (2001), Never Forget: A Journey of Revelations (2007), and Street Knowledge (2007). He was a member of Alpha Phi Alpha fraternity and the World Policy Council. He and Tavis Smiley collaborated closely on a radio program and cowrote The Rich and the Rest of Us: A Poverty Manifesto (2012).
West's greatly economic beliefs informed his later political activity. He became involved in the Occupy Wall Street movement of the early 2010s and broke publicly with Obama, ostensibly over the president's economic policy in the wake of the Great Recession. During the 2016 presidential contest, West campaigned for Senator Bernie Sanders, voicing opposition to former secretary of state Hillary Clinton on the grounds that Clinton's neoliberalism would hurt the poor and especially Black, Indigenous, and other people of color. West viewed Sanders as a populist who would lessen income inequality and other social ills that affect Black Americans.
Over the course of his academic career, West has taught at several of the nation's most prominent universities. In 2002, after a contentious public disagreement with Harvard's then president Lawrence Summers, West left his position as a tenured full professor to teach at Princeton, until 2012. West then joined the faculty of Union Theological Seminary from 2012 until 2016, when he returned to a nontenured teaching position at Harvard Divinity School and within the university's department of African and African American Studies. In February 2021, Harvard offered West a ten-year contract, and endowed professorship, and a pay increase, but did not offer him tenure, even though a faculty committee had recommended that he be considered for tenure and reappointment. In response to the university's decision, West considered leaving his appointment and public pressure to reverse the decision increased. The following month, Harvard yielded to the public outcry and offered to consider West for tenure, but he tendered his resignation on June 30, 2021, and resumed teaching at Union Theological Seminary.
Significance
West inspired many young Black Americans to pursue scholarship by challenging them to serve their communities. He made it his mission to advocate for the oppressed. In his books, he examines race, culture, class, gender, and religion, encouraging readers to think critically about how these factors affect their lives.
Bibliography
Dyson, Michael Eric. "Cornel West's Rise and Fall." New Republic. New Republic, 19 Apr. 2015. Web. 16 Mar. 2016.
Johnson, Clarence Sholé. Cornel West and Philosophy: The Quest for Social Justice. New York: Routledge, 2003.
Miller, Lisa. "I Want to Be Like Jesus." New York. New York Media, 2012. Web. 16 Mar. 2016.
West, Cornel. Brother West: Living and Loving Out Loud—A Memoir. New York: SmileyBooks, 2009.
West, Cornel. The Cornel West Reader. New York: Basic Civitas Books, 1999.
West, Cornel. Race Matters. 1993. Reprint. Boston: Beacon Press, 2001.
West, Cornel. Restoring Hope: Conversations on the Future of Black America. Edited by Kelvin Shawn Sealey. Boston: Beacon Press, 1997.
Yancy, George, ed. Cornel West: A Critical Reader. Malden, Mass.: Blackwell, 2001.