Cornel West | |
|---|---|
 West in 2018 | |
| Born | Cornel Ronald West (1953-06-02)June 2, 1953 (age 71) |
| Education | Harvard University (BA) Princeton University (MA,PhD) |
| Notable work |
|
| Political party | |
| Other political affiliations | Democratic Socialists of America (since 1982)[8][9] |
| Spouses | |
| Era | Contemporary philosophy |
| Region | Western philosophy |
| School | |
| Institutions | Union Theological Seminary Yale University Harvard University Princeton University Dartmouth College University of Paris in Saint-Denis |
| Thesis | Ethics, Historicism and the Marxist Tradition (1980) |
| Doctoral advisor | Raymond Geuss,Sheldon Wolin[3] |
| Doctoral students | Leah Hunt-Hendrix[4] |
Main interests | |
| Website | cornelwest |
Cornel Ronald West (born June 2, 1953) is an American philosopher, theologian, political activist, politician, social critic, andpublic intellectual.[12] West was an independent candidate in the2024 United States presidential election and is an outspoken voice inleft-wing politics in the United States.
The grandson of aBaptist minister, West's primary philosophy focuses on the roles ofrace,gender, andclass struggle in American society. Asocialist, West draws intellectual contributions from multiple traditions, includingChristianity, theblack church,democratic socialism,left-wing populism,neopragmatism, andtranscendentalism.[13][14][15]
Among his most influential books areRace Matters (1993) andDemocracy Matters (2004).
During his career, he has held professorships and fellowships atHarvard University,Yale University,Union Theological Seminary,Princeton University,Dartmouth College,Pepperdine University, and theUniversity of Paris in Saint-Denis.[16]
He has been featured in several documentaries, and made appearances in Hollywood films such asThe Matrix Reloaded andThe Matrix Revolutions, as well as providing commentary for both films. West has also made severalspoken word andhip hop albums.
West was born on June 2, 1953, inTulsa,Oklahoma,[17] and grew up inSacramento, California, where he graduated fromJohn F. Kennedy High School. His mother, Irene Rayshell (Bias), was a teacher and principal. His father, Clifton Louis West Jr., was ageneral contractor for theU.S. Department of Defense.[18] His grandfather Clifton L. West, Sr. was pastor of the Tulsa Metropolitan Baptist Church.[19]Irene B. West Elementary School inElk Grove, California, is named after his mother.[20]
As a teen, West marched incivil rights demonstrations and organized protests demanding Black studies courses at his high school, where he was the student body president. He later wrote that, in his youth, he admired "the sincere Black militancy ofMalcolm X, the defiant rage of theBlack Panther Party, and the lividBlack theology ofJames Cone".[21]
In 1970, after graduation from high school, he enrolled atHarvard College and took classes taught by the philosophersRobert Nozick andStanley Cavell. In 1973, West was graduated from Harvardmagna cum laude in Near Eastern languages and civilization.[22][better source needed] He credits Harvard with exposing him to a broader range of ideas and that he was influenced by his professors as well as theBlack Panther Party (BPP). West says his Christianity prevented him from joining the BPP, instead choosing to work in local breakfast, prison, and church programs.[23] After completing his undergraduate work at Harvard, West enrolled atPrinceton University, where he received master's and PhD degrees in 1980, completing a dissertation under the supervision ofRaymond Geuss andSheldon Wolin.[3] He became the first African American to graduate from Princeton with a PhD degree in philosophy.[24]
At Princeton, West was heavily influenced by theneopragmatism ofRichard Rorty.[25] Rorty remained a close friend and colleague of West's for many years following West's graduation. The title of West'sdissertation wasEthics, Historicism, and the Marxist Tradition,[26] which was later revised and published under the titleThe Ethical Dimensions of Marxist Thought.[25]
In his late 20s, he returned to Harvard as aW. E. B. Du BoisFellow before becoming an assistant professor atUnion Theological Seminary in the City of New York. In 1984, he went toYale Divinity School in what eventually became a joint appointment inAmerican studies. While at Yale, he participated in campus protests for a clerical labor union anddivestment fromapartheid South Africa. One of the protests resulted in his being arrested and jailed. As punishment, the university administration canceled his leave for the spring term in 1987, leading him to commute from Yale inNew Haven,Connecticut, where he was teaching two classes, across the Atlantic Ocean to theUniversity of Paris in Saint-Denis.[13][27]
He then returned to Union Theological Seminary for one year before going to Princeton to become a professor of religion and director of the program inAfrican American Studies from 1988 to 1994.[13] After Princeton, he accepted an appointment as professor of African American studies at Harvard University, with a joint appointment at theHarvard Divinity School.[28] West taught one of the university's most popular courses, an introductory class on African American studies.[29] In 1998, he was appointed the firstAlphonse FletcherUniversity Professor.[30] West used this new position to teach in not only African American studies, but also courses in divinity, religion, and philosophy.[28] West was also inducted intoOmicron Delta Kappa in 1998 atSUNY Plattsburgh.
In 2000, economist and former U.S. Treasury SecretaryLawrence Summers became president of Harvard. Soon after, Summers held a private meeting with West, in which he reportedly rebuked West for missing too many classes, contributing tograde inflation, neglecting serious scholarship, and spending too much time on his financially profitable projects.[31] Summers reportedly suggested that West produce an academic book befitting his professorial position, as his recent output had consisted primarily of co-written and edited volumes. According to some reports, Summers also objected to West's production of a CD, the critically pannedSketches of My Culture, and to his political campaigning, including spending an alleged three weeks to promoteBill Bradley's2000 presidential campaign.[32] West contended he had missed only one class during his time at Harvard "in order to give a keynote address at a Harvard-sponsored conference on AIDS". Summers also allegedly suggested that since West held the rank ofHarvard University Professor and thus reported directly to the president, he should meet with Summers regularly to discuss the progress of his academic production.[33]
Summers refused to comment on the details of his conversation with West, except to state that he hoped that West would remain at Harvard. Soon after, West was hospitalized forprostate cancer. West noted that Summers failed to send him get-well wishes until weeks after his surgery, whereas newly installed Princeton presidentShirley Tilghman had contacted him frequently before and after his treatment.[33] In 2002, West left Harvard University to return to Princeton. West criticized Summers in public interviews, calling him "theAriel Sharon of higher education" on the NPR programThe Tavis Smiley Show.[34] In response to these remarks, five Princeton faculty members, led by professor of molecular biologyJacques Robert Fresco, said they looked with "strong disfavor upon his characterization" of Summers and that "such an analogy carries innuendoes and implications ... that many on the Princeton faculty find highly inappropriate, indeed repugnant and intolerable".[35]Harvard's undergraduate student newspaper,The Harvard Crimson, suggested in October 2002 that the premise of theLaw and Order: Criminal Intent episode "Anti-Thesis" was based on West's conflicts with Summers.[36]
In 2002, West returned to Princeton, where he helped found the Center for African American studies in 2006. In 2012, West left Princeton and returned to the institution where he began his teaching career, Union Theological Seminary.[37] He continued to teach occasional courses at Princeton in anemeritus capacity as the Class of 1943 University Professor in the Center for African American Studies.[38][non-primary source needed]
West returned to Harvard in November 2016, leaving Union Theological Seminary for a nontenured position as Professor of the Practice of Public Philosophy. He was appointed jointly at the Harvard Divinity School and theGraduate School of Arts and Sciences Department of African and African American Studies.[39][40][41]
In February 2021, reports circulated that West was denied consideration fortenure at Harvard and that he had threatened to leave the university again.[42] On March 8, 2021, West announced that he would leave Harvard and move to theUnion Theological Seminary in Manhattan.[43][44][45] He submitted a resignation letter to Harvard on June 30, 2021.[46][non-primary source needed] West implied that the decision to deny him tenure was retaliation for his critical stance on Israel and the Palestinian cause. West wrote:
Is Harvard a place for a free Black man like myself whose Christian faith and witness put equal value on Palestinian and Jewish babies – like all babies – and reject all occupations as immoral?
On July 1, 2021, West rejoined the faculty of Union Theological Seminary in Manhattan, holding the prestigious Dietrich Bonhoeffer Chair. Affiliated with Columbia University since 1928, Union Theological Seminary in the city of New York has served as the Columbia University constituent faculty of theology.[citation needed]
The recipient of more than 20 honorary degrees and anAmerican Book Award,[47][better source needed] West has written or contributed to more than twenty published books. West is a long-time member of theDemocratic Socialists of America, for which he has served as honorary chair.[13] He is also a co-founder of theNetwork of Spiritual Progressives.[48][non-primary source needed] West is on the advisory board of theInternational Bridges to Justice.[49][non-primary source needed] In 2008, he received special recognition from theWorld Cultural Council.[50][non-primary source needed] West is also a member ofAlpha Phi Alpha fraternity and itsWorld Policy Council, athink tank whose purpose is to expand involvement of Alpha Phi Alpha in politics and social policy to encompass international concerns.[non-primary source needed]
Hazel Carby compared West toW. E. B. Du Bois as a prolific African-American thinker and has been cited as "[p]erhaps the most influential contemporary recover of Du Bois".[51] By establishing West within Du Bois's tradition of racial thought, Carby emphasized the similarities in their intellectual positions and their aesthetic presences, such as clothing.[52]
West has been widely cited in the popular press.[53] His scholarship has been criticized as well as praised;The New Republic literary editorLeon Wieseltier called West's writing "sectarian, humorless, pedantic, and self-endeared".[54]
In 1997, West was elected as a member of theAmerican Philosophical Society,[55][non-primary source needed] and in 1999, to theAmerican Academy of Arts and Sciences.[16][non-primary source needed]
West appears as Councillor West in bothThe Matrix Reloaded (2001) andThe Matrix Revolutions (2003) and also provides the voice for this character in the video gameEnter the Matrix.[56] In addition, West provides philosophical commentary on all three Matrix films inThe Ultimate Matrix Collection, along with theintegral theoristKen Wilber.[57][dead link]
West has made several appearances in documentary films, such as 2008'sExamined Life, a documentary featuring several academics discussing philosophy in real-world contexts. West, "driving through Manhattan, ... compares philosophy tojazz andblues, reminding us how intense and invigorating a life of the mind can be".[58][non-primary source needed] He also appears in conversation withBill Withers in the 2009 documentaryStill Bill.[non-primary source needed]
West has made frequent appearances on the political talk showReal Time with Bill Maher.[59][non-primary source needed]
A character based on West and events in his career appeared in theLaw & Order: Criminal Intent episode "Anti-Thesis", significant for introducing the recurring villain characterNicole Wallace.[60]
In May 2012, West guest-starred in the sixth season of the American television comedy series30 Rock, "What Will Happen to the Gang Next Year?".[61]
West recorded a recitation ofJohn Mellencamp's song "Jim Crow" for inclusion on the singer'sbox setOn the Rural Route 7609 in 2009.[62][additional citation(s) needed]
In 2010, he completed recording with the Cornel West Theory, ahip hop band endorsed by West.[62][additional citation(s) needed]
He also has released several hip-hop-soul-spoken word albums. In 2001, West released his first album,Sketches of My Culture.[63]Street Knowledge followed in 2004.[64] In 2007, West released his third album, entitledNever Forget: A Journey of Revelations, which included collaborations with the likes ofPrince,Talib Kweli,Jill Scott,Andre 3000,KRS-One,Killer Mike, and the lateGerald Levert.[65] West appeared onImmortal Technique's song "Sign of the Times", which appeared on the 2011 albumThe Martyr.[66] In 2012, he was featured onBrother Ali's song "Letter to My Countrymen", which appeared on the albumMourning in America and Dreaming in Color.[67]
West is a frequent conversation partner with his friendRobert P. George, a prominentconservative intellectual, with the two often speaking together at colleges and universities on the meaning ofliberal arts education,free speech, andcivil dialogue.[68][69]
In September 2020, he was listed byProspect magazine as the fourth-greatest thinker for the COVID-19 era.[70][non-primary source needed]
As of 2020, West is also the co-host, along withTricia Rose, of the podcastThe Tight Rope.[71]
West has drawn criticism for his spending habits, having been in debt often and owing the IRS $483,000 as of 2023.[72][73] Some of the spending has gone towards extramarital affairs, with some girlfriends and ex-wives claiming that he impregnates and abandons women.[72]
He has been described as controversial.[74][75][76][77][78][79]
West has called the U.S. a "racist patriarchal" nation wherewhite supremacy continues to define everyday life. "White America", he writes, "has been historically weak-willed in ensuring racial justice and has continued to resist fully accepting the humanity of Blacks." He goes on to say this has created many "degraded and oppressed people hungry for identity, meaning, and self-worth." West attributes most of the Black community's problems to "existential angst derive[d] from the lived experience ofontological wounds and emotional scars inflicted by white supremacist beliefs and images permeating U.S. society and culture."[80][non-primary source needed]
In West's view, theSeptember 11 attacks "gave white Americans a glimpse of what it means to be a Black person in the United States", feeling "unsafe, unprotected, subject to random violence, and hatred for who they are".[81][non-primary source needed] "The ugly terrorist attacks on innocent civilians on 9/11", he said, "plunged the whole country into the blues."[81][non-primary source needed]
West was arrested on October 13, 2014, while protesting against theshooting of Michael Brown and participating inFerguson October,[82][83] and again on August 10, 2015, while demonstrating outside a courthouse inSt. Louis on the one-year anniversary of Brown's death.[84] The 2015 documentary film#Bars4Justice includes footage of West demonstrating and being arrested in Ferguson.[85]
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West has described himself as a "non-Marxist socialist" (partly because he does not view Marxism and Christianity as reconcilable)[86][87] and previously served as honorary chairman of theDemocratic Socialists of America, which he has described as "the first multiracial, socialist organization close enough to my politics that I could join."[13] In theMatrix-themed documentary entitled,The Burly Man Chronicles, he described himself as a "radical democrat, suspicious of all forms of authority".[88][non-primary source needed]
West has argued "the overthrow ofSaddam Hussein's ugly totalitarian regime was desirable,"[89][non-primary source needed] but that thewar in Iraq was the result of "dishonest manipulation" on the part of the Bush administration.[90][non-primary source needed] He asserts that Bush administrationhawks "are not simply conservative elites and right-wing ideologues," but rather are "evangelical nihilists – drunk with power and driven by grand delusions of American domination of the world." He adds, "[we now] are experiencing the sad gangsterization of America, an unbridled grasp at power, wealth, and status." Viewing capitalism as the root cause of these alleged American lusts, West warns, "Free-market fundamentalism trivializes the concern for public interest. It puts fear and insecurity in the hearts of anxiety-ridden workers. It also makes money-driven, poll-obsessed elected officials deferential to corporate goals of profit – often at the cost of the common good."[91][better source needed]
West has been involved with such projects as theMillion Man March andRussell Simmons's Hip-Hop Summit, and he has worked with such public figures asAl Sharpton, whose2004 presidential campaign West advised.[92]
In 2000, West worked as a senior advisor toDemocratic presidential candidate Bill Bradley. When Bradley lost in theprimaries, West became a prominent and active supporter ofGreen Party candidateRalph Nader, speaking at several Nader rallies. Some Greens sought todraft West to run as a presidential candidate in 2004. West declined, citing his active participation in the Al Sharpton campaign. West, along with other prominentNader 2000 supporters, signed the "Vote to Stop Bush" statement urging progressive voters in swing states to vote forJohn Kerry, despite strong disagreements with many of Kerry's policies.[93][non-primary source needed]
In April 2002, West and RabbiMichael Lerner engaged in an act ofcivil disobedience by sitting in the street in front of theU.S. State Department "in solidarity with suffering Palestinian and Israeli brothers and sisters". West said, "[w]e must keep in touch with the humanity of both sides".[94] In May 2007, West joined a demonstration against "injustices faced by the Palestinian people resulting from the Israeli occupation" and "to bring attention to this 40-year travesty of justice". In 2011, West called on theUniversity of Arizona to divest from companies profiting from theIsraeli occupation of the Palestinian territories.[95][better source needed]
West also serves as co-chair of theNetwork of Spiritual Progressives (formerly theTikkun Community). He co-chaired the National Parenting Organization's Task Force on Parent Empowerment and participated in PresidentBill Clinton's National Conversation on Race. He has publicly endorsedIn These Times magazine by calling it: "The most creative and challenging news magazine of the American left." He is also a contributing editor forSojourners magazine.[citation needed]
West supportsPeople for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) in its Kentucky Fried Cruelty campaign, aimed at eliminating what PETA describes as the inhumane treatment of chickens byKFC. West is quoted on PETA flyers: "Although most people don't know chickens as well as they know cats and dogs, chickens are interesting individuals with personalities and interests every bit as developed as the dogs and cats with whom many of us share our lives."[96]
In 2008, West contributed his insights on the global issue of modernized slavery andhuman trafficking in the documentaryCall+Response.[97][better source needed] West is a member of theCampaign for Peace and Democracy.
In 2011, West expressed his frustration with some critics ofOccupy Wall Street, who said the movement lacked a clear and unified message. West replied by saying:[better source needed]
It's impossible to translate the issue of the greed of Wall Street into one demand, or two demands. We're talking about a democratic awakening...you're talking about raising political consciousness so it spills over all parts of the country, so people can begin to see what's going on through a set of different lens, and then you begin to highlight what the more detailed demands would be. Because in the end we're really talking about whatMartin King would call a revolution: A transfer of power fromoligarchs to everyday people of all colors. And that is a step by step process.[98]
On October 16, 2011, West was in Washington, D.C., participating in theOccupy D.C. protests on the steps of theSupreme Court over the court's decision in theCitizens United v. Federal Election Commission case the previous year.[99] Five days later, he was arrested during an Occupy Wall Street protest inHarlem against the New York Police Department'sstop and frisk policy.[100]
In 2014, West co-initiated the Stop Mass Incarceration Network, a project of theRevolutionary Communist Party USA. Later that year, he and RCP chairmanBob Avakian took part in a filmed discussion on "Religion and Revolution".[101][better source needed]
In August 2017, West was one of a group of interfaith, multiracial clergy who took part in a counter-protest at theUnite the Right Rally inCharlottesville,Virginia; West averred thatAntifa had saved their lives.[102][better source needed]
West is an outspoken supporter ofJulian Assange, on one occasion saying: "[Assange] has been simply laying bare some of the crimes and lies of the American empire".[103]
West stated that he believed theRussian invasion of Ukraine was "a criminal invasion, provoked by the expansion ofNATO, which is an instrument of U.S. global power" and described the war as a "proxy war between the American Empire and the Russian Federation".[104][105]
West condemnedIsraeli war crimes in theGaza Strip and called for a ceasefire in theIsrael–Hamas war, saying that theUS veto at the UN Security Council "to block a vote to end Israel’s barbaric genocidal campaign in Gaza is an act of spiritual obscenity and moral bankruptcy."[106][better source needed] He called PresidentJoe Biden a war criminal and said Israel and the US are complicit in thegenocide of the Palestinians.[107]
West has often spoken about the lack of adequate Black leadership and how it results in doubt within Black communities as to their political potential to ensure change.[108] West publicly supported2008 Democratic presidential candidate SenatorBarack Obama, and spoke to more than 1,000 of Obama's supporters at theApollo Theater inHarlem, on November 29, 2007.[109]
West criticized Obama when he won theNobel Peace Prize in 2009, saying that it would be difficult for Obama to be "a war president with a peace prize". West further retracted his support for Obama in an April 2011 interview, stating that Obama is "a black mascot of Wall Street oligarchs and a black muppet of corporate plutocrats. And now he has become head of the American killing machine and is proud of it".[110][111][112] In November 2012, West said in an interview that he considered Obama a "Rockefeller Republican inblackface".[113]
In 2011, West participated in a "Poverty Tour" withTavis Smiley, his co-host on thePublic Radio International programSmiley & West. The tour became a two-part special on their radio program, as well as a five-night special on the PBS television programTavis Smiley. They recounted their experience on the tour in their 2012 bestselling bookThe Rich and the Rest of Us. The stated aim of the tour was to highlight the plight of theimpoverished population of the United States prior to the2012 presidential election, whose candidates, West and Smiley stated, had ignored the plight of the poor.[114][better source needed]
In 2014, West gave an interview criticizing Obama, calling him a "counterfeit" who posed as a progressive. West defined Obama's presidency as "a Wall Street presidency, a drone presidency, a national security presidency".[115]
In 2015, West expressed his support for Democratic contenderBernie Sanders during an interview onCNN Tonight. West argued that the Sanders plans to redistribute wealth from Wall Street elites to the poorest members of society would be beneficial for the African-American community.[116][better source needed] On August 24, 2015, West tweeted, "I endorse Brother @BernieSanders because he is a long-distance runner with integrity in the struggle for justice for over 50 years."[117]
In July 2016, after Sanders exited the presidential race, West endorsedGreen Party nomineeJill Stein and her running mateAjamu Baraka.[118] West, who was critical of the U.S.interventionist foreign policy in 2016, referred to Democratic nomineeHillary Clinton as a "neoliberal disaster",[119] and accused Clinton of merely posing as aprogressive.[120]
Following the victory ofDonald Trump, West contended in an op-ed forThe Guardian that white working- and middle-class voters "rejected the economic neglect of neoliberal policies and the self-righteous arrogance of elites", yet "supported a candidate who appeared to blame their social misery on minorities, and who alienated Mexican immigrants, Muslims, Black people, Jews, gay people, women, and China in the process."[121][non-primary source needed]
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In 2020, West once again put his support behind Bernie Sanders, who mounted asecond presidential bid in that election cycle.[122]
On June 5, 2023, West announced he would run in the2024 presidential election under thePeople's Party.[123] West's decision to run with the People's Party sparked criticism due to the party's lack of ballot access, claims of leadership dysfunction, andsexual harassment allegations against the party founderNick Brana.[124] On June 14, West announced that he would instead seek theGreen Party nomination, running a campaign centered around support forMedicare for All,public housing, action onclimate change, and drastically cutting theU.S. military budget.[125]
On October 5, 2023, West announced that he was abandoning his candidacy for the Green nomination, and would instead continue his presidential bid as anindependent candidate.[126][127] On February 1, 2024, West announced the establishment of theJustice For All Party (JFA), which he claimed would pursue a strategy of securing ballot access in specific areas (Florida, North Carolina, and Washington).[128] In August 2024, Cornel West and his running mate Melina Abdullah were both disqualified and denied entry onto the2024 Michigan presidential election ballot.[129]
West's campaign receivedextensive support from Republican and Trump allies to stay on the ballot in swing states in hope that he would take votes from Kamala Harris.[130][131][132] West expressed ambivalence about the support from Republicans.[130] David Masciotra criticized West for aligning himself with people and candidates who defend aggressive actions byVladimir Putin,Kim Jong Un, and theChinese Communist Party.[133]
As of August 2024, West was polling below 1% nationally, his campaign was $17,000 in debt, and he was no longer actively campaigning.[134][135]
Film
Television
Albums
Guest appearances
Avi Lewis talks to one of the most controversial academics in the US.
West may be a heavyweight champ of controversy, but he has competition as the pound-for-pound greatest
Third-party candidates in the US always prove controversial....because, almost by definition, anyone who runs without an 'R' or 'D' on the ballot has the potential to play spoiler.
Cornel West, in short, is controversial...
It also offers an interview with Cornel West, the controversial Harvard professor.
Republicans and their allies have worked to get West on the ballot in Wisconsin and other states in the hope that West would help boost Trump's chances of winning by pulling support from Harris. West would not have needed to win a state to serve as a spoiler candidate — a few thousand votes in battleground states could have been decisive.
His alliances also betray his proclamations of 'love,' 'service,' and 'justice.' A so-called 'revolutionary Christian,' West has praised and appeared at events with the likes of Claudia De La Cruz, the presidential candidate for the Party for Socialism and Liberation. As David Corn reported for Mother Jones, the PSL supports Kim Jong Un's pursuit of nuclear weapons and defends the Chinese government against accusations of human rights abuses. Among West's other allies are former Radio Sputnik hosts who revere Putin and compliment the Chinese Communist Party as an 'inspiration.'
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| New office | Alphonse Fletcher University Professor 1998–2002 | Succeeded by |
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