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Derrick Spires
West, Cornel (1953– )
Cornel West was born in 1953 in Tulsa, Okla-
homa. His mother worked as an elementary
school teacher and principal; his father was in the
U.S. Air Force, which meant the family moved fre-
quently; they eventually settled in California. As
a young man, West was influenced by stories he
heard about slavery and religious faith. He learned
about community political action from members
of the Black Panther Party who had an office next
to his church. West attended Harvard, graduat-
ing in Near Eastern languages and literature. He
earned a master of arts and doctorate in philoso-
phy at Princeton University. West has taught at
prestigious schools, chairing the department of
Afro-American studies at Yale and at Harvard
University as the Alphonse Fletcher, Jr., Professor.
He was also appointed the Class of 1943 Univer-
sity Professor of Religion at Princeton University.
West moved to Harvard in 1994 but left in 2002
after a dispute with Harvard’s president, Lawrence
Summers. He returned to Princeton. West has
stayed true to his interest in community political
action, working with efforts like the Million Man
March, national youth gang summits, and conver-
sations about music and culture; he has been the
co-chair of the Democratic Socialists of America.
West’s works are varied, consisting of writing,
speaking, music, film, and political efforts. West
published Prophesy Deliverance!: An Afro-Ameri-
can Revolutionary Christianity in 1982, Prophetic
Fragments in 1988, and American Evasion of Phi-
losophy: A Genealogy of Pragmatism in 1989. He
wrote Ethical Dimensions of Marxist Thought
(1991). In the same year, he wrote Breaking Bread:
Insurgent Black Intellectual Life with BELL HOOKS.
Race Matters, one of West’s most important works,
appeared in 1993, as did Beyond Eurocentrism and
Multiculturalism. He wrote Keeping Faith: Philoso-
phy and Race in America in 1994. He coauthored
Jews and Blacks: Let the Healing Begin (1995) and
Jews and Blacks: A Dialogue on Race, Religion, and
Culture in America (1996) with Michael Lerner.
In 1997 West wrote Restoring Hope: Conversations
on the Future of Black America and coauthored,
with HENRY LOUIS GATES, JR., Future of the Race. In
1998 he worked with Roberto Mangabeira Unger
to write Future of American Progressivism: An Ini-
tiative for Political and Economic Reform and with
Sylvia Ann Hewlett to write War against Parents:
What We Can Do for America’s Beleaguered Moms
and Dads. The Cornel West Reader appeared in- He published Democracy Matters: Winning
the Fight against Imperialism in 2004. West has cre-
ated a rap album, Sketches of My Culture, featuring
music in praise of past African-American leaders.
He has also appeared in the films Black Is... Black
ain’t (1995), Give a Damn Again (1995), All God’s
Children (2001), The Matrix Reloaded (2003),
and The Matrix Revolutions (2003). His political
affiliations and work have included associations
with Louis Farrakhan of the Nation of Islam and
Benjamin Chavis Muhammad, a former executive
officer of the NATIONAL ASSOCIATION FOR THE AD-
VANCEMENT OF COLORED PEOPLE.
As demonstrated by his work, West’s interests
range from theology and politics to existentialism
and gritty urban reality, always with an interest in
synthesizing disparate elements in new ways. West
combines life experience with theory and politics,
asking his students and readers to face complex
issues. His style is outspoken and performative,
combining oral and musical elements that stem
from jazz, rap, and call and response. West is con-
cerned with class and race issues exemplified by
the nihilism in black communities resulting from
capitalism and poor black leadership. He encour-
ages such community-based solutions as activ-
ism and insurgency and a “universal love ethic”
as a way to combat nihilism. Working to organize
and build coalitions is addressed in Race Matters,
but the collection of essays is most notable for its
close examination of culture—focusing on race
issues that white America does not wish to face.
540 West, Cornel