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Books by Cornel West
Democracy Matters: The Fight Against Imperialism /
Race
Matters /
Cornel West Reader /
The Future of the Race
The American Evasion of Philosophy /
African
American Religious Thought /
The War Against Parents
The African American Century /
White on White / Black on Black /
Prophesy Deliverance /
The Soul Knows No Bars
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America's Next Chapter
Kam Williams Interviews
Cornel West
Dr. Cornel West
is a prominent and provocative public
intellectual dedicated to democracy. Currently
the Class of 1943 University Professor at
Princeton University, he graduated Magna Cum
Laude from Harvard in three years and obtained
his M.A. and Ph.D. in Philosophy at Princeton.
Since then, he
has taught at Union Theological Seminary, Yale,
Harvard and the University of Paris. He has
written 19 books and edited 13 other. He is best
known for his classic “Race Matters,” as well as
“Democracy Matters,” and his recent memoir,
“Brother West: Living and Loving Out Loud.”
He appears
frequently on the Bill Maher Show, Colbert
Report, CNN and C-Span as well as on Tavis
Smiley’s PBS-TV Show. And since last fall, he
can be heard regularly on The Smiley and West
radio program.
He has also
appeared in over 25 documentaries and recorded 3
spoken word albums. In short, Cornel West has a
passion to communicate in order to keep alive
the legacy of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. – a
legacy of telling the truth and bearing witness
to love and justice.
Here, he
discusses his participation in “America’s Next
Chapter,” a forum hosted by Tavis Smiley where a
panel of luminaries will wrestle with the
question, “How do we make America as good as its
promise?” The event is set to take place on
Thursday, January 13th at George Washington
University’s Lisner Auditorium, and will air
live on C-SPAN from 6-9 PM ET/3-6 PM PT, and
will be rebroadcast on PBS on the Tavis Smiley
Show on Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday January
18th, 19th and 20th (Check Local Listings)
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Kam Williams:
Hey, Dr. West, thanks for the time.
Cornel West:
It’s a blessing! Happy New Year to you, brother!
Kam Williams:
Thanks! And the same to you. By the way, a
mutual friend of ours, Rhea Kinnard, asked me to
say hello to you for her.
Cornel West:
Yes, a lovely sister, indeed.
Kam Williams:
I have so many questions for you from my readers
that I want to get right to them. FSU Grad Laz
Lyles says: I love that "America’s Next Chapter"
is a multi-ethnic forum. Why aren't there more
forums of this type?
Cornel West:
I think it has to do with the vision of my dear
brother, Tavis Smiley. There ought to be more
forums like this which are concerned with
informing folks about some of the painful
realities of our country. It would be wonderful
for them to be multi-cultural and multi-racial
but, most importantly, they have to be willing
to speak to those truths.
Kam Williams:
Laz’s follow-up is: Given our cultural history,
is there more of an onus on African-Americans to
be more inclusive with social and national
discourse?
Cornel West:
I think that’s certainly the case, because
there’s no doubt that many of the mainstream
white institutions tend to be cosmetic and
symbolic when it comes to including
African-Americans, whereas we black folk tend to
be much more sensitive about embracing others,
and we have a long history of that.
Kam Williams:
Sister Patrice Muhammad says: After the "State
of the Black Union,"
some people said it was just a bunch of talk.
Then
The Covenant with Black America was
published. Haven't heard much about that lately.
Where does "The Covenant" stand today? Any work
being done in our communities based on that
document? Has “The Covenant" been upheld in your
opinion? What do you hope this conversation will
produce?
Cornel West:
I don’t think talk is just talk. I firmly
believe that talk can change people’s lives.
Each life is precious. Talk can’t change a whole
society, but it is not to be degraded or
devalued. Talk is very important and not to be
trashed. As for “The Covenant,” we had volume
two,
The Covenant in Action, which built on
volume one in conjunction with local activists
all across the country. And volume three,
Accountable: Making America as Good as Its
Promise, was a call to keep track of all
the promises that President Obama made. So, I
think that what was originated by "The Covenant"
is still ongoing. But unfortunately, when you
look at the Obama administration, it hasn’t done
that good a job at all in terms of poor and
working people. It has been much more beholden
to Wall Street oligarchs, and to pharmaceutical
and private insurance companies.
Kam Williams:
Teri Emerson asks: At the point where President
Obama is now, what would be your view on what he
would need to do to improve his chances for
reelection? And would focusing more on the
African-American community's problems help or
hinder his reelection?
Cornel West:
Reelection ought not to be the primary
preoccupation of any politician. It ought to be
standing up for truth and justice. If he is to
be a statesman, he would act like Lincoln, and
stand up for something that might be unpopular
but not allow the right-wing to dictate the
agenda, meaning Fox News, the Tea Party, and
others.
Kam Williams:
Ilene Proctor wants to know whether, given the
bleak economic outlook due to corporate
malfeasance, global outsourcing, and a decline
of empire, and with the U.S. facing challenges
that were never as pervasive, is there any cause
for optimism that American ingenuity and can-do
spirit will help turn the country around?
Cornel West:
That’s a deep question. I don’t think there are
any grounds for any sentimental optimism. But
black folks have never really been optimists.
We’ve been prisoners of hope, and hope is
qualitatively different from optimism in the way
that there’s a difference between The Blues and
Lawrence Welk. The Blues and Jazz have to do
with hope while the other is sugarcoated music
which has to do with sentimental optimism.
Kam Williams:
Children’s book author Irene Smalls asks: What
does “America's Return to Greatness” mean? Has
America been great to and for all groups in this
country? Is greatness domination or
collaboration? Can American greatness permeate
the class structure and have a multi-ethnic
approach?
Cornel West:
So much hangs on your definition of “greatness.”
I’m a Christian. I believe that greatness has to
do with the quality of love shown to the least
of thy brethren and the quality of service to
those who are catching hell. When you look at it
in that sense, I’d say America has had great
moments, but I wouldn’t call it a great nation.
I don’t think there have been any great nations
in the history of the world, because in every
nation you find poor people being subjugated. So
I see the term “great nation” as a
contradiction, as an oxymoron.
Kam Williams:
Attorney Bernadette Beekman asks: Do you think
that an increase in grassroots activism by the
political left will counter the activities of
those on the right? It seems that the Tea Party
and their ilk have had an impact, based on the
last election.
Cornel West:
That’s a very good question. Sister Bernadette’s
absolutely right. The most important assets we
have are our bodies and our energy which can be
put to good use as resources in political
activism for poor and working people.
Kam Williams:
Filmmaker/Author/Professor Hisani Dubose says:
I’d like to know what you think of the movement
to pay teachers based on merit. Children, urban
children specifically, come to school with a lot
of issues that prevent them from learning or
even being in the frame of mind to learn. Do you
think merit pay might simply push troubled kids
further behind?
Cornel West:
For one, I feel that the recent demonizing of
teachers and the teachers’ union is nothing but
scapegoating. Therefore, all the talk of merit
pay is part of that kind of mentality that wants
to view the teachers as somehow the culprit,
especially in our urban centers and rural
pockets of poverty. Finland is the #1 country in
the world in terms of education, and 98% of
their teachers are unionized, and their students
don’t take standardized tests at all. What they
do have is an average class size of just 14
students, with 2 teachers in each classroom.
That’s what exclusive prep schools like Andover,
Exeter, Lawrenceville and the school that Barack
Obama’s kids go to do. Until we reach the point
that we treat our precious poor children the
same as we treat our rich children, all this
scapegoating of teachers is just an excuse to
not confront the real issue.
Kam Williams:
Harriet Pakula Teweles says: Since "America
Matters," how can we re-define ourselves as a
nation if as the 20th Century belonged to the
United States, the 21st Century might belong to
China? In other words, perhaps the greatest
legacy we can leave future generations is a
reframing of our national consciousness. How can
we learn to still take pride in ourselves
knowing that, in the 21st Century, America must
be an eminent nation among other eminent nations
and not the dominant, pre-eminent nation?
Cornel West:
I think that every empire suffers from hubris,
arrogance and condescension, and therefore a
moral blindness. That’s true of the American
empire, it was true of the British Empire in the
19th Century, and it will certainly be true of
the Chinese Empire in the 21st Century. When we
talk about America mattering, I take very
seriously what the great
Rabbi Abraham Joshua Heschel had to say in
1965 when he said that the legacy of Martin
Luther King, Jr. will serve as the major means
by which the best of America can be preserved.
If that legacy wanes, America wanes. And that’s
what we’ve seen since the death of Martin.
Kam Williams:
Harriet also asks: How can the panel discuss
'The Next Chapter”
on the Smiley show if we continue to be stuck in
this chapter, economically, socially,
politically and internationally? It sounds
discouraging, but maybe we can't leave as
glorious a future to the next generation.
Cornel West:
That’s a wonderful question. For one, when
Brother Tavis and others talk about “The Next
Chapter,” they’re really talking about dealing
with the present chapter, because there will be
no next chapter unless you deal with the present
chapter. And if you don’t deal with the present
chapter in the way that one ought, the next
chapter might very well be the last chapter.
Kam Williams:
Legist/editor Patricia Turnier says: During
segregation, the U.S. had signs reading: ''No
Colored” and “Whites Only.'' Now we
hear: ''You're not a good fit for the
organization.'' What can be done to
help African-Americans enter the job market and
break the glass ceiling?
Cornel West:
Again, so much has to do with going beyond
treating black people as cosmetic and symbolic
items, as opposed to genuine personalities and
human beings. And that is a deep moral and
spiritual issue, which can of course be backed
up by Civil Rights Commissions which enforce the
laws against any form of discrimination.
Kam Williams:
Patricia also says: about 4.2% of all physicians
are black, 3.8% of all lawyers are
African-Americans, barely 5% of all college
professors are black, and the majority of them
are in HBCUs. Only 3.7% of all engineers are
African-Americans. Given those statistics, do
you think that Affirmative Action is effective
enough? What can be done to correct this
situation?
Cornel West:
I think we need much more Affirmative Action
across the board. There’s no doubt about that.
But Affirmative Action is not the primary issue
in and of itself. The primary issue is that we
need for more young black people to fall in love
with the life of the mind and to become
voracious readers and writers. And we also need
institutions of higher learning to be more
receptive to black, brown, red and yellow
talent.
Kam Williams:
Felicia Haney wants to know your thoughts on
Islamophobia. She asks: With nearly 7,000,000
Muslims living in the U.S. now, how do you see
Islam fitting into America's next chapter?
Cornel West:
Islam has always been a crucial part of America,
and it is becoming even more crucial to America
as a whole as more Islamic brothers and sisters
come here and as more citizens convert. Islam
has a rich, prophetic tradition. We need more
prophetic Islam figures like Malcolm X. If we
could understand and try to grasp Malcolm after
Mecca, we’d have the greatest example of what it
means to be a prophetic Muslim who loves the
people, especially the poor and working people
across color and across culture, and who has the
courage to stand up.
Kam Williams:
Ryan Davis asks: Do you still believe that
President Obama is, as he said a year ago, "The
friendly face of the American Empire?"
Cornel West:
Oh yes, absolutely, although in some ways he’s
becoming less friendly.
Kam Williams:
The bookworm Troy Johnson question: What was the
last book you read?
Cornel West:
I just finished
Griftopia by Mike Taibbi. That brother
lays it out, man.
Kam Williams:
The Ling-Ju Yen question: What is your earliest
childhood memory?
Cornel West:
Ummm . . . Probably just playing with my
brother and spending time with mom and dad when
I was about 2½.
Kam Williams:
The Tavis Smiley question: What do you want your
legacy to be?
Cornel West:
I don’t think about my legacy too much, Kam,
because I’m still very much alive. Every day has
to do with how much love, how much decency, how
much compassion, how much kindness, and how much
tenderness one is able to enact vis-a-vis
others. So any legacy, for me, has to do with:
How deep was your love? What were you willing to
sacrifice? What were you willing to give up?
What price were you willing to pay for others?
Kam Williams:
Is there a good question that reflects your
consciousness that you could give me to ask
everyone I interview?
Cornel West:
Yes, what price are you willing to pay for a
cause that is bigger than your own self
interest?
Kam Williams:
Much appreciated! I’ll be sure to call it the
Dr. West question. Thanks for another excellent
interview.
Cornel West:
Thank you so much, Kam. Stay strong, and Happy
New Year!
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Cornel West to Take a Job in New
York—Laurie Goodstein—16 November 2011—Cornel
West, the peripatetic public intellectual and political activist,
plans to finish out a teaching career that has taken him from Yale to
Harvard to Princeton by moving back this coming summer to
Union Theological Seminary in the City of New York, where he began
as an assistant professor in 1977. Dr. West, the author of 19 books,
including Race Matters, and a ubiquitous television and radio
commentator, said he was taking a significant pay cut to become a
professor of philosophy and Christian practices at Union.
The school, where the eminent
theologian Reinhold Niebuhr taught, is also known as the birthplace of
black theology. James H. Cone, a foremost scholar in that tradition, is
still on the faculty.In an interview from Seattle, on his way to visit
Occupy protesters there, Dr. West said that his liberal politics were
formed in Progressive Baptist churches, and that Union was “the
institutional expression of my core identity as a prophetic Christian.”—NYTimes
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Brother West
Living and Loving Out Loud, A Memoir
By
Cornel West
Brother West
is like its author: brilliant,
unapologetic, full of passion yet
cool. This poignant memoir traces
West’s transformation from a
schoolyard Robin Hood into a
progressive cultural icon. From his
youthful investigation of the “death
shudder” to why he embraced his
calling of teaching over preaching,
from his three marriages and his two
precious children to his near-fatal
bout with prostate cancer, West
illuminates what it means to live as
“an aspiring bluesman in a world of
ideas and a jazzman in the life of
the mind.” Woven together with the
fibers of his lifelong commitment to
the prophetic Christian tradition
that began in Sacramento’s Shiloh
Baptist Church,
Brother West
is a tale of a man courageous enough
to be fully human, living and loving
out loud. |
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Sex at the Margins
Migration, Labour Markets and the Rescue Industry
By Laura María Agustín
This book explodes several myths: that selling sex is completely different from any other kind of work, that migrants who sell sex are passive victims and that the multitude of people out to save them are without self-interest. Laura Agustín makes a passionate case against these stereotypes, arguing that the label 'trafficked' does not accurately describe migrants' lives and that the 'rescue industry' serves to disempower them. Based on extensive research amongst both migrants who sell sex and social helpers, Sex at the Margins provides a radically different analysis. Frequently, says Agustin, migrants make rational choices to travel and work in the sex industry, and although they are treated like a marginalised group they form part of the dynamic global economy. Both powerful and controversial, this book is essential reading for all those who want to understand the increasingly important relationship between sex markets, migration and the desire for social justice. "Sex at the Margins rips apart distinctions between migrants, service work and sexual labour and reveals the utter complexity of the contemporary sex industry. This book is set to be a trailblazer in the study of sexuality."—Lisa Adkins, University of London |
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The Warmth of Other Suns
The Epic Story of America's Great
Migration
By Isabel Wilkerson
Ida Mae Brandon Gladney, a
sharecropper's wife, left Mississippi
for Milwaukee in 1937, after her cousin
was falsely accused of stealing a white
man's turkeys and was almost beaten to
death. In 1945, George Swanson Starling,
a citrus picker, fled Florida for Harlem
after learning of the grove owners'
plans to give him a "necktie party" (a
lynching). Robert Joseph Pershing Foster
made his trek from Louisiana to
California in 1953, embittered by "the
absurdity that he was doing surgery for
the United States Army and couldn't
operate in his own home town." Anchored
to these three stories is Pulitzer
Prize–winning journalist Wilkerson's
magnificent, extensively researched
study of the "great migration," the
exodus of six million black Southerners
out of the terror of Jim Crow to an
"uncertain existence" in the North and
Midwest. Wilkerson deftly incorporates
sociological and historical studies into
the novelistic narratives of Gladney,
Starling, and Pershing settling in new
lands, building anew, and often finding
that they have not left racism behind.
The drama, poignancy, and romance of a
classic immigrant saga pervade this
book, hold the reader in its grasp, and
resonate long after the reading is done.
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The White Masters of the
World
From
The World and Africa, 1965
By W. E. B. Du Bois
W. E. B. Du Bois’
Arraignment and Indictment of White Civilization
(Fletcher)
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Ancient African Nations
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The Death of Emmett Till by Bob Dylan
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The Lonesome Death of Hattie Carroll
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Only a Pawn in Their Game
Rev. Jesse Lee Peterson Thanks America for
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George Jackson /
Hurricane Carter
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The
Haitian Declaration of Independence 1804
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January 1, 1804 -- The Founding of
Haiti
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posted 11
January 2011
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