CORNEL WEST
Cornel West is currently the Class of 1943 University Professor of Religion at Princeton
University. Prior to his appointment at Princeton, he was the Alphonse Fletcher, Jr. University
Professor at Harvard University teaching in Afro-American Studies and Philosophy of
Religion. He received his AB from Harvard University and his MA and Ph.D. from Princeton
University. He taught at Yale, Union Theological Seminary and Princeton University where he
was Chair of the Department of Afro-American Studies. He is an author of numerous articles
and books including The Cornel West Reader, Race Matters and The African American Century.
Dr. West was born in Tulsa, OK. His father was a civilian Air Force Administrator, and his
mother, an elementary school teacher, would later become the principal. The West family
moved a great deal and finally settled in a middle-class neighborhood in Sacramento, CA. It
was there that the young West began what would become a lifelong habit of protest by
refusing to salute the flag because of the second-class status of African Americans in the
country.
As a boy, West was greatly impressed by the Baptist church. West had been deeply touched by
the stories of parishioners who, only two generations from slavery, told stories of Blacks
maintaining their religious faith during the most trying of times. West was equally attracted to
the commitment of the Black Panthers, whose office was nearby his boyhood church. It was
from the Panthers that West began to understand the importance of community based political
action. But it was a biography of Teddy Roosevelt that West borrowed from neighborhood
bookmobile that would steer his academic future. West felt an affinity to Roosevelt, as both
were asthmatics. He read how Roosevelt had overcome his asthma, went to Harvard and
became a great speaker. So at eight years old, even though he wasn’t exactly sure what it was,
West decided he would go to Harvard.
And so he did, graduating from Harvard magna cum laude in three years. Martin Kilson, one of
West’s professors, recalls him as “the most intellectually aggressive and highly cerebral
student I have taught in my 30 years here.”
West then went on to Princeton University where he received his M.A. and his Ph.D. then
went on to head the Department of Afro-American Studies at Princeton University. After
reviving that department successfully, W est moved to Harvard University where he
served as Professor of Afro-American Studies and Philosophy of Religion. Recently, he was
W.E.B. Du Bois Lecturer at Harvard. His speaking style, formed by his roots in the Baptist
church, blends drama, knowledge and inspiration.
His book credits include: Prophesy Deliverance: An Afro-American Revolutionary Christianity,
Post-Analytic Philosophy, Prophetic Fragments, The American Evasion of Philosophy, The Ethical
Dimensions of Marxist Thought, Breaking Bread, prophetic Reflections and Prophetic Thought in
Modern Times. His breakthrough book, Race Matters, was published in 1993. This book quickly
achieved bestseller status and gained the attention of Time magazine and Newsweek, causing
both publications to run extensive profile articles about West in June 1993. His book Keep Faith,
was also published in 1993. Jews and Blacks: Let the Healing Begin, a book he has co-written with
Tiffum magazine editor Michael Lerner, was published in the spring of 1995.
Cornel West is currently the Class of 1943 University Professor of Religion at Princeton
University. Prior to his appointment at Princeton, he was the Alphonse Fletcher, Jr. University
Professor at Harvard University teaching in Afro-American Studies and Philosophy of
Religion. He received his AB from Harvard University and his MA and Ph.D. from Princeton
University. He taught at Yale, Union Theological Seminary and Princeton University where he
was Chair of the Department of Afro-American Studies. He is an author of numerous articles
and books including The Cornel West Reader, Race Matters and The African American Century.
Dr. West was born in Tulsa, OK. His father was a civilian Air Force Administrator, and his
mother, an elementary school teacher, would later become the principal. The West family
moved a great deal and finally settled in a middle-class neighborhood in Sacramento, CA. It
was there that the young West began what would become a lifelong habit of protest by
refusing to salute the flag because of the second-class status of African Americans in the
country.
As a boy, West was greatly impressed by the Baptist church. West had been deeply touched by
the stories of parishioners who, only two generations from slavery, told stories of Blacks
maintaining their religious faith during the most trying of times. West was equally attracted to
the commitment of the Black Panthers, whose office was nearby his boyhood church. It was
from the Panthers that West began to understand the importance of community based political
action. But it was a biography of Teddy Roosevelt that West borrowed from neighborhood
bookmobile that would steer his academic future. West felt an affinity to Roosevelt, as both
were asthmatics. He read how Roosevelt had overcome his asthma, went to Harvard and
became a great speaker. So at eight years old, even though he wasn’t exactly sure what it was,
West decided he would go to Harvard.
And so he did, graduating from Harvard magna cum laude in three years. Martin Kilson, one of
West’s professors, recalls him as “the most intellectually aggressive and highly cerebral
student I have taught in my 30 years here.”
West then went on to Princeton University where he received his M.A. and his Ph.D. then
went on to head the Department of Afro-American Studies at Princeton University. After
reviving that department successfully, W est moved to Harvard University where he
served as Professor of Afro-American Studies and Philosophy of Religion. Recently, he was
W.E.B. Du Bois Lecturer at Harvard. His speaking style, formed by his roots in the Baptist
church, blends drama, knowledge and inspiration.
His book credits include: Prophesy Deliverance: An Afro-American Revolutionary Christianity,
Post-Analytic Philosophy, Prophetic Fragments, The American Evasion of Philosophy, The Ethical
Dimensions of Marxist Thought, Breaking Bread, prophetic Reflections and Prophetic Thought in
Modern Times. His breakthrough book, Race Matters, was published in 1993. This book quickly
achieved bestseller status and gained the attention of Time magazine and Newsweek, causing
both publications to run extensive profile articles about West in June 1993. His book Keep Faith,
was also published in 1993. Jews and Blacks: Let the Healing Begin, a book he has co-written with
Tiffum magazine editor Michael Lerner, was published in the spring of 1995.