To be an intellectual really means to speak a truth that allows suffering to speak. That is, it creates a vision of the world that puts into the lime… - Cornel West

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To be an intellectual really means to speak a truth that allows suffering to speak. That is, it creates a vision of the world that puts into the limelight the social misery that is usually hidden or concealed by the dominant viewpoints of a society. "Intellectual" in that sense simply means those who are willing to reflect critically upon themselves as well as upon the larger society and to ascertain whether there is some possibility of amelioration and betterment.

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About Cornel West

Cornel Ronald West (born 2 June 1953 in Tulsa, Oklahoma) is an American philosopher, political activist, social critic, author, and public intellectual. The son of a Baptist minister, West focuses on the role of race, gender, and class in American society and the means by which people act and react to their "radical conditionedness." A radical democratic socialist, West draws intellectual contributions from multiple traditions, including Christianity, the black church, Marxism, neopragmatism, and transcendentalism. Among his most influential books are Race Matters (1994) and Democracy Matters (2004). He is currently running a third-party campaign in the 2024 United States presidential election.

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Also Known As

Birth Name: Cornel Ronald West
Alternative Names: Cornel R. West
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Additional quotes by Cornel West

"When you love poor people THAT MUCH, when you love 'working people' THAT MUCH, that makes you the freest man/woman in the country."
- Cornel West in explaining that Obama is A fulfillment of MLK's dream not THE fulfillment of MLK's dream

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The political triumph of Donald Trump is a symbol and symptom — not cause or origin — of our imperial meltdown. Trump is neither alien nor extraneous to American culture and history. In fact, he is as American as apple pie. Yet he is a sign of our spiritual bankruptcy — all spectacle and no substance, all narcissism and no empathy, all appetite and greed and no wisdom and maturity.

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