Profile of Cornel West

Cornel West, professor of Religion and African-American studies at Princeton University has been a champion for racial justice since childhood. A noted social and economic philosopher, he has taken his struggle for racial equity to the national spotlight. His best-selling book, "Race Matters," touched a nerve in the American public and triggered a national debate on race issues.

West graduated magna cum laude from Harvard in only three years. He earned his master's and doctorate degrees from Princeton University. He then became a professor of religion and the director of the Afro-American Studies program at Princeton.

Cornel West has been called America's "Public Intellectual", aptly describing his relaxed demeanor and easy accessibility. He avoids the jargon that oftentimes separates the scholar from the world he or she is supposed to describe.

One of America's most prominent black intellectuals, West taught religion and directed the Afro-American Studies Department at Princeton prior to joining the Harvard faculty in 1994 also he is a Jamestown Advisory Board Member. He returned to Princeton in 2002. His first scholarly book Prophesy Deliverance! An Afro-American Revolutionary Christianity, sought to fuse Christianity and Marxism. Among his other 17 books are Beyond Eurocentrism and Multiculturalism; and Democracy Matters winning the Fight against Imperialism.

Photograph, Courtesy of Brian Velenchenko

• Weblinks
• The Pragmatism Cybary
• Cornel West page at Pragmatism.org
• Article, "Who is Cornel West", CNN