
philosopher, author
, critic
, actor
, civil rights activist and prominent member of the Democratic Socialists of America
.
West is a 1973 graduate of Harvard University and starting 2012 will be a Professor
at Union Theological Seminary
, where he will teach Religious Philosophy and Christian Practice. He currently teaches at Princeton University
. West is known for his combination of political and moral insight and criticism and his contribution to the post-1960s civil rights movement
.
In situations of sparse resources along with degraded self-images and depolitcized sensibilities, one avenue for poor people is in existential rebellion and anarchic expression. The capacity to produce social chaos is the last resort of desperate people.
To be an intellectual really means to speak a truth that allows suffering to speak.
I remind young people everywhere I go, one of the worst things the older generation did was to tell them for twenty-five years "Be successful, be successful, be successful" as opposed to "Be great, be great, be great". There's a qualititative difference.
You can't lead the people if you don't love the people. You can't save the people, if you don't serve the people.