Latest news with #CornelWest
CNN
6 days ago
- Business
- CNN
Cornel West: Musk's criticism of Trump's bill is ‘biblical'
Elon Musk, Donald Trump's "first friend," is pushing back on the President's spending bill, calling it "massive, outrageous, pork-filled and a disgusting abomination." Cornel West says Musk's criticism is "biblical."
CNN
6 days ago
- Business
- CNN
Cornel West: Musk's criticism of Trump's bill is ‘biblical'
Elon Musk, Donald Trump's "first friend," is pushing back on the President's spending bill, calling it "massive, outrageous, pork-filled and a disgusting abomination." Cornel West says Musk's criticism is "biblical."
Black America Web
16-05-2025
- Politics
- Black America Web
Prophesy Deliverance—Why Morehouse Men Need To Hear From Dr. Cornel West
Dr. Marlon Millner pictured with Dr. Cornel West. Photo courtesy of Dr. Marlon Millner In the coming days, I will return to the red clay hills of Georgia to gather and celebrate hundreds of Black men who will graduate from Morehouse College, the nation's only historically Black college or university dedicated to serving male-identified Black students. It will be an especially momentous occasion—and not just because I will celebrate my 30th reunion as a proud 1995 graduate. The moment matters because graduates, families, faculty, and alumni alike will be challenged by a compelling and critically insightful commencement address by Dr. Cornel West. Dr. West is one of our nation's leading public intellectuals and a scholarly activist. There might not be a better person for this moment than Dr. West. With his longstanding commitments to social analysis, historical understanding, cultural criticism, political engagement, and progressive faith, West offers both a personal and public narrative of human maturation that my young, newly minted brothers will need for this critical moment in our world. When I was at Morehouse, some of the most important books I read were not books for classes, but books I read on my own. The authors that gripped me included poets and Black arts scholars Haki Madhabuti and the late Nikki Giovanni, theologian, the late James Cone, Black feminist, the late bell hooks, esteemed legal scholar and civil rights activist, the late Derrick Bell, and perhaps most importantly, Dr. Cornel West. I recall denying another Morehouse student their copy of a required course text by buying Race Matters in the campus bookstore. As a freshman, I eagerly read this book by the Union Theological Seminary professor, then on his way to Harvard University. My mind, heart and vocabulary all expanded as West grappled with a set of ideas, social practices, and the historical unfolding of the intractable hegemonic conditions of political subjugation, economic exploitation, moral degradation, and cultural dehumanization, which produced the nihilistic conditions of lovelessness, meaninglessness and hopelessness for so many Black people—then and now. Cornel West visited Morehouse in 1992, and he was honored by the college. He signed my book: 'Stay strong in the struggle, dear brother!' Those words compelled me to years of study, service, and struggle at Morehouse. West's book framed for me a life of the mind, committed to being a Black prophetic Christian intellectual rooted in grassroots movements, solidarity with other marginalized people, and deep and broad democratic commitments to serve, empower, and enable all to thrive with human dignity and possibility. While Race Matters may be West's best-known book, one of his earliest, Prophesy Deliverance! An Afro-American Revolutionary Christianity , might be his most important and most compelling for this moment. A year ago, I openly criticized my beloved alma mater for inviting then-sitting President Joseph R. Biden to deliver the commencement address and to receive an honorary degree. In an open letter to faculty, asking them to vote to deny the president an honorary degree, I said, 'When I studied at and graduated from Morehouse College in 1995, I was deeply shaped by the lives of former President Benjamin Elijah Mays, and alums Rev. Dr. Howard Thurman and Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. While Morehouse monumentalizes those persons on campus, there is no better monument to their lives at this moment than the moral courage to challenge a sitting United States president.' Those words, true then, are especially true now that Donald Trump has been re-elected president. Source: Pacific Press / Getty Cornel West has been one of the most consistent and compelling voices highlighting America's ongoing complicity in the triple evils Dr. King identified as racism, militarism, and hypercapitalism. Dr. West, in his own 2024 bid for the presidency, engaged in a campaign of truth, justice, and love. He boldly condemned the killing and capturing of hundreds of Israeli citizens by Hamas, and the United States' unilateral arming of Israel to prosecute a war beset with atrocities of killing tens of thousands of Palestinian non-combatants, and displacing and starving hundreds of thousands of others. West predicted that centrist civility and pandering to the middle class would not protect us from the rise of jingoistic, xenophobic, anti-Black economic oligarchy and state violence at home and abroad. More than 40 years ago in Prophesy Deliverance! , West told Black intellectuals and especially Christian theologians that if inclusion of the Black middle-class into a structurally racist capitalist economy and a racially constrained democracy was all we were seeking, we needed to long ago stop calling our training, leading, serving, and studying 'liberation.' After hearing from the apex of American power a year ago and seeing just how damaging that display of power has been, Morehouse Men would do well to listen to an organic intellectual from the streets of Sacramento, Calif., and the pews of the Black Baptist church; one who knows that success without sacrifice, money without morals, intellect without integrity, and power without empowering all may make these newly minted Morehouse Men mighty, but not worthy of our so-called mystique. Though Dr. West is not a Morehouse Man, like Dr. Mays, he has indelibly shaped Morehouse Men. He has taught, mentored, or influenced intellectuals like the esteemed Morehouse trustee and Black Studies and Religion scholar Dr. Eddie Glaude, and Harvard Divinity School scholar, Dr. Terrence Johnson. A bevy of Morehouse preachers were impacted by his years of teaching at Union, Harvard and Princeton, including such important prophetic voices as Morehouse trustee and pastor of Mt. Ennon Baptist Church of Maryland, Rev. Dr. Delman Coates; pastor of Olivet Institutional Baptist Church of Cleveland, Rev. Dr. Jawanza Colvin; pastor of the historic Abyssinian Baptist Church of New York City, Rev. Dr. Kevin Johnson; and pastor of the sanctuary of the civil rights movement, the Ebenezer Baptist Church of Atlanta, U.S. Senator Rev. Dr. Raphael Warnock. Beyond Morehouse, one only needs to recall 2014 when Michael Brown lay dead in the streets of Ferguson, Mo., killed by a racist rogue cop, as clergy and activists descended. New leaders emerged in the name of #BlackLivesMatter: Alicia Garza, Patrisse Cullors, Opal Tometi, Michael McBride, Traci Blackmon, Starsky Wilson, and Charlene Carruthers, among many others. And early on, locking arms in solidarity, but not seeking the spotlight was Dr. Cornel West. Now, as an elder, senior scholar, veteran activist, and decades long dedicated progressive Christian, this humble brother can help let the voice of the suffering, marginalized, locked up, left out, and least of these speak—so that in a new generation of Morehouse Men, we can understand that our mystique remains in a moral tradition, ever expanding and evolving, challenging us to grow deep roots, and produce bountiful fruit of justice, love and equity. Dr. Marlon Millner is a visiting assistant professor of Religion and African American Studies at Wesleyan University, and a 1995 graduate of Morehouse College. SEE ALSO: Dear Old Morehouse: Can We Not With Cornel West? The Tragic Case of Rodney Hinton Jr. And The Trauma Of Black Grief In America SEE ALSO Prophesy Deliverance—Why Morehouse Men Need To Hear From Dr. Cornel West was originally published on Black America Web Featured Video CLOSE
Black America Web
16-05-2025
- Politics
- Black America Web
Dear Old Morehouse: Can We Not With Cornel West?
Source: Pacific Press / Getty Let me start by saying that I did not want to write this. There was a time when the name Cornel West meant something to me. To many of us, in fact. There was a time when he was one of the sharpest moral minds in the public square; a philosophical firebrand who challenged systems, elevated Black radical thought, and demanded the world reckon with justice, truth, and dignity. That time was real, but unfortunately, that time has passed. And yet, in 2025, somehow Dr. West will take the stage as the commencement speaker at Morehouse College, my esteemed alma mater. I say this not with anger, but with disappointment. As a Morehouse man, I believe in the sanctity of our traditions, especially our commencement. That stage is a sacred one, a place for celebrating the triumph, vision, and integrity of these young Black men before they're loosed upon a hostile world. It should not be used for reputation rehab — certainly not for men who have spent the last 20 years abandoning the very values they once claimed to champion. This isn't about politics. This is about priorities. Cornel West has, for the better part of two decades, chosen celebrity over community. From his infamous spoken word album to his media appearances alongside Bill Maher and Tucker Carlson, Dr. West has steadily transformed himself from a scholar of the people to a caricature of one. It's only appropriate that I mention Matrix Reloaded here. It wasn't his fault, but it doesn't help his case. Source: Professor Cornel West(C) along with Clergy members and other demonstrators protest for the shooting of Michael Brown as they march to the Ferguson Police Station October, 13 2014 in Ferguson, Missouri. Civil rights organizations, protest groups and people from around the country were protesting the August 9 shooting of Brown, which involved Ferguson Police officer Darren Wilson and other killings of black youths at the hands of police officers. AFP PHOTO/Joshua Lott (Photo credit should read Joshua LOTT/AFP/Getty Images) / Getty His words are still lofty, his diction still florid, but there is a hollowness to his message now, a performance rather than a purpose. An act, not a calling. A pantomime of philosophical thinking. At the height of Barack Obama's presidency, when so many of us were reckoning with the significance of a Black man in the White House, it was Cornel West and his longtime ally Tavis Smiley who seemed most committed to tearing that moment down. Criticism is fair. Constructive critique is necessary. But what West and Smiley offered wasn't critique; it was contempt. It was personal. Petty. Unrelenting. While they claimed to speak on behalf of 'the people,' they spent more time bashing Obama from cable news green rooms than they did organizing or investing in actual Black communities. And now, as Cornel West's star fades, as his once-revered presence in academia has become a cautionary tale, he returns to us—to Morehouse, to HBCUs—as if we are obligated to provide cover. We are not. These times are too serious to be wasted on unserious people. Morehouse, perhaps more than any other institution, understands the weight of the moment we are in. We live in a time of economic uncertainty, social unrest, and ideological warfare. Our young men are preparing to enter a world where the stakes have never been higher. The class of 2025 deserves to be celebrated by someone who sees them, who reflects their hopes, and who challenges them to rise. They deserve a speaker who has walked the walk, who has committed themselves to excellence in their given field, not just self-aggrandizement through performance, but an example of purpose. Dr. Cornel West has not done that. Source: Jemal Countess / Getty He spent the better part of his career currying favor with the Ivy League: Harvard, Princeton, Yale. These are the institutions that defined his trajectory, that gave him his platform. That he now returns to the Black community seeking redemption, after years of neglect, is not only ironic, it's opportunistic. He's been an irregular fixture without a sustained presence within the HBCU landscape. He has not taught in our classrooms, mentored our students, or contributed meaningfully to our infrastructure. And yet he now wishes to use one of our most revered stages—a culmination of generations of Black excellence and struggle—as a platform to polish the turd of his public image. These times are too serious to be wasted on unserious people. There are leaders among us (yes, some of them Morehouse men) who have carried the mantle of Black excellence with humility and consistency. There are public servants, politicians, educators, artists, and entrepreneurs who have not only spoken about justice but have done the work. Giants in tech, media, and education who are living testaments to what Morehouse stands for. I could name names, but that's not what this is about. These are the kinds of men who should be considered. These voices should be elevated. Choosing Cornel West sends a mixed message. It tells our graduates that notoriety matters more than consistency. That eloquence trumps engagement. That a once-great voice, no matter how far it has strayed, is worth more than the many steadfast ones in our community. That one who has yet to atone should be forgiven because of their status and not their actions. That is not the Morehouse I know. That is not the Morehouse that raised me. I understand the temptation of celebrity. I understand the allure of a name that still rings out to many, even if its echo has grown faint. But we must be cautious of who we allow to represent us at our most pivotal moments. Commencement is not just a ceremony, it is a declaration. A moment of spiritual inheritance. And it must be treated with reverence. Dr. West, for all his early brilliance, has not earned that right. These times are too serious to be wasted on unserious people. Our young men deserve more. More than recycled rhetoric. More than media posturing. More than a man who, historically, turned his back on the institutions that have always stood for us. Not that our esteemed president, Dr. David Thomas, cares. This is his last graduation. As this is his swan song, it's more of a Price Is Right trombone than a triumphant march out the door. Let us hold the line. Let us protect the stage. Let us make allowances for voices that still believe in the power of service over stardom. Corey Richardson is originally from Newport News, Va., and currently lives in Chicago, Ill. Ad guy by trade, Dad guy in life, and grilled meat enthusiast, Corey spends his time crafting words, cheering on beleaguered Washington, D.C., sports franchises, and yelling obscenities at himself on golf courses. You can check out his website: or subscribe to his Substack: for more on him and his happenings. SEE ALSO: A Treatise on Single Black Fatherhood in Modern Times The Tragic Case of Rodney Hinton Jr. And The Trauma Of Black Grief In America SEE ALSO Dear Old Morehouse: Can We Not With Cornel West? was originally published on Black America Web Featured Video CLOSE
