Dr. Cornel West is a scholar and public activist. His commitment to social justice began as a young man marching in Civil Rights demonstrations and participating in organized protests where he was raised in Tulsa, OK. West went on to earn his PhD from Princeton in 1980, and has since then taught courses in Religion and African- American Studies at both Harvard and Princeton.
West is often cited for his views on Race in America. He believes “White America” to be “weak-willed in ensuring racial justice” and attributes most of the black community's problems to "existential angst derive[d] from the lived experience of ontological wounds and emotional scars inflicted by white supremacist beliefs and images permeating U.S. society and culture.”
As chair of the Democratic Socialists of America, West describes himself as a “radical Democrat suspicious of any authority”. He is staunchly opposed to the War in Iraq. West publicly supports Sen. Barack Obama for U.S. President.