Cornel West

Cornel West is the Dietrich Bonhoeffer Professor of Philosophy and Christian Practice at Union Theological Seminary. He is also Class of 1943 Professor of African American Studies Emeritus at Princeton University. He is a magna cum laude graduate of Harvard College and obtained his MA and PhD in philosophy at Princeton. Professor West is best known for his classics Race Matters and Democracy Matters. His memoir is entitled Brother West: Living and Loving Out Loud. He made his film debut in the Matrix—and was the commentator (with Ken Wilber) on the official trilogy released in 2004. He has made several spoken word albums including Never Forget, collaborating with Prince, Jill Scott, André 3000, Bootsy Collins, and others. In 2021, he won a Grammy Award along with Arturo O’Farrill for the year’s best Latin jazz album. Professor West has a passion to share and keep alive the legacy of Martin Luther King Jr.—a legacy of telling the truth and bearing witness to love and justice.