Cornel West is the Alphonse Fletcher Jr., Univerity Professor at Harvard University teaching in Afro-American Studies and Philosophy of Religion. His most recent publications include The Cornel West Reader (2000). Among his numerous other published works are the two-volume Beyond Eurocentrism and Multiculturalism (Common Courage Press, 1993), Breaking Bread (South End Press, 1991), Race Matters
(Beacon Press, 1993), Keeping Faith (Routledge, 1993), Jews and Blacks Let the Healing Begin (Putnam Books, 1995), co-authored with Michael Lerner, and Restoring Hope: Conversations on the Future of Black America (Beacon Press, October 1997).

Professor West is a well-respected and extremely popular lecturer. His speaking style, forged in the Baptist Church, provides a blend of drama, knowledge, and inspiration.

 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.

 A compelling orator and a noted commentator, West urges blacks and whites to explore their past and find common ground. His current academic interests include researching the problems facing urban African-Americans and creating a dialogue between blacks and Jews. His latest book, "Jews and Blacks: Let the Healing Begin," was co-authored by Jewish journalist Michael Lerner.
 

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.

Professor West's philosophy is not an abstract discipline but rather a "polemical weapon that attempts to transform linguistic, social, cultural and political tradition to increase the scope of individual development and democratic actions." His work--influenced by traditions as diverse as the Baptist Church, American
transcendentalism and literature, the Black Panthers, and European philosophy--seeks to revive the best of liberalism, populism and democratic socialism.

AfroAmerica Network, 2001.