Cornel Ronald West (born June 2, 1953) is an American philosopher, theologian, political activist, politician, social critic, and public intellectual.

A socialist, West draws intellectual contributions from multiple traditions, including Christianity, the black church, democratic socialism, left-wing populism, neopragmatism, and transcendentalism.

[20] As a teen, West marched in civil rights demonstrations and organized protests demanding Black studies courses at his high school, where he was the student body president.

[31] Summers reportedly suggested that West produce an academic book befitting his professorial position, as his recent output had consisted primarily of co-written and edited volumes.

West noted that Summers failed to send him get-well wishes until weeks after his surgery, whereas newly installed Princeton president Shirley Tilghman had contacted him frequently before and after his treatment.

West criticized Summers in public interviews, calling him "the Ariel Sharon of higher education" on the NPR program The Tavis Smiley Show.

[37] He continued to teach occasional courses at Princeton in an emeritus capacity as the Class of 1943 University Professor in the Center for African American Studies.

[38][non-primary source needed] West returned to Harvard in November 2016, leaving Union Theological Seminary for a nontenured position as Professor of the Practice of Public Philosophy.

West wrote: Is Harvard a place for a free Black man like myself whose Christian faith and witness put equal value on Palestinian and Jewish babies – like all babies – and reject all occupations as immoral?On July 1, 2021, West rejoined the faculty of Union Theological Seminary in Manhattan, holding the prestigious Dietrich Bonhoeffer Chair.

[51] By establishing West within Du Bois's tradition of racial thought, Carby emphasized the similarities in their intellectual positions and their aesthetic presences, such as clothing.

[53] His scholarship has been criticized as well as praised; The New Republic literary editor Leon Wieseltier called West's writing "sectarian, humorless, pedantic, and self-endeared".

[non-primary source needed] West has made frequent appearances on the political talk show Real Time with Bill Maher.

[61] West recorded a recitation of John Mellencamp's song "Jim Crow" for inclusion on the singer's box set On the Rural Route 7609 in 2009.

[64] In 2007, West released his third album, entitled Never Forget: A Journey of Revelations, which included collaborations with the likes of Prince, Talib Kweli, Jill Scott, Andre 3000, KRS-One, Killer Mike, and the late Gerald Levert.

[67] West is a frequent conversation partner with his friend Robert P. George, a prominent conservative intellectual, with the two often speaking together at colleges and universities on the meaning of liberal arts education, free speech, and civil dialogue.

West 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.

"[80][non-primary source needed] In West's view, the September 11 attacks "gave white Americans a glimpse of what it means to be a Black person in the United States", feeling "unsafe, unprotected, subject to random violence, and hatred for who they are".

[90][non-primary source needed] He asserts that Bush administration hawks "are not simply conservative elites and right-wing ideologues," but rather are "evangelical nihilists – drunk with power and driven by grand delusions of American domination of the world."

Viewing capitalism as the root cause of these alleged American lusts, West warns, "Free-market fundamentalism trivializes the concern for public interest.

[93][non-primary source needed] In April 2002, West and Rabbi Michael Lerner engaged in an act of civil disobedience by sitting in the street in front of the U.S. State Department "in solidarity with suffering Palestinian and Israeli brothers and sisters".

[94] In May 2007, West joined a demonstration against "injustices faced by the Palestinian people resulting from the Israeli occupation" and "to bring attention to this 40-year travesty of justice".

West argued that the Sanders plans to redistribute wealth from Wall Street elites to the poorest members of society would be beneficial for the African-American community.

[116][better source needed] On August 24, 2015, West tweeted, "I endorse Brother @BernieSanders because he is a long-distance runner with integrity in the struggle for justice for over 50 years.

"[117] In July 2016, after Sanders exited the presidential race, West endorsed Green Party nominee Jill Stein and her running mate Ajamu Baraka.

Following the victory of Donald Trump, West contended in an op-ed for The Guardian that white working- and middle-class voters "rejected the economic neglect of neoliberal policies and the self-righteous arrogance of elites", yet "supported a candidate who appeared to blame their social misery on minorities, and who alienated Mexican immigrants, Muslims, Black people, Jews, gay people, women, and China in the process.

[124] On June 14, West announced that he would instead seek the Green Party nomination, running a campaign centered around support for Medicare for All, public housing, action on climate change, and drastically cutting the U.S. military budget.

[126][127] On February 1, 2024, West announced the establishment of the Justice For All Party (JFA), which he claimed would pursue a strategy of securing ballot access in specific areas (Florida, North Carolina, and Washington).

[128] In August 2024, Cornel West and his running mate Melina Abdullah were both disqualified and denied entry onto the 2024 Michigan presidential election ballot.

[129] West's campaign received extensive support from Republican and Trump allies to stay on the ballot in swing states in hope that he would take votes from Kamala Harris.

[130] David Masciotra criticized West for aligning himself with people and candidates who defend aggressive actions by Vladimir Putin, Kim Jong Un, and the Chinese Communist Party.