Cornel West Quotes

Every type of discrimination whether social or cultural, whether based on sex, race, social condition, language or religion, is to be overcome and eradicated as contrary to God's intent.

We struggled against apartheid because we were being blamed and made to suffer for something we could do nothing about. It is the same with homosexuality. The orientation is a given, not a matter of choice. It would be crazy for someone to choose to be gay, given the homophobia that is present.

It is a great injustice to persecute homosexuality as a crime, and cruelty too

Discrimination is discrimination no matter who the victim is, and it is always wrong. There are no special rights in America, despite the attempts by many to divide blacks and the gay community with the argument that the latter are seeking some imaginary special rights at the expense of blacks.

I have a big passion about civil rights for everyone - whoever is being downtrodden at the moment, it doesn't matter: racial discrimination or sexual orientation or gender. Whatever it is, I'm there. I think I was a born civil rights activist. I can't stand the smashing of a community. It's not fair and it's not right.

Inequality of any kind, once considered a normal, natural part of human existence, came to be seen in the course of the twentieth century as increasingly illegitimate.

I think as a whole America is dealing with the issue of homophobia. We got to be really honest about whether we believe in civil rights for all people or not. As Black people we need to remember the moment that we say it's okay to disenfranchise one segment of society, we're opening the door to move backward on ourselves.

The rights of all of us are diminished when the rights of any one of us are threatened.

…Anything less than full equality is not enough. If we compromise on that principle our soul is dead

The struggle for human rights and democracy are not always the same thing. Sometimes what you have to do is break cultural attitudes. Democracies aren’t necessarily very good at that…. It’s very hard for oppressed minorities to be given their due.

The whole issue of race and discrimination is a moral issue.

Of course laws will not eliminate prejudice from the hearts of human beings. But that is no reason to allow prejudice to continue to be enshrined in our laws - to perpetuate injustice through inaction.

I fight against racism and bigotry because I care about the people who are experiencing it.

Discrimination will impair democracy.

Battling racism and battling heterosexism and battling apartheid share the same urgency inside me as battling cancer.

I don't have general views about anything, except social injustice.

So they can create a class they don't like-here, homosexuals-or a class that they consider is suspect in the marriage category, and they can create that class and decide benefits on that basis when they themselves have no interest in the actual institution of marriage as married?

So I am deeply saddened and shocked over the current legislation that is now in place against the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender community here in Russia. In my opinion, it is inhumane and it is isolating.

There's a lot of injustice in the world and it's what I sing about in my music and what I try to confront in my life as an activist.

In this town [L.A], I guess it takes homosexuals to be discriminated against in order for someone to finally step UP and wanna do something.

America stands for freedom, liberty and justice for all. And it's not happening for all right now.

As long as one people sit on another and are deaf to their cry, so long will understanding and peace elude all of us.

In the end anti-black, anti-female, and all forms of discrimination are equivalent to the same thing: anti-humanism.

The oppression of a majority is detestable and odious; the oppression of a minority is only by one degree less detestable and odious.

If you're perpetuating discrimination, you're perpetuating inequality.