Cornel West Quotes

America is the vantage ground for the solution of all great and grave problems of the race.

Unlike mainstream civil rights groups, which merely sought integration of blacks into the existing order, SNCC sought structural changes in American society itself.

My daddy expected that my brothers and I and our generation would make the world a better place. He had lived in an America of continual social progress.

The black community has been the foundation of the progressive community in this country for a long time.

I am a Minnesotan, and not just because I root for the Vikings and the Twins. I like the Minnesota-nice sensibility. I like the liberal tradition; I like the Hubert Humphrey tradition fighting for civil rights.

Brown v. Board is the foundation by which all Americans can look for hope - hope for their children, hope for their families, and hope for a better future.

Let me tell you, never before in the history of this planet has anybody made the progress that African-Americans have made in a 30-year period, in spite of many black folks and white folks lying to one another.

While our country has made great strides in breaking down the barriers which for so long denied equal opportunity to all Americans, we are not yet the beautiful symphony of brotherhood of Dr. King's dream.

When I become mayor it will not be of LaSalle Street nor of State Street, but of all the people.

I believe that we need to think very seriously, particularly as folks of color and progressives, about building either a new party or a new movement that can hold the Democratic Party accountable or provide a meaningful alternative.

Americans are proud of this country. They want to see things get better, and they want to be part of that turnaround. That's what America Speaking Out is all about.

Do you care about climate justice? Are you about women's rights and women's reproductive rights? Do you care about civil liberties and the Voting Rights Act? There are so many opportunities for people to go back and be inspired and plug into their own community.

Everyone in America seems to be joining an organization of some kind, and in Congress one hears from them all.

We need law and order in America.

We must muster the courage, we must find the will, we must do what is necessary to build a truly transformative movement that will end the history and cycle of caste in America.

There are enough people who are starting to be actively involved that we can turn things around. And we need to encourage others to become involved.

I feel pretty passionate about what's happening to America.

Ours is the old, old story of every uprising race or class or order. The work of elevation must be wrought by ourselves or not at all.

Martin Luther King demeans his race and retards the advancement of his people.

America certainly has made extraordinary progress. The collective unconscious of the nation has certainly shifted as a result of the civil rights movement and the developments in the '70s and '80s. We have witnessed a great expansion of the black middle class.

In general, democracy and individualism have advanced in spite of and often against specific economic interest. Both democracy and individualism have been based upon financial sacrifice, not gain. Even in Athens, a large part of the 7,000 citizens who participated regularly in assemblies were farmers who had to give up several days' work to go into town to talk and listen.

Giving people equal access to enjoying the benefits of America is the biggest problem that we're not making any progress in resolving.

What's good for Blacks is good for all of America.

Being a liberal progressive has been demonized as anti-white or overly on the side of blacks. There's nothing that can be done about that; it's just where we are in the history of our perceptions.

That's where Dr. [Martin Luther] King is mixed up. His goals should be the solution of the problem of the black man in America.