The Life and Thoughts of Dr. Cornel West | UNAPOLOGETIC

“That’s part of an empire that has grown rich and grown powerful but refuses to grow up” - Cornel West.

In an impassioned and lengthy conversation, Dr Cornel West unapologetically shares moments from his life that shaped him and his ideas and inspired his decision to run as a US presidential candidate.

He reflects on his upbringing in the West household, the influence that his parents had on him, how his grandmother was left to bleed to death on the stairs of a whites-only hospital at the age of 31 and how his great uncle was lynched.

Dr West also speaks about the influence that Malcolm X and Dr Martin Luther King had on him, his years studying and teaching at Harvard, Princeton and Yale, and how the civil rights movement has evolved throughout his life. He addresses his “critical” support for and eventual disillusionment with Barack Obama, as well as the reasons behind his current presidential run, Israel’s war crimes in Gaza and the “hypocrisy”, “mendacity” and “criminality” of the US political system.

Hosted by Ashfaaq Carim

CHAPTERS
00:00 - Intro and welcome
01:29 - Growing up in the West household
11:04 - On Malcolm X and MLK and the impact they had on Prof West
14:32 - Student life at Ivy League schools in the 70s
19:50 - Harvard and the civil rights movement
26:34 - The US' philosophical problem
30:14 - On becoming a globalist and getting arrested
35:47 - Conflict with Lawrence Summers
46:21 - Overcoming cancer and Barack Obama
57:07 - Reviewing Obama, drone wars, Nafta
01:01:20 - Bernie, Trump and riots in the capital
01:04:45 - Why Cornel West is running for president
01:11:55 - What is real joy
01:19:17 - A year of campaigning
01:26:14 - Addressing controversies and death threats
01:32:00 - Is your candidacy just making it more likely for Trump to win?



Subscribe to our channel: http://ow.ly/AVlW30n1OWH

Subscribe to MEE Telegram channel to stay up to date: https://t.me/MiddleEastEye_TG

Middle East Eye Website: https://middleeasteye.net
Follow us on TikTok:   / middleeasteye  
Follow us on Instagram:   / middleeasteye  
Like us on Facebook:   / middleeasteye  
Follow us on Twitter:   / middleeasteye