Cornel West at University of Chicago

Cornel West: "The Radical King", Public Lecture

In February I went to a public lecture featuring Cornel West. The weather was very snowy, we had to drive through layers of snow, and when we arrived the warmth and glory of the church was comforting. Furthermore it felt good to sit in rows of pews with other people who understood the issue of racial injustice, and who respected Cornel West as a leading figure in the fight against oppression. Prior to the lecture I had never read "The Radical King", but from the title I figured that the issue presented in the book would be power. The "inquiry strand" that I chose to be in as part of my Civic Engagment experience was the power strand, which would serve as a perspective for viewing issues.  When Dr. West began speaking I realized that my initial interpretation was slightly wrong, his new book was about the idea of non-violence that Martin Luther King Junior is known for spreading. The guiding question of my inquiry strand is "What are different forms of power that shape people's lives?" During the civil rights movement the focus of dissent was against the unfair treatment by white people and institutions. Being white at that time was a power and a privilege because their word held authority over the opinion of people of color. King was an advocate for protesting without the use of violence, but in his book West tries direct focus onto the more radical beliefs that King is not known for. During his lecture West did not focus on his new publication, rather he talked about issues of injustice that continue on today. He spoke of King as a wave in an ocean who followed the tradition of love. West conveyed a message that love in public is justice. His lecture answered the question of "How does love look like as justice?" He depicted a world of integrity, honesty and patience.
Making the trek to see him was well worth it and I left positively affected by his words.

Link to a video of his lecture: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X22flAlSVjI

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