Current News

"Never let the present define the future"

April 25, 2006

Saying everyday people need to wrestle with the "dark side," find joy in service to others and lift up their voices in a democratic awakening, activist and intellectual Cornel West galvanized a standing-room-only audience at Evans Hall Saturday.

To honor West, CC President Norman Fainstein announced at the end of the lecture that the College will create a scholarship in West's name. The recipient, to be known as "the Cornel West Scholar," will be a member of this fall's freshman class.

West, the Class of 1943 University Professor of Religion at Princeton University, said Americans need to be "a blues people" who make disappointment their constant companion without letting it have the last word.

They must have the courage to examine their lives, go outside their "comfort zones" and deal with their own fears, insecurities and anxieties, West said. This means, he added, "raising that frightening question of what does it mean to be human." Americans think they don't have time to slow down for that type of introspection, West told the audience of 500. But he said they need to shift their attention from the frivolous to the serious, from the superficial to the substantial. The result will be startling, he said. "We're talking about joy that will last a lifetime."

He told listeners they must question themselves so that they are reborn continuously, that every day should be about learning to die. "Where there is no death there is no life," West said.

It's fashionable to be indifferent to the suffering of the marginalized, he said, but added injustices shouldn't be hidden and need to be discussed. "Are you keeping track of the humanity across the board? That's the challenge," West said.

He said Americans shouldn't confused charity with justice, and should be motivated by deep compassion. "Never succumb to revenue, bitterness or cheap optimism," he advised. "Who wants to be well adjusted to an unjust status quo?"

He added, "Never let the present define the future."

West suggested students find their fundamental calling by putting themselves in a picture bigger than themselves. "What are you willing to sacrifice for a cause greater than you?" he asked. "Find your own voice," he advised. They should also have fun, he said, and do whatever they do in style.

West's lecture capped a two-day symposium on his latest book, Democracy Matters. The symposium celebrated the inaugural year of the college's Center for the Comparative Study of Race and Ethnicity. West said the center connects the struggles against white supremacy with a democratic vision of humanity for all.

The Center for the Comparative Study of Race and Ethnicity was established in 2005.

See the symposium schedule of events and photos from the lecture.

For media inquiries contact: Amy Martin (860) 439-2526; a.martin@conncoll.edu