Vol. 97, Issue 2
Front Page
Campus News
A & E
Sports
Opinions
Comic
Letters
Corrections
Sound Off
| West comes South | |
| Controversial intellectual to speak race | |
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By Ihuoma Ezeh Echo Staff Writer |
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Cornel West, one of America’s most gifted and provocative African-American intellectuals, will speak tomorrow night in B.N. Duke Auditorium at 7:30 p.m. The speech is sponsored by N.C. Central University Lyceum Committee. “Race Matters” and “Democracy Matters” are among the most popular of West’s now classic studies of racism and democracy. West is also known for his portrayal of Councillor West in the second and third Matrix films and the video game “Enter the Matrix.” West’s intellectual work draws upon socialism, the Baptist church of his childhood, and American transcendentalism and pragmatism. “He is an excellent mind,” said NCCU history and political science junior Jeff Easterling. “If you don’t know him before Thursday, after Thursday, you’ll want to know everything about him.” West earned his undergraduate degree from Harvard University and graduate degree from Princeton University. He directed the Program in Afro-American Studies at Harvard from 1988-1993 and now teaches religion and African-American studies at Princeton. His bestselling “Race Matters” sold more than 400,000 copies and opened a fresh dialogue on race, justice and democracy in America. He is an honorary chair of the Democratic Socialists of America, was a member of President Clinton’s National Conversation on Race, and chaired the National Parenting Organization’s Task Force on Parent Empowerment. “I’d describe West as that hardcore professor who everybody tells you not to take in the beginning, but you know you need him because he’ll make you a better person,” said Easterling. |
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