I first met "brother" Cornel in May of 2000. I was in the early years of my career as an English teacher, working in the kind of troubled NYC ghetto schools where, according to Cornel West, "poor kids get trained"--unlike wealthy schools where "rich kids get taught."
The setting for our life-changing encounter was a church on the Upper West Side of Manhattan. This is fitting, given the deep theological nature of Cornel's work as a philosopher, activist, and public intellectual. After his lecture, at a conference with the hopeful title "Reimagining Politics & Society at the Millennium" (sponsored by the current chair of the Network of Spiritual Progressives, Michael Lerner), I approached the podium tentatively.
In a country low on public intellectuals, unlike France, I had little prior experience in meeting someone like West who, let's face it, might even be the most famous and important American intellectual we have. Nervously, not knowing what to expect, I approached the celebrity thinker holding a copy of his 1994 book Race Matters. Suddenly, though, my apprehensions vanished as Cornel--his face aglow with a sincere and beautiful smile--gave me a bear hug and signed my copy of his book: "To bro John, stay strong."
And I've been staying strong ever since. Psychologically, politically, and spiritually. Unlike academics who are cold and distant and above it all (intellectual snobs), Cornel is a true man of the people at home in the vital, swirling, democratic public square. What the Greeks called the agora. He's one of the few public figures who lives the example of one of Christianity's fundamental principles, to "welcome the stranger"--without which community, and maybe even democracy, would be impossible.
In the 15 years since my transformative first meeting with Cornel West, I've gathered the strength and courage to become a published author (12 books and counting), college professor, and host of the TV show Public Voice Salon: an open dialogue on education, the arts, and social change. Sorry to say our ratings are nowhere near Keeping up with the Kardashians (yet?), but having a media platform to educate for critical thinking, espouse humanistic ideas, and keep alive hope for a better world that might be, gives me a good reason to get up in the morning during this dark age of oligarchy.
I was so happy to see my media colleague David Letterman feature Cornel on his show in the final month of his great 33-year run. For me, this symbolizes the more substantive and humane earlier period of late night talk shows (Gore Vidal was a frequent guest on Johnny Carson, for example), as opposed to the strangely shallow, vapid, immature turn the late night shows have taken in the past few years; making them practically unwatchable for a thinking person.
I'm also glad to see Cornel on the campaign trail with Bernie Sanders, who he refers to as a rare politician with integrity, honesty, and decency. As a Democratic Socialist (as was Martin Luther King, Albert Einstein, and John Dewey), Bernie obviously cares more about the poor than any other candidate. In his courageous challenge to the billionaire class, he also comes nearest to Jesus' heroic act of throwing the money-changers out of the temple.
If Bernie rides into the White House on Cornel West's "Love Train," who knows, there might still be hope for a more just, loving, and peaceful America--and world. Cue up the O'Jays!
Enjoy this powerful, 5 min. you tube of Cornel West on the stump for Bernie Sanders.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XzV4aSYQFhk