--- title: "22 Ifs Quotes By Cornel West" description: "22 Ifs quotes by Cornel West. Plus more from Cornel West and more Ifs sayings from other authors." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/1bd/cornel-west-708_calculations_if-we-can-t-get-back-to-principles-and-i_499303.jpg" --- > [If we can't get back to principles and integrity and it's reduced just the interest of calculation and Machiavellian manipulation, we are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cornel-west/if-we-can-t-get-back-to-principles-and-integrity-and-it-s-reduced/) [Cornel West](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cornel-west/) [Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/1bd/cornel-west-708_calculations_if-we-can-t-get-back-to-principles-and-i_499303.jpg) > [If you view life as a gold rush, you're going to end up worshiping a golden calf.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cornel-west/if-you-view-life-as-a-gold-rush-you-re-going-to-end-up-worshiping-a-2/) [Cornel West](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cornel-west/) [Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4ca/cornel-west-708_calves_if-you-view-life-as-a-gold-rush-you-re-g_1774908.jpg) > [Barack Obama has domesticated the left in such a way that we feel as if we have no alternative but him...I refuse…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cornel-west/barack-obama-has-domesticated-the-left-in-such-a-way-that-we-feel-as/) [Cornel West](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cornel-west/) [Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/144/cornel-west-708_accepting_barack-obama-has-domesticated-the-left-i_74989.jpg) > [If the Kingdom of God is in you, you should leave a little bit of heaven wherever you go.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cornel-west/if-the-kingdom-of-god-is-in-you-you-should-leave-a-little-bit-of/) [Cornel West](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cornel-west/) [Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/929/cornel-west-708_bits_if-the-kingdom-of-god-is-in-you-you-shou_1492024.jpg) > [If you are always trying to do something for a cause bigger than you - connected with serving others - then it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cornel-west/if-you-are-always-trying-to-do-something-for-a-cause-bigger-than-you/) [Cornel West](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cornel-west/) [Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/01f/cornel-west-708_always-trying_if-you-are-always-trying-to-do-something_2501702.jpg) > [The black church is dormant, much of the community is dormant. If the black church is leaning toward the right, much of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cornel-west/the-black-church-is-dormant-much-of-the-community-is-dormant-if-the/) [Cornel West](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cornel-west/) [Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/cb7/cornel-west-708_black_the-black-church-is-dormant-much-of-the_3215576.jpg) > [ The interesting thing for me is, if that had been a left-wing person raising questions, \[President Obama\] probably would have expressed his… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cornel-west/the-interesting-thing-for-me-is-if-that-had-been-a-left-wing-person/) [Cornel West](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cornel-west/) [Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/229/cornel-west-708_doe_the-interesting-thing-for-me-is-if-that_2656052.jpg) > [Martin Luther King would celebrate the symbolic status (of having a black president), but he would examine what the real substance was.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cornel-west/martin-luther-king-would-celebrate-the-symbolic-status-of-having-a/) [Cornel West](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cornel-west/) [Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f72/cornel-west-708_black_martin-luther-king-would-celebrate-the-s_1289752.jpg) > [The condition of truth is to allow suffering to speak, it means then that if you have a prophetic sensibility, you are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cornel-west/the-condition-of-truth-is-to-allow-suffering-to-speak-it-means-then/) [Cornel West](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cornel-west/) [Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f21/cornel-west-708_committed_the-condition-of-truth-is-to-allow-suffe_2260547.jpg) > [If the churches don't move, much of the community won't move. We've got a situation in which a black church is still…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cornel-west/if-the-churches-don-t-move-much-of-the-community-won-t-move-we-ve-got/) [Cornel West](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cornel-west/) [Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/eb2/cornel-west-708_black_if-the-churches-don-t-move-much-of-the-c_1552965.jpg) > [It would just be nice if we had leaders in Washington who could unequivocally take a stand on behalf of democratic movements…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cornel-west/it-would-just-be-nice-if-we-had-leaders-in-washington-who-could/) [Cornel West](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cornel-west/) [Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9eb/cornel-west-708_barack_it-would-just-be-nice-if-we-had-leaders_193287.jpg) > [I certainly support the right of the gay brothers and sisters to come together. I believe true love can take a number…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cornel-west/i-certainly-support-the-right-of-the-gay-brothers-and-sisters-to-come/) [Cornel West](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cornel-west/) [Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9b8/cornel-west-708_being-married_i-certainly-support-the-right-of-the-gay_1854708.jpg) > [If you can't have a good time and smile and relate to people across race and class, then the success that you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cornel-west/if-you-can-t-have-a-good-time-and-smile-and-relate-to-people-across/) [Cornel West](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cornel-west/) [Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a02/cornel-west-708_brass_if-you-can-t-have-a-good-time-and-smile_965582.jpg) > [If Martin Luther King looked at the Obama administration and saw an intimate connection with Wall Street, he'd be very critical. If…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cornel-west/if-martin-luther-king-looked-at-the-obama-administration-and-saw-an/) [Cornel West](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cornel-west/) [Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/349/cornel-west-708_administration_if-martin-luther-king-looked-at-the-obam_147613.jpg) > [ When you say that \[Martin Luther\] King was a prophet, you don't say that he predicted anything; you say that he bore… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cornel-west/when-you-say-that-martin-luther-king-was-a-prophet-you-don-t-say-that/) [Cornel West](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cornel-west/) [Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/81a/cornel-west-708_bores_when-you-say-that-martin-luther-king-was_1290198.jpg) > [There's a difference between just gaining access to a commodity as opposed to a spirit that allows us to live a life…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cornel-west/there-s-a-difference-between-just-gaining-access-to-a-commodity-as/) [Cornel West](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cornel-west/) [Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/eb4/cornel-west-708_access_there-s-a-difference-between-just-gainin_947000.jpg) > [The right wing can use anything, and we have to make it very clear and I make it very clear that my…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cornel-west/the-right-wing-can-use-anything-and-we-have-to-make-it-very-clear-and/) [Cornel West](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cornel-west/) [Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f3b/cornel-west-708_can-do_the-right-wing-can-use-anything-and-we-h_3082498.jpg) > [Theology is indispensable for religious communities to make sense of themselves and their changing views about the world in light of what…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cornel-west/theology-is-indispensable-for-religious-communities-to-make-sense-of/) [Cornel West](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cornel-west/) [Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/1ad/cornel-west-708_community_theology-is-indispensable-for-religious_2469506.jpg) > [In that chocolate side of town, in my blessed city of Sacramento, California - that was beginning of my death shudders, that's…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cornel-west/in-that-chocolate-side-of-town-in-my-blessed-city-of-sacramento/) [Cornel West](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cornel-west/) [Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/87e/cornel-west-708_blessed_in-that-chocolate-side-of-town-in-my-ble_2852129.jpg) > [And so the question becomes, what you do in the meantime? And you go - if you're forever on the move, especially…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cornel-west/and-so-the-question-becomes-what-you-do-in-the-meantime-and-you-go-if/) [Cornel West](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cornel-west/) [Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/fa7/cornel-west-708_forever_and-so-the-question-becomes-what-you-do_1429465.jpg) > [If you've got on the one hand death, dogmatism, domination, and on the other you've got desire in the face of death,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cornel-west/if-you-ve-got-on-the-one-hand-death-dogmatism-domination-and-on-the/) [Cornel West](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cornel-west/) [Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9f5/cornel-west-708_alive_if-you-ve-got-on-the-one-hand-death-dogm_1429103.jpg) > [ The legacy of \[Martin Luther\] King is the very thing that must be expanded if America is to be free and democratic… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cornel-west/the-legacy-of-martin-luther-king-is-the-very-thing-that-must-be/) [Cornel West](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cornel-west/) [Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/496/cornel-west-708_21st-century_the-legacy-of-martin-luther-king-is-the_3221308.jpg) ## Other authors on Ifs ## More by Cornel West > [There has certainly been ugly, right-wing hatred targeting Barack Obama.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cornel-west/there-has-certainly-been-ugly-right-wing-hatred-targeting-barack-obama/) [Cornel West](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cornel-west/) > [What is accurately portrayed is the rich humanity not just of Martin Luther King but of the movement, which was a multiracial movement. You…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cornel-west/what-is-accurately-portrayed-is-the-rich-humanity-not-just-of-martin/) [Cornel West](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cornel-west/) > [I feel as if I have been blessed to undergo a transformation from 'gangster' to 'redeemed sinner with gangster proclivities.'](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cornel-west/i-feel-as-if-i-have-been-blessed-to-undergo-a-transformation-from/) [Cornel West](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cornel-west/) > [“Like King, we need to put on our cemetery clothes and be coffin-ready for the next great democratic battle.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cornel-west/like-king-we-need-to-put-on-our-cemetery-clothes-and-be-coffin-ready/) [Cornel West](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cornel-west/) > [ “You can't really move forward until you look back. \[From Remaking America panel discussion at George Washington University\]” ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cornel-west/you-can-t-really-move-forward-until-you-look-back-from-remaking/) [Cornel West](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cornel-west/) > [When we think of globalization we are thinking in part of structures and institutions that have been developed over time and that have allowed…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cornel-west/when-we-think-of-globalization-we-are-thinking-in-part-of-structures/) [Cornel West](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cornel-west/) > [The challenge artists face today is whether to be an underground, unheard genius, or to dilute their art for the marketplace.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cornel-west/the-challenge-artists-face-today-is-whether-to-be-an-underground/) [Cornel West](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cornel-west/) > [The need of black conservatives to gain the respect of their white peers deeply shapes certain elements of their conservatism. In this regard, they…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cornel-west/the-need-of-black-conservatives-to-gain-the-respect-of-their-white/) [Cornel West](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cornel-west/) > [For me, musicians are poets. Beethoven describes himself as a poet of tones, just like Coltrane's a poet of tempo.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cornel-west/for-me-musicians-are-poets-beethoven-describes-himself-as-a-poet-of/) [Cornel West](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cornel-west/) > [I don't draw any distinctions between forms of bigotry or forms of ideology that lose sight of the humanity of people. I can't stand…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cornel-west/i-don-t-draw-any-distinctions-between-forms-of-bigotry-or-forms-of/) [Cornel West](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cornel-west/) > [Barack Obama has domesticated the left in such a way that we feel as if we have no alternative but him...I refuse to accept…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cornel-west/barack-obama-has-domesticated-the-left-in-such-a-way-that-we-feel-as/) [Cornel West](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cornel-west/) > [Larry Summers, I think, he had a long history of arrogance and relative ignorance about poor people's culture and working people's culture and so…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cornel-west/larry-summers-i-think-he-had-a-long-history-of-arrogance-and-relative/) [Cornel West](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cornel-west/) > [The greatest gift you can give someone is the gift of inspiration.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cornel-west/the-greatest-gift-you-can-give-someone-is-the-gift-of-inspiration/) [Cornel West](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cornel-west/) > [You can see it in terms of the obsession on Wall Street with not just profits but greed, more profit, more profit.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cornel-west/you-can-see-it-in-terms-of-the-obsession-on-wall-street-with-not-just/) [Cornel West](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cornel-west/) > [Anybody who takes Martin Luther King seriously has got to go beyond the standard understanding of who he was, has to connect those dots.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cornel-west/anybody-who-takes-martin-luther-king-seriously-has-got-to-go-beyond/) [Cornel West](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cornel-west/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "ItemList", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ifs/cornel-west/#itemlist", "name": "22 Ifs Quotes By Cornel West", 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If the black church is leaning toward the right, much of the community is leaning toward the right. If it is leaning in the left wing direction having repercussions.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Cornel West" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cornel-west/the-black-church-is-dormant-much-of-the-community-is-dormant-if-the/", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/cb7/cornel-west-708_black_the-black-church-is-dormant-much-of-the_3215576.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/cb7/cornel-west-708_black_the-black-church-is-dormant-much-of-the_3215576.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/cb7/cornel-west-708_black_the-black-church-is-dormant-much-of-the_3215576.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“The black church is dormant, much of the community is dormant. 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Because Obama really does get upset about progressives.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Cornel West" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cornel-west/the-interesting-thing-for-me-is-if-that-had-been-a-left-wing-person/", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/229/cornel-west-708_doe_the-interesting-thing-for-me-is-if-that_2656052.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/229/cornel-west-708_doe_the-interesting-thing-for-me-is-if-that_2656052.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/229/cornel-west-708_doe_the-interesting-thing-for-me-is-if-that_2656052.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“The interesting thing for me is, if that had been a left-wing person raising questions, [President Obama]…” — Cornel West", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } } }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 8, "item": { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Martin Luther King would celebrate the symbolic status (of having a black president), but he would examine what the real substance was. 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