--- title: "18 Mean Quotes By Cornel West" description: "18 Mean quotes by Cornel West. Plus more from Cornel West and more Mean sayings from other authors." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/537/cornel-west-708_magnanimity_to-be-great-in-our-times-too-often-means_882987.jpg" --- > [To be great in our times too often means to have great prosperity and no moral magnanimity at all.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cornel-west/to-be-great-in-our-times-too-often-means-to-have-great-prosperity-and/) [Cornel West](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cornel-west/) [Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/537/cornel-west-708_magnanimity_to-be-great-in-our-times-too-often-means_882987.jpg) > [To be an intellectual really means to speak a truth that allows suffering to speak.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cornel-west/to-be-an-intellectual-really-means-to-speak-a-truth-that-allows/) [Cornel West](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cornel-west/) [Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2ae/cornel-west-708_intellectual_to-be-an-intellectual-really-means-to-sp_1496340.jpg) > [One is that I am a regular, everyday person, you know what I mean. I feel that wherever I am, I really…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cornel-west/one-is-that-i-am-a-regular-everyday-person-you-know-what-i-mean-i/) [Cornel West](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cornel-west/) [Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b4e/cornel-west-708_everyday_one-is-that-i-am-a-regular-everyday-pers_1160135.jpg) > [Martin Luther King was a radical democrat, by which I mean someone who is a foe of wealth inequality.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cornel-west/martin-luther-king-was-a-radical-democrat-by-which-i-mean-someone-who/) [Cornel West](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cornel-west/) [Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0b9/cornel-west-708_democrat_martin-luther-king-was-a-radical-democra_1771896.jpg) > [I'm a bluesman, which means that I put an emphasis on the minor keys.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cornel-west/i-m-a-bluesman-which-means-that-i-put-an-emphasis-on-the-minor-keys/) [Cornel West](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cornel-west/) [Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/bae/cornel-west-708_emphasis_i-m-a-bluesman-which-means-that-i-put-an_977890.jpg) > [Success is such a relative thing for me. I'm fundamentally a Christian which means that ultimately all of the penultimate titles and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cornel-west/success-is-such-a-relative-thing-for-me-i-m-fundamentally-a-christian/) [Cornel West](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cornel-west/) [Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/76f/cornel-west-708_christian_success-is-such-a-relative-thing-for-me_1666175.jpg) > [Philosophy is fundamentally about how you come to terms with living your life and trying to do it in a wise manner,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cornel-west/philosophy-is-fundamentally-about-how-you-come-to-terms-with-living/) [Cornel West](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cornel-west/) [Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e43/cornel-west-708_life_philosophy-is-fundamentally-about-how-yo_1140530.jpg) > [The condition of truth, is to allow suffering to speak. Which means attend to suffering of the least of these, of the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cornel-west/the-condition-of-truth-is-to-allow-suffering-to-speak-which-means/) [Cornel West](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cornel-west/) [Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/5c2/cornel-west-708_black_the-condition-of-truth-is-to-allow-suffe_1605287.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) > [liberty, which means resisting all forms of cultural authoritarianism, be it from the right wing church, black ideologues, black nationalists, or mainstream…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cornel-west/liberty-which-means-resisting-all-forms-of-cultural-authoritarianism/) [Cornel West](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cornel-west/) [Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4f2/cornel-west-708_accents_liberty-which-means-resisting-all-forms_1013369.jpg) > [The most dangerous thing in American society is a self-respecting and self-loving black person, because they're on the road to freedom and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cornel-west/the-most-dangerous-thing-in-american-society-is-a-self-respecting-and/) [Cornel West](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cornel-west/) [Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4f1/cornel-west-708_american-society_the-most-dangerous-thing-in-american-soc_1626833.jpg) > [ So more and more black folk tend to be well-adjusted to \[Barack\] Obama's presidency, but does that mean they're well-adjusted to injustice?… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cornel-west/so-more-and-more-black-folk-tend-to-be-well-adjusted-to-barack-obama/) [Cornel West](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cornel-west/) [Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/981/cornel-west-708_barack_so-more-and-more-black-folk-tend-to-be-w_2283384.jpg) > [To me, healing means you have to recognize there is a wound and you try to understand what the sources of the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cornel-west/to-me-healing-means-you-have-to-recognize-there-is-a-wound-and-you/) [Cornel West](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cornel-west/) [Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/53a/cornel-west-708_healing_to-me-healing-means-you-have-to-recogniz_3053399.jpg) > [I think nonviolence and the mediation of conflict by means of respecting civility must be promoted. But being the kind of beings…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cornel-west/i-think-nonviolence-and-the-mediation-of-conflict-by-means-of/) [Cornel West](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cornel-west/) [Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/77e/cornel-west-708_anxiety_i-think-nonviolence-and-the-mediation-of_1904871.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) > [ He\[Michael Jackson\] had a joy in being alive. There was a joy you felt of him on the stage and making us… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cornel-west/he-michael-jackson-had-a-joy-in-being-alive-there-was-a-joy-you-felt/) [Cornel West](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cornel-west/) [Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4df/cornel-west-708_alive_he-michael-jackson-had-a-joy-in-being-al_777384.jpg) > [Those who came to the United States didn't realize they were white until they got here. They were told they were white.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cornel-west/those-who-came-to-the-united-states-didn-t-realize-they-were-white/) [Cornel West](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cornel-west/) [Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/330/cornel-west-708_abuse_those-who-came-to-the-united-states-didn_2285042.jpg) > [What does it really mean to be a leftist in the early part of the 21st century? What are we really talking…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cornel-west/what-does-it-really-mean-to-be-a-leftist-in-the-early-part-of-the/) [Cornel West](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cornel-west/) [Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/24b/cornel-west-708_21st-century_what-does-it-really-mean-to-be-a-leftist_289230.jpg) ## Other authors on Mean ## 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/mean/cornel-west/#itemlist", "name": "18 Mean Quotes By Cornel West", "numberOfItems": 18, "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "item": { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "To be great in our times too often means to have great prosperity and no moral magnanimity at all.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Cornel West" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cornel-west/to-be-great-in-our-times-too-often-means-to-have-great-prosperity-and/", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/537/cornel-west-708_magnanimity_to-be-great-in-our-times-too-often-means_882987.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/537/cornel-west-708_magnanimity_to-be-great-in-our-times-too-often-means_882987.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/537/cornel-west-708_magnanimity_to-be-great-in-our-times-too-often-means_882987.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“To be great in our times too often means to have great prosperity and no moral magnanimity at all.” — Cornel West", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } } }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "item": { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "To be an intellectual really means to speak a truth that allows suffering to speak.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Cornel West" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cornel-west/to-be-an-intellectual-really-means-to-speak-a-truth-that-allows/", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2ae/cornel-west-708_intellectual_to-be-an-intellectual-really-means-to-sp_1496340.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2ae/cornel-west-708_intellectual_to-be-an-intellectual-really-means-to-sp_1496340.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2ae/cornel-west-708_intellectual_to-be-an-intellectual-really-means-to-sp_1496340.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“To be an intellectual really means to speak a truth that allows suffering to speak.” — Cornel West", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } } }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "item": { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "One is that I am a regular, everyday person, you know what I mean. I feel that wherever I am, I really am.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Cornel West" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cornel-west/one-is-that-i-am-a-regular-everyday-person-you-know-what-i-mean-i/", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b4e/cornel-west-708_everyday_one-is-that-i-am-a-regular-everyday-pers_1160135.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b4e/cornel-west-708_everyday_one-is-that-i-am-a-regular-everyday-pers_1160135.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b4e/cornel-west-708_everyday_one-is-that-i-am-a-regular-everyday-pers_1160135.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“One is that I am a regular, everyday person, you know what I mean. I feel that wherever I am, I really am.” — Cornel West", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } } }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "item": { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Martin Luther King was a radical democrat, by which I mean someone who is a foe of wealth inequality.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Cornel West" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cornel-west/martin-luther-king-was-a-radical-democrat-by-which-i-mean-someone-who/", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0b9/cornel-west-708_democrat_martin-luther-king-was-a-radical-democra_1771896.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0b9/cornel-west-708_democrat_martin-luther-king-was-a-radical-democra_1771896.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0b9/cornel-west-708_democrat_martin-luther-king-was-a-radical-democra_1771896.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Martin Luther King was a radical democrat, by which I mean someone who is a foe of wealth inequality.” — Cornel West", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } } }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 5, "item": { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "I'm a bluesman, which means that I put an emphasis on the minor keys.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Cornel West" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cornel-west/i-m-a-bluesman-which-means-that-i-put-an-emphasis-on-the-minor-keys/", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/bae/cornel-west-708_emphasis_i-m-a-bluesman-which-means-that-i-put-an_977890.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/bae/cornel-west-708_emphasis_i-m-a-bluesman-which-means-that-i-put-an_977890.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/bae/cornel-west-708_emphasis_i-m-a-bluesman-which-means-that-i-put-an_977890.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“I'm a bluesman, which means that I put an emphasis on the minor keys.” — Cornel West", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } } }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 6, "item": { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Success is such a relative thing for me. I'm fundamentally a Christian which means that ultimately all of the penultimate titles and things you just had to wear with a loose garment. Really.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Cornel West" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cornel-west/success-is-such-a-relative-thing-for-me-i-m-fundamentally-a-christian/", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/76f/cornel-west-708_christian_success-is-such-a-relative-thing-for-me_1666175.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/76f/cornel-west-708_christian_success-is-such-a-relative-thing-for-me_1666175.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/76f/cornel-west-708_christian_success-is-such-a-relative-thing-for-me_1666175.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Success is such a relative thing for me. I'm fundamentally a Christian which means that ultimately all of…” — Cornel West", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } } }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 7, "item": { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Philosophy is fundamentally about how you come to terms with living your life and trying to do it in a wise manner, and, for me, that means decently and compassionately and courageously and so forth.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Cornel West" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cornel-west/philosophy-is-fundamentally-about-how-you-come-to-terms-with-living/", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e43/cornel-west-708_life_philosophy-is-fundamentally-about-how-yo_1140530.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e43/cornel-west-708_life_philosophy-is-fundamentally-about-how-yo_1140530.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e43/cornel-west-708_life_philosophy-is-fundamentally-about-how-yo_1140530.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Philosophy is fundamentally about how you come to terms with living your life and trying to do it in a wise…” — Cornel West", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } } }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 8, "item": { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "The condition of truth, is to allow suffering to speak. Which means attend to suffering of the least of these, of the orphan, the widow, the poor, the working people, the gay brother, the lesbian sister, the transgender, the black people.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Cornel West" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cornel-west/the-condition-of-truth-is-to-allow-suffering-to-speak-which-means/", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/5c2/cornel-west-708_black_the-condition-of-truth-is-to-allow-suffe_1605287.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/5c2/cornel-west-708_black_the-condition-of-truth-is-to-allow-suffe_1605287.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/5c2/cornel-west-708_black_the-condition-of-truth-is-to-allow-suffe_1605287.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“The condition of truth, is to allow suffering to speak. Which means attend to suffering of the least of…” — Cornel West", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } } }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 9, "item": { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "The condition of truth is to allow suffering to speak, it means then that if you have a prophetic sensibility, you are committed to loving others and if you love others, you hate injustice.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Cornel West" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cornel-west/the-condition-of-truth-is-to-allow-suffering-to-speak-it-means-then/", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f21/cornel-west-708_committed_the-condition-of-truth-is-to-allow-suffe_2260547.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f21/cornel-west-708_committed_the-condition-of-truth-is-to-allow-suffe_2260547.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f21/cornel-west-708_committed_the-condition-of-truth-is-to-allow-suffe_2260547.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“The condition of truth is to allow suffering to speak, it means then that if you have a prophetic…” — Cornel West", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } } }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 10, "item": { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "liberty, which means resisting all forms of cultural authoritarianism, be it from the right wing church, black ideologues, black nationalists, or mainstream white media. We have to accent liberty and freedom of expression and thought in all their forms.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Cornel West" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cornel-west/liberty-which-means-resisting-all-forms-of-cultural-authoritarianism/", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4f2/cornel-west-708_accents_liberty-which-means-resisting-all-forms_1013369.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4f2/cornel-west-708_accents_liberty-which-means-resisting-all-forms_1013369.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4f2/cornel-west-708_accents_liberty-which-means-resisting-all-forms_1013369.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“liberty, which means resisting all forms of cultural authoritarianism, be it from the right wing church…” — Cornel West", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } } }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 11, "item": { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "The most dangerous thing in American society is a self-respecting and self-loving black person, because they're on the road to freedom and that means they're gonna run up against the powers that be.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Cornel West" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cornel-west/the-most-dangerous-thing-in-american-society-is-a-self-respecting-and/", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4f1/cornel-west-708_american-society_the-most-dangerous-thing-in-american-soc_1626833.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4f1/cornel-west-708_american-society_the-most-dangerous-thing-in-american-soc_1626833.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4f1/cornel-west-708_american-society_the-most-dangerous-thing-in-american-soc_1626833.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“The most dangerous thing in American society is a self-respecting and self-loving black person, because…” — Cornel West", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } } }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 12, "item": { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "So more and more black folk tend to be well-adjusted to [Barack] Obama's presidency, but does that mean they're well-adjusted to injustice? Because we don't hear our president talking about the new Jim Crow, the prison-industrial complex.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Cornel West" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cornel-west/so-more-and-more-black-folk-tend-to-be-well-adjusted-to-barack-obama/", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/981/cornel-west-708_barack_so-more-and-more-black-folk-tend-to-be-w_2283384.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/981/cornel-west-708_barack_so-more-and-more-black-folk-tend-to-be-w_2283384.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/981/cornel-west-708_barack_so-more-and-more-black-folk-tend-to-be-w_2283384.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“So more and more black folk tend to be well-adjusted to [Barack] Obama's presidency, but does that mean…” — Cornel West", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } } }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 13, "item": { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "To me, healing means you have to recognize there is a wound and you try to understand what the sources of the wound are, which means you try to tell a story about how it came to be. So you have to engage in some historical interpretation.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Cornel West" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cornel-west/to-me-healing-means-you-have-to-recognize-there-is-a-wound-and-you/", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/53a/cornel-west-708_healing_to-me-healing-means-you-have-to-recogniz_3053399.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/53a/cornel-west-708_healing_to-me-healing-means-you-have-to-recogniz_3053399.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/53a/cornel-west-708_healing_to-me-healing-means-you-have-to-recogniz_3053399.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“To me, healing means you have to recognize there is a wound and you try to understand what the sources of…” — Cornel West", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } } }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 14, "item": { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "I think nonviolence and the mediation of conflict by means of respecting civility must be promoted. But being the kind of beings we [peoplep] are - wrestling with greed, and wrestling with fears and security, anxieties, wrestling with hatred that's shot through all of us - wars are here to stay.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Cornel West" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cornel-west/i-think-nonviolence-and-the-mediation-of-conflict-by-means-of/", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/77e/cornel-west-708_anxiety_i-think-nonviolence-and-the-mediation-of_1904871.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/77e/cornel-west-708_anxiety_i-think-nonviolence-and-the-mediation-of_1904871.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/77e/cornel-west-708_anxiety_i-think-nonviolence-and-the-mediation-of_1904871.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“I think nonviolence and the mediation of conflict by means of respecting civility must be promoted. But…” — Cornel West", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } } }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 15, "item": { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "When you say that [Martin Luther] King was a prophet, you don't say that he predicted anything; you say that he bore witness. He left a committed life so that people would never forget the suffering of people that he was connected to. King was prophetic because he lived a committed life. Now he did critique society, saying you're going to go under if you don't treat your poor right. I mean, that is part of prophetic calling, but it's not predicting anything.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Cornel West" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cornel-west/when-you-say-that-martin-luther-king-was-a-prophet-you-don-t-say-that/", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/81a/cornel-west-708_bores_when-you-say-that-martin-luther-king-was_1290198.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/81a/cornel-west-708_bores_when-you-say-that-martin-luther-king-was_1290198.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/81a/cornel-west-708_bores_when-you-say-that-martin-luther-king-was_1290198.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“When you say that [Martin Luther] King was a prophet, you don't say that he predicted anything; you say that…” — Cornel West", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } } }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 16, "item": { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "He[Michael Jackson] had a joy in being alive. There was a joy you felt of him on the stage and making us not just feel good but pushing us against ourselves with the \"Man in the Mirror,\" looking at ourselves critically, \"Black or White,\" what does it mean to get caught in a color as opposed to a rich history and culture?", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Cornel West" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cornel-west/he-michael-jackson-had-a-joy-in-being-alive-there-was-a-joy-you-felt/", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4df/cornel-west-708_alive_he-michael-jackson-had-a-joy-in-being-al_777384.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4df/cornel-west-708_alive_he-michael-jackson-had-a-joy-in-being-al_777384.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4df/cornel-west-708_alive_he-michael-jackson-had-a-joy-in-being-al_777384.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“He[Michael Jackson] had a joy in being alive. There was a joy you felt of him on the stage and making us not…” — Cornel West", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } } }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 17, "item": { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Those who came to the United States didn't realize they were white until they got here. They were told they were white. They had to learn they were white. An Irish peasant coming from British imperial abuse in Ireland during the potato famine in the 1840s, arrives in the United States. You ask him or her what they are. They say, \"I am Irish.\" No, you're white. \"What do you mean, I am white?\" And they point me out. \"Oh, I see what you mean. This is a strange land.\"", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Cornel West" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cornel-west/those-who-came-to-the-united-states-didn-t-realize-they-were-white/", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/330/cornel-west-708_abuse_those-who-came-to-the-united-states-didn_2285042.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/330/cornel-west-708_abuse_those-who-came-to-the-united-states-didn_2285042.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/330/cornel-west-708_abuse_those-who-came-to-the-united-states-didn_2285042.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Those who came to the United States didn't realize they were white until they got here. They were told they…” — Cornel West", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } } }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 18, "item": { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "What does it really mean to be a leftist in the early part of the 21st century? What are we really talking about? And I can just be very candid with you. It means to have a certain kind of temperament, to make certain kinds of political and ethical choices, and to exercise certain analytical focuses in targeting on the catastrophic and the monstrous, the scandalous, the traumatic, that are often hidden and concealed in the deodorized and manicured discourses of the mainstream. That's what it means to be a leftist. So let's just be clear about it.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Cornel West" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cornel-west/what-does-it-really-mean-to-be-a-leftist-in-the-early-part-of-the/", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/24b/cornel-west-708_21st-century_what-does-it-really-mean-to-be-a-leftist_289230.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/24b/cornel-west-708_21st-century_what-does-it-really-mean-to-be-a-leftist_289230.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/24b/cornel-west-708_21st-century_what-does-it-really-mean-to-be-a-leftist_289230.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“What does it really mean to be a leftist in the early part of the 21st century? What are we really talking…” — Cornel West", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } } } ] }, { "@type": "CollectionPage", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/mean/cornel-west/#webpage", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/mean/cornel-west/", "name": "Mean Quotes by Cornel West", "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "mainEntity": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/mean/cornel-west/#itemlist" }, "primaryImageOfPage": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/537/cornel-west-708_magnanimity_to-be-great-in-our-times-too-often-means_882987.jpg" }, "description": "18 Mean quotes by Cornel West. Plus more from Cornel West and more Mean sayings from other authors.", "breadcrumb": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/mean/cornel-west/#breadcrumb" } }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/mean/cornel-west/#breadcrumb", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Quotes", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "Topics", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/categories/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "Mean", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/mean/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 5, "name": "Cornel West", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/mean/cornel-west/" } ] }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "publisher": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } }, { "@type": "Organization", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png", "width": 512, "height": 512 } } ] } ```