--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: The condition of truth, is to allow…" description: "\"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 ..." 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… ![“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.” quote by Cornel West](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/5c2/cornel-west-708_black_the-condition-of-truth-is-to-allow-suffe_1605287.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/5c2/cornel-west-708_black_the-condition-of-truth-is-to-allow-suffe_1605287.jpg) [Open 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. 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.” [Cornel West](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cornel-west/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Truth requires listening to the marginalized and giving voice to their suffering. **In simple terms:** Speak to the suffering of the oppressed. Key Takeaway Listen and act for the vulnerable. Themes justice empathy inclusion Mood compassionate urgent Type ethical activist When to use this quote - advocacy - policy reform - community support - education - public speaking Key Concepts social ethics human rights intersectionality Questions to Reflect On - How can we amplify unheard voices? - What actions follow listening? A Different Perspective May overlook systemic causes beyond individual suffering. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Black people](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/black-people/) [Brother](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/brother/) [Gay](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/gay/) [Orphan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/orphan/) [People](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/people/) [Suffering](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/suffering/) [Transgender](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/transgender/) [Truth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/truth/) [Widows](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/widows/) [Working people](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/working-people/) ## Related quotes > [The condition of truth is to allow suffering to speak, it means then that if you have a prophetic sensibility, you are committed to…](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/) > [The condition of truth is to allow suffering to speak - that gives it an existential emphasis.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cornel-west/the-condition-of-truth-is-to-allow-suffering-to-speak-that-gives-it/) [Cornel West](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cornel-west/) > [“The need to let suffering speak is a condition of all truth”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/theodor-adorno/the-need-to-let-suffering-speak-is-a-condition-of-all-truth/) [Theodor Adorno](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/theodor-adorno/) > [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/) > [“When we are in constant pain, we cannot empathize with others, nor can we help them. It is only when we allow ourselves to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vironika-tugaleva/when-we-are-in-constant-pain-we-cannot-empathize-with-others-nor-can/) [Vironika Tugaleva](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vironika-tugaleva/) > [The love of wisdom is a way of life; that is to say, it's a set of practices that have to do with mustering…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cornel-west/the-love-of-wisdom-is-a-way-of-life-that-is-to-say-it-s-a-set-of/) [Cornel West](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cornel-west/) > [The need to let suffering speak is a condition of all truth. For suffering is objectivity that weighs upon the subject](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/theodor-adorno/the-need-to-let-suffering-speak-is-a-condition-of-all-truth-for/) [Theodor Adorno](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/theodor-adorno/) > [You must let suffering speak, if you want to hear the truth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/you-must-let-suffering-speak-if-you-want-to-hear-the-truth/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [It is now possible to live a "christian life" without doing the things that Jesus commanded us to do. We have hired people to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cal-thomas/it-is-now-possible-to-live-a-christian-life-without-doing-the-things/) [Cal Thomas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cal-thomas/) > [These esoteric, intellectual debates-I want them to come to New Jersey and sit across from the widows and the orphans and have that conversation,](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chris-christie/these-esoteric-intellectual-debates-i-want-them-to-come-to-new-jersey/) [Chris Christie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chris-christie/) > [A person may rightfully be happy if in this life he could do a great favor for widows and orphans, could assist support than,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/islom-karimov/a-person-may-rightfully-be-happy-if-in-this-life-he-could-do-a-great/) [Islom Karimov](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/islom-karimov/) > [Just love the one in front of you. Take in the orphan, take in the widow. Just love the one in front of you.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/heidi-baker/just-love-the-one-in-front-of-you-take-in-the-orphan-take-in-the/) [Heidi Baker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/heidi-baker/) > [Debt, grinding debt, whose iron face the widow, the orphan, and the sons of genius fear and hate; debt, which consumes so much time,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ralph-waldo-emerson/debt-grinding-debt-whose-iron-face-the-widow-the-orphan-and-the-sons/) [Ralph Waldo Emerson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ralph-waldo-emerson/) > [Life Insurance Motto - Robbing the widows early and orphan.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ethel-mumford/life-insurance-motto-robbing-the-widows-early-and-orphan/) [Ethel Mumford](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ethel-mumford/) > [Religion by itself was not meant to be a divisive tool. All of our religious teachings have similar rules, such as a commitment to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leymah-gbowee/religion-by-itself-was-not-meant-to-be-a-divisive-tool-all-of-our/) [Leymah Gbowee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leymah-gbowee/) ## 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/) [Explore all 400 Cornel West quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cornel-west/) ## More Black quotes > [I wanted to write about voodoo tradition that I feel has been very important to survival of black people here: people of the African…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jesmyn-ward/i-wanted-to-write-about-voodoo-tradition-that-i-feel-has-been-very/) [Jesmyn Ward](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jesmyn-ward/) > [When you go to a club it's not about being black or white or heavy or thick. I'm shaking my ass because I want…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/miley-cyrus/when-you-go-to-a-club-it-s-not-about-being-black-or-white-or-heavy-or/) [Miley Cyrus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/miley-cyrus/) > [The vision of the left, full of envy and resentment, takes its worst toll on those at the bottom - whether black or white…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-sowell/the-vision-of-the-left-full-of-envy-and-resentment-takes-its-worst/) [Thomas Sowell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-sowell/) > [When you're scared - and I mean really scared, not just hearing a noise in the night, or standing toe to toe with someone…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexander-gordon-smith/when-you-re-scared-and-i-mean-really-scared-not-just-hearing-a-noise/) [Alexander Gordon Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexander-gordon-smith/) > [The term "black metal" has become a lot looser, or can include a larger range of sounds and extra-musical aesthetics, not just Satan and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/colin-marston/the-term-black-metal-has-become-a-lot-looser-or-can-include-a-larger/) [Colin Marston](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/colin-marston/) > [How can you be more subject; black woman in a white man's world?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maureen-duffy/how-can-you-be-more-subject-black-woman-in-a-white-man-s-world/) [Maureen Duffy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maureen-duffy/) > [We have to build our own power. We have to win every single political office we can, where we have a majority of black…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fannie-lou-hamer/we-have-to-build-our-own-power-we-have-to-win-every-single-political/) [Fannie Lou Hamer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fannie-lou-hamer/) > [There is only one party in the United States, the Property Party...and it has two right wings: Republican and Democrat. Republicans are a bit…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gore-vidal/there-is-only-one-party-in-the-united-states-the-property-party-and/) [Gore Vidal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gore-vidal/) > [Black music has always known, and not been afraid to acknowledge just how high the stakes of Black thought are. To summarize the final…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frank-b-wilderson-iii/black-music-has-always-known-and-not-been-afraid-to-acknowledge-just/) Frank B. Wilderson III > [I know how hard it is to be a woman, especially a black woman.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mike-tyson/i-know-how-hard-it-is-to-be-a-woman-especially-a-black-woman/) [Mike Tyson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mike-tyson/) > [If soot stains your tunic, dye it black. This is vengeance.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/r-scott-bakker/if-soot-stains-your-tunic-dye-it-black-this-is-vengeance/) [R. Scott Bakker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/r-scott-bakker/) > [Hollywood is so fixated on keeping it that way because it's generating the buzz, but that representation isn't right. I definitely feel like it's…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-boyega/hollywood-is-so-fixated-on-keeping-it-that-way-because-it-s/) [John Boyega](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-boyega/) > [Nowadays most people wear black most of the time anyway: go to a literary party and one would imagine everyone there was in perpetual…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fay-weldon/nowadays-most-people-wear-black-most-of-the-time-anyway-go-to-a/) [Fay Weldon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fay-weldon/) > [There ain't no such thing as black Muslims. That's how they tried to cut off all my brothers in the rest of the world…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/muhammad-ali/there-ain-t-no-such-thing-as-black-muslims-that-s-how-they-tried-to/) [Muhammad Ali](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/muhammad-ali/) > [We do not want to be reminded that it is we, the indigenous people, who are poor and exploited in the land of our…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steven-biko/we-do-not-want-to-be-reminded-that-it-is-we-the-indigenous-people-who/) [Steven Biko](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steven-biko/) Browse all 11,655 Black quotes ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@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" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cornel-west/the-condition-of-truth-is-to-allow-suffering-to-speak-which-means/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Black" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cornel-west/the-condition-of-truth-is-to-allow-suffering-to-speak-which-means/#quotation", "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": "BreadcrumbList", "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": "Cornel West", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cornel-west/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "The condition of truth, is to...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cornel-west/the-condition-of-truth-is-to-allow-suffering-to-speak-which-means/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cornel-west/the-condition-of-truth-is-to-allow-suffering-to-speak-which-means/#breadcrumb" }, { "@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 } } ] } ```