Top 361 quotes by Cornel West

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Cornel West quote There is a price to pay for...

There is a price to pay for speaking the truth. There is a bigger price for living a lie.
Cornel West

182

The country is in deep trouble. We've forgotten that a rich life consists fundamentally of serving others, trying to leave the world a little better than you found it. We need the courage to question the powers that be, the courage to be impatient with evil and patient with people, the courage to fight for social justice. In many instances we will be stepping out on nothing, and just hoping to land on something. But that's the struggle. To live is to wrestle with despair, yet never allow despair to have the last word.
Cornel West

Country , Life , Patience

180

Cornel West quote You can't lead the people i...

You can't lead the people if you don't love the people. You can't save the people if you don't serve the people.
Cornel West

Twitter post from Oct 19, 2010 Source

People , Ifs

173

Cornel West quote You have to have a habitual...

You have to have a habitual vision of greatness ... you have to believe in fact that you will refuse to settle for mediocrity. You won't confuse your financial security with your personal integrity, you won't confuse your success with your greatness or your prosperity with your magnanimity ... believe in fact that living is connected to giving.
Cornel West

Believe , Integrity , Greatness

143

Hope and optimism are different. Optimism tends to be based on the notion that there's enough evidence out there to believe things are gonna be better, much more rational, deeply secular, whereas hope looks at the evidence and says, "It doesn't look good at all. Doesn't look good at all. Gonna go beyond the evidence to create new possibilities based on visions that become contagious to allow people to engage in heroic actions always against the odds, no guarantee whatsoever." That's hope. I'm a prisoner of hope, though. Gonna die a prisoner of hope.
Cornel West

People , Believe , Odds

141

Cornel West quote Never forget that justice i...

Never forget that justice is what love looks like in public
Cornel West

Twitter post from Oct 28, 2010 Source

Love , Looks , Justice

126

Cornel West quote Too many young folk have ad...

Too many young folk have addiction to superficial things and not enough conviction for substantial things like justice, truth and love.
Cornel West

Love , Truth , Superficial Things

125

Cornel West quote Empathy is not simply a mat...

Empathy is not simply a matter of trying to imagine what others are going through, but having the will to muster enough courage to do something about it. In a way, empathy is predicated upon hope.
Cornel West

FaceBook post by Dr. Cornel West from Jun 16, 2010 Source

Compassion , Hope , Courage

123

Cornel West quote None of us alone can save t...

None of us alone can save the nation or the world. But each of us can make a positive difference if we commit ourselves to do so. (p. 109)
Cornel West

FaceBook post by Dr. Cornel West from Feb 05, 2013 Source

World , Differences , Commit

110

Cornel West quote We have to recognise that t...

We have to recognise that there cannot be relationships unless there is commitment, unless there is loyalty, unless there is love, patience, persistence.
Cornel West

Cornel West (2009). “Brother West”, p.160, Hay House, Inc

Inspirational , Relationship , Loyalty

102

The greatest gift you can give someone is the gift of inspiration.
Cornel West

Inspirational , Giving , Purpose Driven Life

We are who we are because somebody loved us.
Cornel West

Cornel West (2011). “Brother West: Living and Loving Out Loud, a Memoir”, p.251, ReadHowYouWant.com

Who We Are

A fully functional multiracial society cannot be achieved without a sense of history and open, honest dialogue.
Cornel West

Twitter post from Aug 05, 2009 Source

Honest , Dialogue , Multiracial

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 the courage to think critically about ourselves, society, and the world; mustering the courage to empathize; the courage, I would say, to love; the courage to have compassion with others, especially the widow and the orphan, the fatherless and the motherless, poor and working peoples, gays and lesbians, and so forth - and the courage to hope.
Cornel West

Source: blogs.ssrc.org

Thinking , Compassion , Gay

To be human, at the most profound level, is to encounter honestly the inescapable circumstances that constrain us, yet muster the courage to struggle compassionately for our own unique individualities and for more democratic and free societies.
Cornel West

Struggle , Unique , Profound

The basic problem with my love relationships with women is that my standards are so high - and they apply equally to both of us. I seek full-blast mutual intensity, fully fledged mutual acceptance, full-blown mutual flourishing, and fully felt peace and joy with each other. This requires a level of physical attraction, personal adoration, and moral admiration that is hard to find.
Cornel West

"Like Foreigner, Cornel West Wants to Know What Love Is". www.chronicle.com. December 03, 2009. Source

Acceptance , Joy , Love Relationship