Activist, author and philosopher Cornel West will speak at UNCA Wednesday, Oct. 16

Press release

From UNC Asheville News Services:

Cornel West, author of Race Matters and Democracy Matters, will discuss the role of race, gender and class in American society in a public lecture at 7:30 p.m. on Wednesday, Oct. 16 in the Kimmel Arena at UNC Asheville’s Sherrill Center. The event is free and open to the public.

A leading political commentator, progressive activist and public intellectual, West is professor of philosophy and Christian practice at Union Theological Seminary, and professor emeritus at Princeton University. He graduated from Harvard University in three years and was the first African-American to earn a Ph.D in philosophy from Princeton.

West appears often on news networks including CNN, on the political comedy programs, Colbert Report and Bill Maher Show, and he is co-host of the public radio program, Smiley & West. West appeared in and provided commentary for the Matrix films, has guest-starred on 30 Rock, and he was once named MTV “Artist of the Week” for his contributions to spoken word and hip-hop albums.

West’s most recent book, co-authored with Tavis Smiley, is The Rich and the Rest of Us: A Poverty Manifesto (SmileyBooks, 2012). He has written or contributed to more than 20 books and is an American Book Award winner.

West’s lecture at UNC Asheville is sponsored by the university’s Department of History, National Endowment for the Humanities Distinguished Professor, Thomas Howerton Distinguished Professor of Humanities, Dean of Humanities, and Office of Multicultural Student Programs. For more information, visit cesap.unca.edu or call 828.251.6674.