Pretty damn good, not perfect though. I would be excited to read this after I’ve gotten some more racial theory under my belt. Cornel West is an elegant and empathetic writer, I enjoyed this immensely.

Quite good, especially for someone I have serious disagreements with.

Pretty good insight. A few bits seem a bit outdated, but for the most part, a lot of the information is sadly going to still be relevant at least for most of my lifetime.

A lot of great, general, indisputable truths about being black that you (if you consciously think about race) have probably wondered, contemplated or, better yet, discussed with others.

Also a great number of truths about how the political sphere affect Black livelihood, especially that of the disadvantaged/poor. As someone who has always hungered to dig more into politics and how it affects (Black) American life, but cannot handle for too long the purposely incomprehensibly deceptive gibber-gabber of politicians — I really appreciate West's breaking down of the two main political parties (into the catchy labels "liberal structuralists" and "conservative behaviorists") and where each has it's own triumphant truths and put-down downfalls. I will definitely try to apply this lesson to contemporary politics in order to better understand it. And who knows? I may even take time out to go make an well-needed EDUCATED vote for my country.

My favorite essays to read were the ones that covered nihilism, Malcolm X, black leadership, and black sexuality. The essay on racial reasoning was also great, though greatly upsetting.

I learned a lot from this book. Even in topics where I didn't believe I needed to do anymore considering. West always brought up something new, or phrased something old in a new thought-provoking way. He also has quite a lyrical way with words (not too many scholarly big words, but also not too over-simplified) that gets his point across perfectly.

If anything, I wish Cornell would've given just a little praise to some (if any?) of the leaders he believes is currently doing something right in the Black struggle. I would have liked his thoughts on who in the Black community today he believes is worth following/listening to, so that I could do just that.

Also, I had to keep reminding myself that this book is over 10 years old, although I think it's still greatly needed even today. As I wondered what is his thoughts on current violent race relations (then corrected myself on its publication date) I realized there are actually some tidbits here and there that do (indirectly) address what is happening today.

"Race Matters" is probably the most sincere opinion piece about race that I've ever read. Dr. Cornel West does a great job of removing himself from the role of "the victim," which would have been understandable as he begins his series of essays with a brief recollection of his experience with racial profiling. Personally, I've experienced few incidences of racism in my life, but I can write about the myriad of ableistic incidences I've experienced. Dr. West writes about the notion of nihilism and intraracism that leads to xenophobia, homophobia, sexism and ableism in my case, in the black community being an indirect result of institutionalized racism and white superiority. Furthermore, being the "Christian society" that we tout ourselves to be, I always wondered where the ideas of racism and superiority came from because nowhere in scriptures does it even refer to race or suggest that a group of human beings is superior to another group. My theory is that people are so obsessed with power and trying to manipulate other people that they'll manufacture "facts" to verify the narrative they want to put out there. In addition, Dr. West talks about race in terms of humanity and how people refuse to deal with race on those grounds. For example, in today's society, you have the "Black Lives Matter" and the "Blue Lives Matter" movements. Regardless of where loyalties lie, supporters of both movements struggle to deal with the humanity of the other side's supporters. For instance, although, Michael Brown and Eric Gardner were behaving badly, they were still human. Identifying them as "thugs" and "criminals" highlight this lack of humanity, and the same holds true with the number of police officers who have been murdered. Without taking into account that they had families, saying "cops are pigs and deserve what they get" illustrates an unfeeling, uncaring society. "Redemption for humanity" is also a theme that is scriptural, but we have a lot to be desired as a society living up to the principles we claim we believe in so much, which leads me to the biggest criticism of the book. He doesn't really give any applications to try and fix the situation. However, Kudos to Dr. West for his sincerity and straightforwardness on the subject of race.

I read this book back in 1994, and thought West was right on target most of the time. The essays were written in plain language, rather than the jargon of political theory; I liked that they were also free of inflated hyperbole and attempts to boil down complex problems to trite slogans. Moderate, conciliatory, and thoughtful, West ably dissects superficial thinking and hypocrisy on both the right and left side of the political spectrum. Of course much of this material, written in the late 80s and early 90s will appear dated to some - or not, depending on your particular view of the current state of race relations, black leadership, and the general American political, sexual, and cultural landscape. At the time we had just gone through Reagan and Bush 1 (who scans bizarrely like a moderate Eisenhower Republican compared in retrospect with the current model). I'd be interested to read what West thinks now, as we stand potentially on the verge of electing a black President (I'll believe that when I see it, though).

Humility is the fruit of inner security and wise maturity. To be humble is to be so sure of one’s self and one’s mission that one can forego calling excessive attention to one’s self and status.

The inspiration for reading occurred to early this morning as my wife and I walked across he pedestrian bridge to Louisville. That location is by the the most cosmopolitan location in the metropolitan area.

I wanted more poetry in his argumentation, though I concede that this is a primer for popular consumption. My edition had new forwards and a new epilogue. West's theses appear to have continued in the near thirty years since its publication, a growing black middle class still has to conform to regulations of acceptance, chiefly that black sexuality is left unspoken in polite society. The growing black underclass struggling with nihilism and still awaits prophetic leadership , self-love and then need for class-born alliances with other marginalized groups.

Full disclosure: I don’t come to Race Matters from an insightful and enlightened place. I was raised in an all-white town (infamous for the 1907 lynching of James Garden) by all-white parents who used the N-word on a daily basis without the slightest hint of reservation or remorse.

In spite of my upbringing, I never embraced the warped rationale that links animosity and antipathy with skin pigmentation. That’s not to say I didn’t have a lot to unlearn. I was indoctrinated and “diversity deprived” until I graduated high school in 1980. At seventeen I had rarely been in close proximity, much less in conversation, with a black human being. As a result I said and did all those stupid white people things none of us should ever say or do. NOTE: to seaman recruit Grooms, navy bootcamp 1980 - if you’re out there man, thank you for not punching me in the face every time I touched your hair. I am so sorry.

So here I am, 57 years into a life that started out on the wrong side of history. I am hopefully a little wiser (still a work in progress) and now looking to Dr. Cornel West for, if not answers, at least the right questions...

“no democracy can survive, no matter how strong its markets are, without a serious public life and commitment to fairness and justice” ~Dr Cornel West, 2001

My preconceptions of Race Matters were pretty far off the mark. For one thing, Dr West is almost as critical of the political left as he is of the political right... almost. For another, he doesn’t pull any punches when it comes to the shortcomings of past and present black leadership. There are no disingenuous allegiances or sacred cows here. Be you Jesse Jackson or Booker T. Washington, Cornel West is going to hold you accountable.

West sees U.S. political machinery operating in two camps: 1) “Liberal Structuralism” - promoting childcare programs, full employment, access to healthcare, and broad affirmative action practices, and 2) “Conservative Behavioralism” - promoting black business expansion, self-help incentives, and non-preferential job practices. Both camps come with their own set of problems and both, West insists, fail to grapple with the central issue of American racial disparity: cultural nihilism.

“Nihilism is to be understood here not as a philosophic doctrine that there are no rational grounds for legitimate standards or authority; it is, far more, the lived experience of coping with a life of horrifying meaninglessness, hopelessness, and (most important) lovelessness.”

This nihilism, West maintains, is manifested as a collective angst brought about by immersion in a culture of white supremacy that degrades and devalues black worth, black intelligence, black ability and black character.

“...we must delve into the depths where neither liberals nor conservatives dare to tread, namely, into the murky waters of despair and dread that now flood the streets of black America ...The liberal/conservative discussion conceals the most basic issue now facing black America: the nihilistic threat to its very existence.”

Think about this for a second - this is Cornel West speaking to us from 1993. He talks about the pitfalls of racial reasoning - ‘still a problem. He talks about the crisis of black leadership - ‘still a problem. He talks about the phenomenon of black conservatism - ‘inherently problematic. He talks about the skewed distribution of wealth - ‘an exponentially bigger problem now than it was in 1993. Black sexuality, black rage, black antisemitism—all of this could be easily gleaned from the headlines here in 2020. None of this shit is resolved, none of this shit has subsided, most of this shit has escalated.

“Malcolm X’s deep pessimism about the capacity and possibility of white America to shed their racism led him, ironically, to downplay the past and present bonds between blacks and whites. For if the two groups were, as Martin Luther King Jr. put it, locked into “one garment of destiny,” then the very chances for black freedom were nil. This deep pessimism also rendered Malcolm X ambivalent about American democracy - for if the majority were racist how could the black minority ever be free?”

History has shown, I believe, that Malcolm’s concerns were completely justified.

If you think I’m being overly pessimistic, consider this: David Duke, a white supremacist, convicted felon, former KKK Grand Wizard, neo-nazi Holocaust denier, got 55% of the white vote and 69% of the white “evangelical christian” vote when he was elected to the Louisiana House of Representatives.

“We are at a crucial crossroad in the history of this nation - and we either hang together by combating these forces that divide and degrade us or we hang separately. Do we have the intelligence, humor, imagination, courage, tolerance, love, respect, and will to meet the challenge? Time will tell. None of us alone can save the nation or world. But each of us can make a positive difference if we commit ourselves to do so.” ~Cornel West, Princeton, 1994

A book that has influenced and in some cases inspired much of the subsequent scholarship on race in America. A phenomenal introduction to variety of the complex facets around today’s malaise of racial hierarchy and wealth distribution (or poverty) in the United States.

Eerily prescient for 1993, West and everything he warned us about is coming true. The new essay on life in America’s contemporary political chaos seems almost defeated or disappointed that the warning of ‘93 was not heeded. We aren’t learning the lesson because we have been bamboozled by capitalism, silenced and killed by nihilism, and turned against one another by those on power who wish to disassociate marginalized people.

I often think I'm wildly divergent in my thinking to West's arguments, but then on re-reading this and some of his most recent critical articles regarding President Obama, the core of the arguments are not wrong. Obama is perhaps too normalized/ not radical enough for America's contemporary racial landscape. Obama also continued to funnel funds into an exploding military expenditure, etc etc. But what feels contradictory is the vehement criticism rather than testing or sharpening, or joining with a member of the community/ the resistance (he would likely argue that Obama is not a member of the resistance, ie https://www.salon.com/2014/08/24/corn...). On that, I did not remember West's intersectional bent, but representation of queers & queer POC in his arguments was welcomed.

“Let us hope and pray that the vast intelligence, imagination, humor and courage of Americans will not fail us. Either we learn a new language of empathy and compassion, or the fire this time will consume us all.”

“Nihilism is...far more, the lived experience of coping with a life of horrifying meaninglessness, hopelessness, and (most important) lovelessness. The frightening result is a numbing detachment from others and a self-destructive disposition toward the world. Life without meaning, hope, and love breeds a cold-hearted, mean-spirited outlook that destroys both the individual and others.”

A short but fascinating read consisting of essays by Cornell West on race relations in America. While written in the 90s West addresses topics so divisive they are still relevant to this day.

This is the 25th anniversary edition (2017) of "Race Matters." It was originally published in 1993, shortly after the Rodney King upheaval in Los Angeles. With the new introduction the book is only about 130 pages long. But what a great 130 pages! Cornel West, of Harvard, insists that a serious discussion of race must start with the flaws in American society - inequalities, injustices, and stereotypes - racial hierarchy, the maldistribution of income and wealth, and the arbitrary maldistribution of political power. It is a very welcome thing to see his deep understanding of neoliberal, "free market," economics as central to America's flaws. The chapter on black conservatives like economist Thomas Sowell and others who wear "ideological blinders" is right on the mark. In fact, all of these short chapters are significantly important. What is to be done? Dr. West offers several points. First, the establishment a "new framework for black thought and practice. This new framework should be a prophetic one of moral reasoning - based on ideas of a mature black identity, coalition strategy, and black cultural democracy....a prophetic framework encourages moral assessment...and selects those views based on black dignity and decency that eschew putting any group of people or culture on a pedestal or in the gutter." The coalition strategy "solicits genuine solidarity with those deeply committed to antiracist struggle." A commitment to radical democracy is also part of the solution to confront these enormous impediments to justice. Easy to say 5 stars!