North Central College welcomes author, academic and provocative civil rights activist Dr. Cornel West Jan. 23 as Martin Luther King Jr. Week keynote speaker.
Each year, North Central College honors and remembers King with a keynote presentation, musical tributes, a prayer breakfast and activities. This year’s theme is “A Journey Defined.” King spoke in North Central College’s Pfeiffer Hall in 1960.
West, who appeared previously as the College’s 2010 MLK Week keynote speaker, will deliver his address at 7PM Friday, Jan. 23, in Pfeiffer Hall, 310 E. Benton Ave. He will speak to the legacy of King, other revolutionary African-American leaders and young people’s responsibility for social change. A Q&A will follow.
Tickets are $10/person and $7/groups of 10 or more. Admission is free for North Central students, faculty and staff who have registered online in advance. To purchase tickets or register for free admission, call the North Central College Box Office at 630-637-SHOW (7469) or visit northcentralcollege.edu/showtix.
West is a professor of philosophy and Christian practice at Union Theological Seminary in New York City and professor emeritus at Princeton University, where he earned his M.A. and Ph.D. in philosophy. He also has taught at Yale, Harvard and the University of Paris.
West burst onto the national scene in 1993 with his bestseller “Race Matters,” a searing analysis of racism in American democracy. He has edited 13 books and authored 20, including “Black Prophetic Fire,” published October 2014 with critical acclaim. Due on bookshelves Jan. 13 is “The Radical King,” a collection of inspirational speeches, sermons and writings written by King and edited by West.
West made his film debut in “The Matrix” and has appeared in more than 25 documentaries and films, including “Examined Life,” “Sidewalk” and “Stand.” He has collaborated with Prince, Andre 3000 and other major artists to create three spoken word albums. His spoken word interludes have premiered in numerous albums, including Raheem DeVaughn’s Grammy-nominated “Love & War: Masterpeace.” A prominent voice in the political landscape, West was a radio cohost with Tavis Smiley and is a frequent guest on “Real Time with Bill Maher,” “The Colbert Report,” Fox News, CNN, Democracy Now! and C-SPAN.
