Cornel West is a Heretic
Heresy: (n) 1. Adherence to a religious opinion contrary to church dogma; 2. Dissent or deviation from a dominant theory, opinion, or practice.
If we’ve shared classes together, then you know my story. I am a human rights worker who documents abuses and engages in third-party nonviolent intervention in the Old City of Hebron in the West Bank, Palestine. What all that means – to co-opt some military slang – is that I’m “in the shit.” The shit doesn’t end when I return stateside, however. It manifests in every aspect of my life; at a seminary that proclaims that it is raising up prophets yet remains mute on the suffering of Palestinians; at being called an anti-Semite at each of my lectures since 2016; at being slapped on the subway for daring to wear my kuffiyeh. All of this – my work, my studies, my fight – makes me a heretic of cosmic proportions in a world that uncritically supports Israel as its violation of human rights in the West Bank and Gaza goes unchecked.
At last, I’m no longer alone! Another heretic has joined me: Brother Cornel West.
If you’ve read past the bold headlines concerning West’s departure from Harvard, then you’ll know why he was not offered tenure. If you haven’t, then a quote from his interview with Democracy Now should clear the air: “I argued to myself it could [be] age, but when I’m given the Gifford Lectures […] I still have something to say, so it couldn’t be age. It couldn’t be academics, because I’ve published 20-some books. I was a university professor at Harvard, university professor at Princeton. I got tenure at Yale thirty-seven years ago […] so I figured it had to be political. And the most taboo issue on U.S. campuses these days, in many instances, has to do with the vicious Israeli occupation of precious Palestinians. It’s very difficult to have a respectful, robust conversation about that. And I am unequivocal in my solidarity with Palestinian brothers and sisters. […] I am not in any way going to stop talking about the Palestinian plight and predicament.”
We do not know the reason Union extended its hand to Brother West, but given the institution's silence on the issue of Palestine it is my conclusion that it has more to do with West’s fame and academic prowess than his fervent support for Palestine. Yet, despite these covetous intentions, West’s presence at UTS embodies a prophetic call to action.
By welcoming West, Union has placed itself at a crossroads – the institution can either continue to be complicit to injustice by remaining silent or it can rise up as a beacon of truth and justice to do what is right: to become a heretic by breaking open the academic sphere to speak against the occupation, torture and murder of Palestinians at the hands of a corrupt Israeli government. As a seminary that touts itself as being on the forefront of social justice, I challenge Union to begin the conversation, to – as Brother West says he can do here – “stretch out, be a truth teller and bear witness.”
Leia John is a writer, seminarian and human rights activist based in New York, USA. She studies Social Ethics and theology at Union Theological Seminary in Manhattan and is currently an intern at the General Board of Global Ministries at the United Nations. When she is not busy attempting to survive on coffee in an effort to finish her school work, she is either furiously scribbling in her notebook or passionately advocating for Palestinian human rights.