Earlier this week, Dr. Cornel West, professor and activist, threatened to leave Harvard University after his request to be considered for tenure was denied.
Over 130 doctoral students have released a letter challenging Harvard’s decision and standing in solidarity with West.
“His influence on me personally and so many of my colleagues is immeasurable,” said Mafaz Al-Suwaidan, a Ph.D. student at Harvard. “He teaches us to center marginalized communities: the poor, the incarcerated, trans folks, people struggling under empire and neoliberal regimes all over the world. He reminds us that the Black tradition ought not to be studied as a subject only but an analytical lens and ethical praxis.”
In the letter, the students wrote that the loss of West at Harvard would “deal a devastating blow to an already near disenchanted community of color.”
West previously returned to Harvard in 2016 after a dispute with then-president Dr. Lawrence Summers led to his departure in 2002.
Throughout his career, he has authored books such as Democracy Matters and memoir Brother West: Living and Loving Out Loud.
Additionally, West has been politically outspoken on issues such as Palestinian rights.
