by Cornel West
17 16 15 14 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1
This book is printed on acid-free paper that meets the uncoated paper
ANSI/NISO specifications for permanence as revised in 1992.
Text design and composition by Kim Arney
Chapter 2, “The Black Flame—W. E. B. Du Bois,” was published in an earlier form as “‘A Figure of Our Times’: An Interview with Cornel West on W. E. B. Du Bois” in the Du Bois Review 10, no. 1 (2013): 261–78. Chapter 3, “Moral Fire—Martin Luther King Jr.,” was published in an earlier form as “We Need Martin More Than Ever” in Amerikastudien/American Studies 56, no. 3 (2011): 449–67; a shortened version was published in the German political journal Die Gazette (Summer 2013).
Photography credits: Frederick Douglass, c. 1850–1860; W. E. B. Du Bois, 1918, by Cornelius Marion (C. M.) Battey (1873–1927); Martin Luther King Jr., 1964; Ella Baker, 1964, by Danny Lyon (Magnum), reprinted here with permission; Malcolm X, 1964, by Marion S. Trikosko; Ida B. Wells, 1893, by Mary Garrity. Photographs are from Wikimedia Commons/Library of Congress, unless otherwise noted.
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
West, Cornel.
Cornel West on Black prophetic fire / in dialogue with and edited by Christa Buschendorf.
pages cm
Includes bibliographical references and index.
ISBN 978-0-8070-0352-7 (hardback : acid-free paper)
ISBN 978-0-8070-0353-4 (ebook)
1. Douglass, Frederick, 1818-1895—Political and social views. 2. Du Bois, W. E. B. (William Edward Burghardt), 1868–1963—Political and social views. 3. King, Martin Luther, Jr., 1929-1968—Political and social views. 4. Baker, Ella, 1903–1986—Political and social views. 5. X, Malcolm, 1925–1965—Political and social views. 6. Wells-Barnett, Ida B., 1862–1931—Political and social views. 7. African Americans—Biography. 8. Prophets—United States—Biography. 9. Revolutionaries—United States—Biography. 10. West, Cornel—Interviews. I. Buschendorf, Christa. II. Title. III. Title: Black prophetic fire.
E185.96.W47 2014
920.009296073—dc23
[B]
2014010359