Here are the top five takeaways from Dyson’s recent article that sum up Cornel West and his fall from relevance.
1. He’s not the most influential figure.
Cornel West has not been as influential as the likes of Toni Morrison, W.E.B Du Bois, and William Julius Wilson. Yes, he has put out notable works such as Race Matters, but his work has not pioneered transformative new thoughts. Without too much to offer, Cornel West has been falling through the cracks, and his solid reputation has been disappearing with him.
2. West lost his public presence.
Cornel West is no longer a household name or a prominent figure in social media. He can accredit his little public relevance to posing with people such as Barack Obama and Jay-Z and then giving an unforgettable harsh critique of Obama and his presidency. He also has not been featured on talk shows as frequently as he once was.
3. His work is repetitive.
Despite his earlier accomplishments, Cornel West has lost his spark. Dyson, as well as several other critics, say that some of his more recent work, such as his book Democracy Matters, is just a recycling of past material featured in his most memorable bestseller, Race Matters. It has come to a point where West has said pretty much all he has to say, other than, of course, his critiques of Obama. Has Cornel West lost his scholarly touch? Unfortunately, it seems so.
4. His relevance depends on controversy.
The scholar that was once surrounded by thought-provoking controversy is now only a falling figure that can attribute his current relevance to controversy alone, and not new, influential thought. Many people today, or at least people of younger generations, do not know who Cornel West is. And if they do, most only remember the old guy who hates on Obama so much. I’m not saying he cannot disagree with some of the Obama administration’s policies. However, it seems as though West does not delve deeper into what makes Obama so bad in his opinion. For example, he has called Obama “a Rockefeller republican in blackface” but only offers shallow explanations as to why he believes in this notion. And all of this non-thought provoking controversy lands him a semi-relevant story on a social media platform for a fleeting moment. Is this all Cornel West has to depend on in order to stay relevant?
5. He lost support from friends and colleagues.
It’s not much of a surprise that West’s recent harsh accusations have alienated him from many of his peers and colleagues.
“West has sacrificed friendships and cut ties with former comrades because he insists that only outright denunciation of Obama will do. It is a colossal loss for such a gifted man to surrender to unheroic truculence” – Michael Eric Dyson
Without the support that carried him to mainstream success, how successful is West now?
“If a mind is a terrible thing to waste, then the loss of a brilliant black mind is more terrible, more wasteful.” – Michael Eric Dyson
West no longer lives in glory amongst the people. Not only has he not put out any new work for some time now, but he also has not said or done anything of scholarly importance. Instead, he has succumbed to preaching unsupported assertions and, according to Dyson, has “sought the empty solace of emotional catharsis.”
So what can we say about Cornel West now? Will he live to see himself rise again once more, or will he never recover from his scholarly dry spell? Personally, I hope that West can get his business straight. In a time where we need refined intellect to sort through the chaos of today’s politics, we could really use the old Cornel West. But maybe the “old Cornel West” isn’t gone after all. Dyson’s piece has drawn its own critiques, from his decision on where to publish it, to his comparison of West to Mike Tyson, to the personal content within. There’s more than meets the eye in this debate, so we’ll just have to wait and see it all unfold.
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