Holding his tongue would be an existential crisis to a brilliantly outspoken thinker such as Cornell West, and he let Harvard University have more than a piece of his mind. In a brief yet poignant letter dated June 30, West announced his resignation from Harvard University for essentially devaluing his work and his humanity.
In an articulately scathing letter posted on his Twitter account, West points to a string of reprehensible behaviors towards him and his colleagues perpetrated by the university as reasons for his exit. After describing the university's push for diversity as "superficial" and a version of Jim Crow era oppression, West laments the university for lumping the courses he taught such as American Democracy, Existentialism and The Conduct Of Life under one narrow category of Afro-American Religious Studies, ignoring their respective differentiating nuances. His compensation was also an issue, with West pointing to him receiving minimal pay increases even after delivering two convocation addresses and one commencement speech while also teaching as many as five extra courses. Being overworked and underpaid is experienced by Black people who flip burgers and change the minds of Harvard students alike.
