Cornel West says Harvard operates with a ‘shadow of Jim Crow,’ resigns from university

Cornel West, the well-known philosophy professor and activist, resigned from Harvard on July 12, alleging the institution has experienced “decline and decay.” 

West shared the letter via Twitter. 

This is my candid letter of resignation to my Harvard Dean. I try to tell the unvarnished truth about the decadence in our market-driven universities! Let us bear witness against this spiritual rot! pic.twitter.com/hCLAuNSWDu

— Cornel West (@CornelWest) July 13, 2021

“How sad it is to see our beloved Harvard Divinity School in such decline and decay,” West wrote in the letter. “The disarray of a scattered curriculum, the disenchantment of talented yet deferential faculty, and the disorientation of precious students loom large.”

He continued, “With a few glorious and glaring exceptions, the shadow of Jim Crow was cast in its new glittering form expressed in the language of superficial diversity: all my classes were subsumed under Afro-American Religious Studies, including those on Existentialism, American Democracy, and The Conduct of Life, no possible summer salary alongside the lowest increase possible every year.”

[RELATED: Harvard Prof Cornel West discusses America’s ‘imperial meltdown’ (VIDEO)]

West has authored numerous books including “The Rich and the Rest of Us: A Poverty Manifesto,” and previously taught at Princeton University and the University of Paris. 

This isn’t the first time that West has spoken out against Harvard. In February, he criticized the Ivy League school for not granting him tenure.

[RELATED: Cornel West claims Harvard University ‘disrespected’ him by denying him tenure]

West wrote in this week’s tweet, “ I try to tell the unvarnished truth about the decadence in our market-driven universities! Let us bear witness against this spiritual rot!”

Campus Reform has reached out to Harvard University and West; this article will be updated accordingly.