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Hailing “Authenticity and Integrity,” Cornel West Backs Bernie Sanders

“Now is the time for his prophetic voice to be heard across our crisis-ridden country,” declared the activist and intellectual.

“Now is the time for his prophetic voice to be heard across our crisis-ridden country,” declared the activist and intellectual.

Extolling his “authenticity and integrity” in the struggle against greed, imperialism, and injustice, civil rights activist and intellectual Dr. Cornel West on Monday announced his endorsement of Sen. Bernie Sanders for president.

“The American Empire is in decline. Our market-driven culture is in decay. The criminal justice system has failed us. And the political system is collapsing due to the weight of corrupt lobbyists and greedy capitalists,” West wrote on Twitter.

Though acknowledging some of the criticisms levied against Sanders, West continued, saying that “prophetic politicians—always with their faults and blind spots—who tell the truth about Wall Street, white supremacy, empire, patriarchy and homophobia, deserve our critical support.”

The announcement comes as the mainstream media, fueled by recent protests during Sanders’ campaign events, has attempted to paint the U.S. Senator as unpopular among black voters.

He added that the endorsement “is not an affirmation of the neo-liberal Democratic Party,” which must be fought against “by social movements in the streets.” The Princeton University Professor Emeritus was among those arrested during a civil disobedience protest in Ferguson earlier this month.

“We will push him with integrity towards a more comprehensive vision of freedom for all,” he vowed, adding, “Now is the time for [Sanders’] prophetic voice to be heard across our crisis-ridden country.”

This post first appeared in Common Dreams.

By Lauren McCauley

Lauren McCauley has been a staff writer at Common Dreams since October 2012. When not writing and editing headline articles, she spends her time producing documentary films. Her most recent project, Mississippi Messiah, is a feature about civil rights icon, James Meredith. She also co-produced the films The Hollywood Complex and Soundtrack for a Revolution, about the protest music of the civil rights movement. Previously, while writing for Newsweek, Lauren was nominated for the 2008 GLAAD Media Award for Digital Journalism.