Uploaded May 2021 | Updated September 2026, 1 day ago
"In the Middle East, in Africa, in other parts of the world, the oppressed people begin to straighten their back up and say "we have broken the back of fear, we're willing to tell the truth about our suffering, we're willing to organize and mobilize, we're willing to die, we're willing to go to jail, we're willing to stay in the streets. We are not satisfied with becoming well-adjusted to injustice."
That's called a hot moment. It's hard to imagine, we've been living in an ice age for thirty five years. The neo-liberal epoch is an ice age. Which is not to say that there haven't been magnificent waves of resistance, collective and otherwise: the West bank and other places. But those are the pockets. But Edward Said's coming of age was in a hot moment. Not just in the States, but around the world.
And Edward Said says what? There's a people, locked into a settler-colonial experiment, complicated because its one of precious Jewish brothers and sisters who'd jump out of the burning buildings of Jew-hating Europe, but they land on the backs of some Arabs and they act as if these Arabs don't exist, they act as if there's land but no people. But that's a lie.
They land on the backs of these people and their humanity is rendered invisible. And Edward Said says "No, the condition of truth is to allow suffering to speak, and to ensure that their voices, both from the grave, and from the quick has a role and place in this historical moment." - Cornel West
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As the Palestine Center’s Edward Said Memorial Lecturer this year, Dr. West discusses the profound legacy of Edward Said in social and political thought. He explores Dr. Said’s role as an “engaged intellectual” whose voice provoked introspection, deep questioning, dialogue, and enduring change.
Edward Said was a Palestinian-American intellectual. Born in Mandatory Palestine, but attending British-style schools, Said developed a unique perspective on culture and politics that he brought to his writings.
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Tags: Edward Said, Cornel West, Politics, History, Palestine, America, Race, Injustice,
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Show Links
YouTube
Allow Suffering To Speak
youtu.be/nrDrOAnadyg
Run Time: 03:07;08
View the Original Show
Cornel West On Edward Said's Legacy
youtu.be/-pHD9l9spmA
57m59s
--
Also, this show is available for local public TV stations to broadcast.
Phone your local public TV station (LPTV) to request they broadcast this film to your local community. Your station can download the film in TV broadcast format, HD or SD, from www.PEGMedia.org . This film is available for broadcast from any LPTV station in the country - and world. Stations that use Telvue, DVDs or other media can contact us for instructions.
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Cornel West
Website: cornelwest.com/bio.html
Facebook: facebook.com/drcornelwest
Twitter: twitter.com/CornelWest
Edward Said - About
britannica.com/biography/Edward-Said
--
"In the Middle East, in Africa, in other parts of the world, the oppressed people begin to straighten their back up and say "we have broken the back of fear, we're willing to tell the truth about our suffering, we're willing to organize and mobilize, we're willing to die, we're willing to go to jail, we're willing to stay in the streets. We are not satisfied with becoming well-adjusted to injustice."
That's called a hot moment. It's hard to imagine, we've been living in an ice age for thirty five years. The neo-liberal epoch is an ice age. Which is not to say that there haven't been magnificent waves of resistance, collective and otherwise: the West bank and other places. But those are the pockets. But Edward Said's coming of age was in a hot moment. Not just in the States, but around the world.
And Edward Said says what? There's a people, locked into a settler-colonial experiment, complicated because its one of precious Jewish brothers and sisters who'd jump out of the burning buildings of Jew-hating Europe, but they land on the backs of some Arabs and they act as if these Arabs don't exist, they act as if there's land but no people. But that's a lie.
They land on the backs of these people and their humanity is rendered invisible. And Edward Said says "No, the condition of truth is to allow suffering to speak, and to ensure that their voices, both from the grave, and from the quick has a role and place in this historical moment." - Cornel West
--
As the Palestine Center’s Edward Said Memorial Lecturer this year, Dr. West discusses the profound legacy of Edward Said in social and political thought. He explores Dr. Said’s role as an “engaged intellectual” whose voice provoked introspection, deep questioning, dialogue, and enduring change.
Edward Said was a Palestinian-American intellectual. Born in Mandatory Palestine, but attending British-style schools, Said developed a unique perspective on culture and politics that he brought to his writings.
--
Tags: Edward Said, Cornel West, Politics, History, Palestine, America, Race, Injustice,
--
Show Links
YouTube
Allow Suffering To Speak
youtu.be/nrDrOAnadyg
Run Time: 03:07;08
View the Original Show
Cornel West On Edward Said's Legacy
youtu.be/-pHD9l9spmA
57m59s
--
Also, this show is available for local public TV stations to broadcast.
Phone your local public TV station (LPTV) to request they broadcast this film to your local community. Your station can download the film in TV broadcast format, HD or SD, from www.PEGMedia.org . This film is available for broadcast from any LPTV station in the country - and world. Stations that use Telvue, DVDs or other media can contact us for instructions.
--
Cornel West
Website: cornelwest.com/bio.html
Facebook: facebook.com/drcornelwest
Twitter: twitter.com/CornelWest
Edward Said - About
britannica.com/biography/Edward-Said
--
