“When you come to a place like UC Santa Cruz, you come here to learn how to die.”
These were the words of keynote speaker Dr. Cornel West at engaging education’s (e²) event, “Changemakers: Resisting Hopelessness, Shaping Our Future Through Love.”
West is a celebrated activist, philosopher and theologian. A member of the Democratic Socialists of America, West has written multiple books on the intersections of race and class. Beyond his activism, West is also a decorated academic with degrees from Harvard and Princeton University.
He is the current Dietrich Bonhoeffer Chair at the Union Theological Seminary in New York, and Professor Emeritus at Princeton. West works to advance the legacy of the Civil Rights Movement, speaking to audiences across the United States on the importance of fighting for justice through love.
As soon as West stepped on stage, his soulful charisma was magnetizing. He stood at the edge of the stage, often bending over as if he was trying to make eye contact with every audience member. West began by speaking to the long history of activism in Santa Cruz and the importance of student organizing, emphasizing the value of solidarity, community and love in fighting against fascism and for equality.
Hosted by e², a student-initiated outreach program that works to provide supportive spaces for historically underrepresented groups in academics, this year’s Changemakers aimed to combat hopelessness in a time when many feel powerless in the face of adversity. An audience of over 350 people filed into the Merrill Cultural Center on May 21, completely captivated by West’s speech. 
“I really would just want people to really take away [the fact that] anyone can be a part of change,” said e² co-Chair Kailyn Burdine. “Anyone can enact change wherever they are, and no matter how little it might seem, it all is so impactful and it all leads to greater change.”
“[What resonated with me was] everything being rooted in love and how actions based in truth and integrity and love will always be way more powerful than the adversity that we’re facing,” said Malia Peris, a third-year legal studies and feminist studies double major. “We just have to keep going and never give up.”
Throughout West’s speech, he spoke about everything from jazz and the blues to fascism and the genocide in Gaza, connecting every point back to e²’s mission of student engagement and education.
“How much beauty do you know?” West inquired of the audience. “How much goodness are you willing to fight for? What sense of the Holy strikes you in such a way that you’re willing to pay the ultimate price? Those are the fundamental questions of education.”
When West finished his speech, the audience rose to give a thunderous standing ovation before he extended an invitation for questions from the audience. West thanked the organizers and students from e² who worked with him.
“Everybody ought to be pessimistic if you have any sensitivity,” West said about combating hopelessness. “It doesn’t mean you don’t fight, doesn’t mean you don’t serve, doesn’t mean you don’t think critically, it doesn’t mean you don’t organize, it doesn’t mean you don’t still go to jail, it doesn’t mean you aren’t willing to pay an ultimate cost.”
