Cornel West has many roles: philosopher, professor, author, civil rights activist and interpreter of African American experience, actor (in several “Matrix” movies) and advocate for social justice. He also travels the country delivering lectures.

He’ll give one of those lectures at Cal State Monterey Bay on April 24.

West focuses much of his work and research on the roles of race, gender and class in American society.

He is best known for his classic books Race Matters and Democracy Matters, and his memoir, Brother West: Living and Loving Out Loud. His most recent book is Black Prophetic Fire (Beacon Press, 2014). In it, West and scholar Christa Buschendorf provide insight into the work of six African American leaders – Frederick Douglass, W.E.B. DuBois, Martin Luther King Jr., Ella Baker, Malcolm X and Ida B. Wells.

He earned an undergraduate degree from Harvard University and a master's and doctorate from Princeton. He has taught at Union Theological Seminary, Harvard, Yale and the University of Paris.

He has been praised by The New York Times for his"ferocious moral vision" and hailed by Newsweek as "an elegant prophet with attitude."

The lecture will be held at 7 p.m. in the University Center ballroom. Doors open at 6 p.m. Admission is free for CSUMB students, $5 for CSUMB faculty and staff, and $10 for everyone else. Tickets will be on sale at the door; no advance purchase or reservations are available.

For more information or to request disability accommodation, call 582-4070.

The event is sponsored by CSUMB’s Otter Cross Cultural Center; Otter Student Union; and Student Activities and Leadership Development.