quote · Legacy record
The blues is relevant today because when we look down through the corridors of time, the black American interpretation of tragicomic hope in the face of dehumanizing hate and oppression will be seen as the only kind of hope that has any kind of maturity in a world of overwhelming barbarity and bestiality. That barbarity is found not just in the form of terrorism but in the form of the emptiness of our lives - in terms of the wasted human potential that we see around the world. In this sense, the blues is a great democratic contribution of black people to world history.
The blues is relevant today because when we look down through the corridors of time, the black American interpretation of tragicomic hope in the face of dehumanizing hate and oppression will be seen as the only kind of hope that has any kind of maturity in a world of overwhelming barbarity and bestiality. That barbarity is found not just in the form of terrorism but in the form of the emptiness of our lives - in terms of the wasted human potential that we see around the world. In this sense, the blues is a great democratic contribution of black people to world history.
Approximate author period: c. 1953 AD · modern
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- Author or tradition
- Cornel West
Attribution: attributed - Country attributed
- Not established
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- Approximate author period: c. 1953 AD · modern
Approximate author-period evidence for Cornel West: documented birth year 1953; activity date not established. Wikidata Q712469, inspected 2026-10-08. Not a quotation composition date or independent verification of attribution. Source: https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q712469 (accessed 2026-10-08).
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Supplied reference C; CSV row 387887; supplied attribution, independently unverified
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