The two gay men sit next to me at Old Soul Coffee. They are talking about the bookstore next door. One of them had stopped in to check it out after he had finished smoking his ultra-hipster American Spirit cigarette. To his partner he mentions the haughty attitude of the bookstore owner. "We only carry books from African American authors at this bookstore."
I think to myself, "That sounds perfect." (AFTER I wondered, was she really or is this guy "bitching it up" for effect?) I have been reading quips from Cornel West in articles and twitter. I have been very interested in reading something by West, but with someone one as prominent as he is, where do I start? 
I asked friends on facebook and twitter, and I heard various mentions: Race Matters, Living and Loving Out Loud, and Prophecy Deliverance.
Today I stopped into the bookstore having decided, "who better to ask than the owners of a bookstore, which only carries books by African American authors?"
The title which keeps coming up over and over is Race Matters, and it was no different when I asked at Underground Books. So thus I begin...
--------
What have you read from Cornel West? What insights have you gained?
