Of Hope and Faith and Love: Rhetorical Coherence in Cornel West’s Politics of Convergence

Abstract

In Race Matters, Cornel West argued that a politics of convergence will be at the center of any significant social transformation of race relations in America and that such a politics must be grounded in a “love ethic.” West’s analyses of race relations reveal a qualitative approach to inquiry that emphasizes the moral foundations and implications of knowledge and establishes a space for critical inquiry that focuses on issues of difference, identity, and democracy. This article explicates the epistemological assumptions and rhetorical implications of West’s “politics of convergence” to suggest that it offers an enhanced understanding of race, freedom, and community in America.