Princeton Professor Cornel West, a black activist, philosopher and the best-selling author of “Race Matters,” will be speaking in the University Union Ballroom at 7:30 p.m. on Thursday.

West is currently a professor of Religion at Princeton and grew up as the grandson of a preacher constantly focusing on religious tradition and political struggle.

College Republicans Executive Vice President Chris Hallen said that some students are definitely going to go out and see him.

“We don’t really talk about Marxists (West describes himself as a non-Marxist socialist) professors coming to Sac State,” Hallen said. “But, personally, I just want to get all viewpoints and then you make up your own mind about things.”

Over the years, West has controversially supported reparations for blacks and spoke on topics including prison racism and as a young man he pushed for black studies courses at his high school. West graduated magna cum laude from Harvard in three years.

West served as the director of the program in African American Studies at Princeton from 1988-1994 and worked with such scholars as Toni Morrison.

Some of West’s most notable political experience has included serving as an advisor to presidential candidates Bill Bradley in 2000 and Rev. Al Sharpton in 2004. He has worked with Russell Simmons’s Hip-Hop Summit and the Million Man March and participated in President Clinton’s National Conversation on Race.

Some of West’s published works include “Democracy Matters: Winning the Fight Against Imperialism,” and “Black Theology and Marxist Thought.”

Ticket prices for Sac State students are $10 and $15 for general admission. Call the sac State Ticket Office for more information at (916) 278-4323.

Elizabeth Wilson can be reached at [email protected]