"I am a prisoner of hope," says Cornell West. "Hope is different from optimism. I take a leap beyond the evidence. I draw on faith. Faith is stepping through nothing and walking onto something."

West, professor of Afro-American studies and religion at Harvard University, spoke before an audience of over 1,000 in the Student Union Arizona Ballroom Saturday, revealing his vision of prophetic thought and political action in the closing millennium.

He told the crowd, "I stand before you as part of a tradition of struggle, and I worry that this tradition is dying in the 20th century."

West, whose 1993 best-seller "Race Matters" propelled him into national stardom, has successfully combined postmodern academics with grass-roots activism, earning the New York Times moniker, "public intellectual."

"Most of human history has treated everyday people like raindrops or wheat," West says. "I believe progress is something that happens on the ground."

Mikelle Omari-Obayemi, director of African American studies, says the university solicited West in August 1995 after a poll of student organizations, including multi-racial fraternities and the African American Students Alliance, identified West as most-desired speaker.

"At first we were daunted by the fees," Omari says. "They wanted $15,000, plus first-class airfare. We finally got down to $12,000, but we spent thousands more on advertising."

Vice President of Student Affairs Saundra Taylor calls the poll-based event "part of a mission to make the university more student-centered."

Support for West's visit came from the African American Studies program and an 18-group coalition including the College of Humanities, the Arizona Daily Wildcat and the Diversity Action Council.

Omari says West may teach The History of Ideas (African American Studies 222) at the University of Arizona this summer if the department can raise funds.

"He likes the weather here, and he likes the people. He thinks there's potential for good work," Omari says.

West, who gives 150 lectures a year, invests his earnings in projects like the Obsidian Foundation, a scholarship fund for inner-city intellectuals.

"I use my celebrity status to advance the struggle."

Taylor says West came to campus at a critical time for campus affirmative action policy and minority defamation issues.

Although organizers brought only 600 seats to the event, staff, students and community members overwhelmed the auditorium, forcing an extra room to open and creating a standing-room-only political rally.

"At 3:00 I was having doubts about the turnout," says Octa Leigh, general books buyer at ASUA Bookstore. "There were only three people in the ballroom. Now I wonder if we should have opened up Centennial Hall. I can only compare this with an event like Maya Angelou."

Chuck Tatum, dean of humanities, announced, "Phoenix may have the Super Bowl, but we have Dr. Cornell West."

"People came because they wanted to hear West's universalist message," Omari says. "He was rising above xenophobia and homophobia and coming down to human concerns. He helps us understand racism as a universal, human problem. He takes out the black/white polarity."

Reggie Banks, health and human services freshman, says, "It's amazing that someone of his stature has come to the university. I hope he helps people understand that affirmative action is not just about race."

During a post-lecture question and answer session, Bella Zweig, senior lecturer in humanities, rose from the audience to tell West, "The media wants to keep us apart. As a Jewish woman, I want to thank you for drawing us together."

Peppering his talk with allusions to T.S. Eliot and John Coltrane, Heiddeger and Sly Stone, West condemned the violence and hedonism of what he calls "market culture," and offered a program for radical education.

Omari thinks the high turnout shows political consciousness on campus.

"There's a sensitivity to racial tensions. White students want to be human beings. They want to escape their white supremacist legacy."

Joseph Tolliver, associate professor of philosophy, has worked with West as a Ford Foundation Fellow.

"West thinks we have lost our resistance to evil," says Tolliver. "He wonders what forces will oppose it."

Bringing down his sermon, West told his audience, "It has always been a minority. The activists. Even during the '60s. Everybody will tell you, 'I marched with Martin. ... I was there with Malcolm.' They're lying. They're lying. They're lying. ... You must cut against the grain wherever you are. In law, in medicine, in engineering. There are always progressive slices."