Cornel West is arrested by St. Louis Police during a protest outside the Thomas F. Eagleton Federal Courthouse, Monday, Aug. 10, 2015, in St. Louis. The arrests of scholar and civil rights activist West and the few dozen others were part of what's been billed as a national day of civil disobedience. (AP Photo/Jeff Roberson)
Cornel West on Ferguson: I went there to go to jail
03:19 - Source: CNN
Washington CNN  — 

Civil rights activist and philosopher Cornel West on Monday endorsed Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders for president.

“I endorse Brother @BernieSanders because he is a long-distance runner with integrity in the struggle for justice for over 50 years,” West tweeted late Monday night.

West went on to say that it’s time for Sanders’ “prophetic voice to be heard across our crisis-ridden country.”

While West has been a long time supporter of Sanders (and “not a Hillary Clinton fan at all”), the endorsement comes weeks after Black Lives Matter activists disrupted a Sanders event in Seattle, taking the podium from the self proclaimed socialist who is seeking the Democratic Party’s presidential nomination. West has frequently linked arms with Black Lives Matter activists and has been arrested with them during various protests.

“We will push him with integrity toward a more comprehensive vision of freedom for all,” West tweeted.