I think that all of us believe that violence is sometimes not only moral but an absolute necessity. If a man breaks into your house and threatens your life or the lives of your family, most of us agree that shooting him before he can carry out his or her threat is prudent and excusable. Likewise, when a madman like Hitler invades innocent countries and tries for world domination and the destruction of the entire Jewish race, that too would be legitimate violence. But, what we see as legitimate violence is a reaction, not an action. We see a danger and we eliminate it.
But, when Cornell West speaks of legitimate violence, he is speaking of action. Taking the first step, as it were. He was discussing the tactics of pro Sanders activists who violently attempt to deny those who disagree with them their basic civil right of free speech. I mean seriously, they have the right to freedom of speech in China. It’s freedom after speech they have trouble with.
Here is a video of West speaking. It was released in January of 2015:
https://youtu.be/dIantyUNgj0
Frantz Fanon was a communist and a writer who could be quoted by every member of the original Black Panthers and was cited by Barack Obama in his book, Dreams of My Father.