Michael Eric Dyson (born October 23, 1958) is an American academic, author, Baptist minister, and radio host. He is a professor in the College of Arts and Science and in the Divinity School at Vanderbilt University. Described by Michael A. Fletcher as "a Princeton Ph.D. and a child of the streets who takes pains never to separate the two", Dyson has authored or edited more than twenty books dealing with subjects such as race, religion and politics, as well as biographies on Malcolm X, Martin Luther King Jr., Marvin Gaye, Barack Obama, Bill Cosby, Tupac Shakur and Jay-Z.
Early life and education Dyson was born on October 23, 1958, in Detroit, Michigan, the son of Addie Mae Leonard, who was from Alabama. He was adopted by his stepfather, Everett Dyson, who married Leonard in 1960. He attended Cranbrook School in Bloomfield Hills, Michigan, on an academic scholarship but left and completed his education at Northwestern High School. He became an ordained Baptist minister at nineteen years of age.Marie Arana (August 24, 2003). "Michael Eric Dyson. Telling It Any Way He Can", The Washington Post. Having worked in factories in Detroit to support his family, he entered Knoxville College as a freshman at the age of twenty-one.Dyson, Michael Eric (April 2, 2011). "Manning Marable: A Brother, a Mentor, a Great Mind", The Root. . Dyson received his bachelor's degree, magna cum laude, from Carson–Newman College in 1985. He received a Ph.D. in religion from Princeton University in 1993 after completing a doctoral dissertation titled Uses of Heroes: Celebration and Criticism in the Interpretation of Malcolm X and Martin Luther King, Jr.
Career Professor Dyson has taught at Chicago Theological Seminary, Brown University, the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Columbia University, DePaul University, and the University of Pennsylvania. From 2007 to 2020, he was a professor of sociology at Georgetown University.Michael E Dyson, Department of Sociology, Georgetown University In 2021, Dyson moved to Vanderbilt University where he holds the Centennial Chair and serves as University Distinguished Professor of African American and Diaspora Studies in the College of Arts and Science and University Distinguished Professor of Ethics and Society in the Divinity School. Between 2016 and 2018, he was a visiting professor at Middlebury College in Middlebury, Vermont.
Author His 1994 book Making Malcolm: The Myth and Meaning of Malcolm X became a New York Times notable book of the year.Calvin Reid (February 21, 2000). "Interview. Michael Eric Dyson: Of Her s and Hip-hop. The real challenge of King's heroism is to make it a useful heroism", Publishers Weekly. In his 2006 book Come Hell or High Water: Hurricane Katrina and the Color of Disaster, Dyson analyzes the political and social events in the wake of the catastrophe against the backdrop of an overall "failure in race and class relations".Considine, Austin (February 5, 2006). "Disparities revealed in Katrina's wake / Race, class central to analysis of how nation failed victims", San Francisco Chronicle.Staff (January 16, 2006). "Come Hell or High Water: Hurricane Katrina and the Color of Disaster", Publishers Weekly. In 2010, Dyson edited Born to Use Mics: Reading Nas's Illmatic, with contributions based on the album's tracks by, among others, Kevin Coval, Kyra D. Gaunt ("Professor G"), dream hampton, Marc Lamont Hill, Adam Mansbach, and Mark Anthony Neal. Dyson's own essay in this anthology, One Love', Two Brothers, Three Verses", argues that the current US penal system disfavors young black males more than any other segment of the population.Porco, Alessandro (May 2009). Time is Illmatic': A Critical Retrospective on Nas's Groundbreaking Debut", Postmodern Culture – Volume 19, Number 3. His last three books appeared repeatedly on the New York Times Bestseller list.
Commentator Dyson hosted a radio show, which aired on Radio One, from January 2006 to February 2007. He is also a commentator on National Public Radio, MSNBC and CNN, and is a regular guest on Real Time with Bill Maher. Beginning in July 2015, Dyson became a political analyst for MSNBC. In May 2018, he participated in the Munk debate on political correctness, arguing alongside Michelle Goldberg against Stephen Fry and Jordan Peterson. In August 2018, Dyson spoke at the funeral of Aretha Franklin.
The Michael Eric Dyson Show radio program debuted on April 6, 2009, and was broadcast from Morgan State University. The show's first guest was Oprah Winfrey,Prince, Richard (April 1, 2009). "Oprah to Inaugurate Michael Eric Dyson Radio Show", Maynard Institute. Richard Prince's Journal-isms™. . to whom Dyson dedicated his 2009 book Can You Hear Me Now? The Inspiration, Wisdom, and Insight of Michael Eric Dyson. The show appears to have been discontinued, with its last episode being in December 2011.
Dyson served on the board of directors of the Common Ground Foundation, a project dedicated to empowering urban youth in the United States.Staff (2007). "Biography: Dr. Michael Eric Dyson" , Common Ground Foundation, board members.
Beliefs Dyson's general philosophy is that American black people are continuing to suffer from generations of ongoing oppression. On Fox News with Tucker Carlson, Dyson suggested that white Americans looking for ways to counter white privilege could make individual efforts to contribute time and money to support local black communities.
Bibliography TitleYearISBNPublisher Reflecting Black: African-American Cultural Criticism1993University of Minnesota PressMaking Malcolm: The Myth and Meaning of Malcolm X1995Oxford University PressRace Rules: Navigating the Color Line1996Addison Wesley Between God and Gangsta Rap: Bearing Witness to Black Culture1997Oxford University Press I May Not Get There with You: The True Martin Luther King, Jr.2000Free Press Holler if You Hear Me: Searching for Tupac Shakur2002Basic Civitas Books Open Mike: Reflections on Philosophy2002Basic Civitas BooksWhy I Love Black Women2002Perseus Book Group The Michael Eric Dyson Reader2004Basic Civitas BooksMercy, Mercy Me: The Art, Loves and Demons of Marvin Gaye2005Basic Civitas BooksIs Bill Cosby Right? Or Has the Black Middle Class Lost Its Mind?2005Basic Civitas BooksPride: The Seven Deadly Sins2006Oxford University PressCome Hell or High Water: Hurricane Katrina and the Color of Disaster2006Perseus Book GroupDebating Race2007Basic Civitas Books Know What I Mean? Reflections on Hip Hop2007Basic Civitas BooksApril 4, 1968: Martin Luther King's Death and How it Changed America2008Basic Civitas BooksCan You Hear Me Now? The Inspiration, Wisdom, and Insight of Michael Eric Dyson2009Basic Civitas BooksThe Black Presidency: Barack Obama and the Politics of Race in America2016Houghton Mifflin HarcourtTears We Cannot Stop: A Sermon to White America2017St. Martin's Press What Truth Sounds Like2017St. Martin's PressJAY-Z: Made in America2019St. Martin's Press Long Time Coming: Reckoning with Race in America2020St. Martin's PressEntertaining Race: Performing Blackness in America2021St. Martin's PressRepresent: The Unfinished Fight for the Vote2024Little, Brown and Company Editor Born to Use Mics: Reading Nas's Illmatic (Basic Civitas Books, 2010),
Awards and nominations +YearAssociationCategoryWorkResultRef. 2007 American Book Award Come Hell or High Water: Hurricane Katrina and the Color of Disaster 2004 NAACP Image Award Outstanding Literary Work – Nonfiction Why I Love Black Women 2006 Outstanding Literary Work – Nonfiction Is Bill Cosby Right? Or Has the Black Middle Class Lost Its Mind? 2007 Outstanding Literary Work – Nonfiction Come Hell or High Water: Hurricane Katrina and the Color of Disaster 2008 Outstanding Literary Work – Nonfiction Know What I Mean?: Reflections on Hip-Hop 2021 Outstanding Literary Work – Nonfiction Long Time Coming: Reckoning with Race in America 2018 Southern Book Prize Non-Fiction Tears We Cannot Stop
References
External links
In Depth interview with Dyson, April 6, 2008.