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The ReverendMichael Eric Dyson
Born	(1958-10-23) October 23, 1958 (age 66) Detroit, Michigan, U.S.
Spouses	Theresa Taylor ​ ​(m. 1977; div. 1979)​ Brenda Joyce ​ ​(m. 1982; div. 1992)​ Marcia Louise ​(m. 1992)​
Ecclesiastical career
Ordained	c. 1977
Academic background
Alma mater	Carson–Newman College Princeton University
Thesis	Uses of Heroes: Celebration and Criticism in the Interpretation of Malcolm X and Martin Luther King, Jr. (1993)
Influences	Manning Marable
Academic work
Discipline	Sociology
Institutions	Vanderbilt University
Website	michaelericdyson.com

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. 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. Having worked in factories in Detroit to support his family, he entered Knoxville College as a freshman at the age of twenty-one. 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. 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. 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". 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. 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 July 2015 Michael Eric 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, he 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, to whom Dyson dedicated his 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.

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

Editor

• Born to Use Mics: Reading Nas's Illmatic (Basic Civitas Books, 2010) ISBN 9780465002115

Awards and nominations

Interviews

• Presentation by Dyson on I May Not Get There With You, January 10, 2000, C-SPAN
• Washington Journal interview with Dyson on I May Not Get There With You, April 10, 2000, C-SPAN
• Booknotes interview with Dyson on Holler If You Hear Me, November 4, 2001, C-SPAN|
• After Words interview with Dyson on Is Bill Cosby Right: Or Has the Black Middle Class Lost Its Mind?, May 15, 2005, C-SPAN
• Book group discussion on Is Bill Cosby Right: Or Has the Black Middle Class Lost Its Mind?, February 28, 2006, C-SPAN
• Presentation by Dyson on Come Hell or High Water: Hurricane Katrina, February 24, 2006, C-SPAN
• Presentation by Dyson on Know What I Mean?, July 18, 2007, C-SPAN
• After Words interview with Dyson on The Black Presidency, March 11, 2016, C-SPAN
• Presentation by Dyson on Tears We Cannot Stop, January 18, 2017, C-SPAN
• Interview with Dyson on Tears We Cannot Stop, April 22, 2017, C-SPAN
• Presentation by Dyson on Tears We Cannot Stop, June 10, 2017, C-SPAN
• Presentation by Dyson on Tears We Cannot Stop, September 22, 2017, C-SPAN
• Washington Journal interview with Dyson on Tears We Cannot Stop, December 24, 2017, C-SPAN
• Presentation by Dyson on What Truth Sounds Like, June 6, 2018, C-SPAN
• Washington Journal interview with Dyson on What Truth Sounds Like, June 24, 2018, C-SPAN
• Presentation by Dyson on Long Time Coming, December 8, 2020, C-SPAN
• Presentation by Dyson on Entertaining Race, November 12, 2021, C-SPAN

References

1. Armstrong, Elizabeth (March 15, 2001). "The Pure Heart of Gangsta Rap". Chicago Reader.
2. "Manning Marable's New Malcolm X Biography Investigates Conflicted Reality of the Civil Rights Leader". Democracy Now!.
3. ^ "Dr. Michael Eric Dyson Heads to Vanderbilt - Higher Education". September 29, 2020. Retrieved January 18, 2021.
4. ^ Michael A. Fletcher (Spring 2000). "Michael Eric Dyson: A Scholar and a Hip-Hop Preacher.", The Journal of Blacks in Higher Education.
5. Marie Arana (August 24, 2003). "Michael Eric Dyson. Telling It Any Way He Can.", The Washington Post.
6. Michael Eric Dyson (April 2, 2011). "Manning Marable: A Brother, a Mentor, a Great Mind." Archived June 5, 2011, at the Wayback Machine, The Root.
7. Dyson, Michael Eric (1993). Uses of heroes : celebration and criticism in the interpretation of Malcolm X and Martin Luther King, Jr.
8. Michael E Dyson, Department of Sociology, Georgetown University
9. 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.
10. Austin Considine (February 5, 2006). "Disparities revealed in Katrina's wake / Race, class central to analysis of how nation failed victims", San Francisco Chronicle.
11. Staff (April 2006). "The center of the storm", Ebony.
12. Staff (January 16, 2006). "Come Hell or High Water: Hurricane Katrina and the Color of Disaster", Publishers Weekly.
13. Dyson, Michael Eric; Daulatzai, Sohail (December 28, 2009). Born To Use Mics: Reading Nas's Illmatic. Basic Civitas Books. pp. v–vi. ISBN 978-0-465-00211-5. Retrieved August 21, 2011.
14. Dyson; Daulatzai (2009). Born To Use Mics. Basic Books. p. 131. ISBN 9780465002115. Retrieved August 21, 2011.
15. Alessandro Porco (May 2009). "'Time is Illmatic': A Critical Retrospective on Nas's Groundbreaking Debut", Postmodern Culture – Volume 19, Number 3.
16. Samuels, Allison (August 12, 2011). "Michael Eric Dyson Hire by MSNBC Deepens Black Ire Over Al Sharpton Show". The Daily Beast. Retrieved September 28, 2018.
17. "Munk Debates – Political Correctness". Archived from the original on December 4, 2018. Retrieved May 21, 2018.
18. Izadi, Elahe; Butler, Bethonie; Rao, Sonia (August 31, 2018). "'She gave us pride and a regal bar to reach': Everything that happened at Aretha Franklin's 8-hour funeral". Washington Post. Retrieved September 28, 2018.
19. Richard Prince (April 1, 2009). "Oprah to Inaugurate Michael Eric Dyson Radio Show" Archived November 7, 2011, at the Wayback Machine, Maynard Institute. Richard Prince's Journal-isms™.
20. Staff (2007). "Biography: Dr. Michael Eric Dyson" Archived November 1, 2011, at the Wayback Machine, Common Ground Foundation, board members.
21. "Dyson: Whites should open individual reparation accounts". February 2, 2017.
22. American Booksellers Association (2013). "The American Book Awards / Before Columbus Foundation [1980–2012]". BookWeb. Archived from the original on March 13, 2013. Retrieved September 25, 2013. 2007 Michael Eric Dyson, Come Hell or High Water: Hurricane Katrina and the Color of Disaster (Basic Books)
23. "'Temptations' tempt NAACP". Variety. March 7, 2004. Retrieved December 24, 2023.
24. "Image Awards honor Jamie Foxx, Bernie Mac". The Augusta Chronicle. February 27, 2006. Retrieved December 24, 2023.
25. Williams, Kam (2007). "38th NAACP Image Awards (2007)". AALBC. Retrieved December 24, 2023.
26. "The 39th NAACP Image Award Nominations". Variety. January 8, 2008. Retrieved December 24, 2023.
27. McCarthy, Libby; Peters, Derek (February 14, 2008). "'Debaters' dominates Image Awards". Variety. Retrieved December 24, 2023.
28. Bosselman, Haley (March 27, 2021). "NAACP Image Awards 2021: The Complete Televised Winners List". Variety. Retrieved December 24, 2023.
29. "Awards: SIBA's Southern Book; Branford Boase". Shelf Awareness. July 6, 2018. Retrieved December 24, 2023.

External links

• Official website
• Michael Eric Dyson at IMDb 
• Appearances on C-SPAN
  • In Depth interview with Dyson, April 6, 2008

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Activists	Ralph Abernathy Victoria Gray Adams Zev Aelony Mathew Ahmann Muhammad Ali William G. Anderson Gwendolyn Armstrong Arnold Aronson Ella Baker James Baldwin Marion Barry Daisy Bates Harry Belafonte James Bevel Claude Black Gloria Blackwell Randolph Blackwell Unita Blackwell Ezell Blair Jr. Joanne Bland Julian Bond Joseph E. Boone William Holmes Borders Amelia Boynton Bruce Boynton Raylawni Branch Stanley Branche Ruby Bridges Aurelia Browder H. Rap Brown Ralph Bunche John H. Calhoun Guy Carawan Stokely Carmichael Johnnie Carr James Chaney J. L. Chestnut Shirley Chisholm Colia Lafayette Clark Ramsey Clark Septima Clark Xernona Clayton Eldridge Cleaver Kathleen Cleaver Josephine Dobbs Clement Charles E. Cobb Jr. Annie Lee Cooper Dorothy Cotton Claudette Colvin Vernon Dahmer Jonathan Daniels Abraham Lincoln Davis Angela Davis Joseph DeLaine Dave Dennis Annie Bell Robinson Devine John Wesley Dobbs Patricia Stephens Due Joseph Ellwanger Charles Evers Medgar Evers Myrlie Evers-Williams Chuck Fager James Farmer Walter Fauntroy James Forman Marie Foster Golden Frinks Andrew Goodman Robert Graetz Fred Gray Jack Greenberg Dick Gregory Lawrence Guyot Prathia Hall Fannie Lou Hamer Fred Hampton William E. Harbour Vincent Harding Dorothy Height Audrey Faye Hendricks Lola Hendricks Aaron Henry Oliver Hill Donald L. Hollowell James Hood Myles Horton Zilphia Horton T. R. M. Howard Ruby Hurley Cecil Ivory Jesse Jackson Jimmie Lee Jackson Richie Jean Jackson T. J. Jemison Esau Jenkins Barbara Rose Johns Vernon Johns Frank Minis Johnson Clarence Jones J. Charles Jones Matthew Jones Vernon Jordan Tom Kahn Clyde Kennard A. D. King C.B. King Coretta Scott King Martin Luther King Jr. Martin Luther King Sr. Bernard Lafayette James Lawson Bernard Lee Sanford R. Leigh Jim Letherer Stanley Levison John Lewis Viola Liuzzo Z. Alexander Looby Joseph Lowery Clara Luper Danny Lyon Malcolm X Mae Mallory Vivian Malone Bob Mants Thurgood Marshall Benjamin Mays Franklin McCain Charles McDew Ralph McGill Floyd McKissick Joseph McNeil James Meredith William Ming Jack Minnis Amzie Moore Cecil B. Moore Douglas E. Moore Harriette Moore Harry T. Moore Queen Mother Moore William Lewis Moore Irene Morgan Bob Moses William Moyer Elijah Muhammad Diane Nash Charles Neblett Huey P. Newton Edgar Nixon Jack O'Dell James Orange Rosa Parks James Peck Charles Person Homer Plessy Adam Clayton Powell Jr. Fay Bellamy Powell Rodney N. Powell Al Raby Lincoln Ragsdale A. Philip Randolph George Raymond George Raymond Jr. Bernice Johnson Reagon Cordell Reagon James Reeb Frederick D. Reese Walter Reuther Gloria Richardson David Richmond Bernice Robinson Jo Ann Robinson Angela Russell Bayard Rustin Bernie Sanders Michael Schwerner Bobby Seale Pete Seeger Cleveland Sellers Charles Sherrod Alexander D. Shimkin Fred Shuttlesworth Modjeska Monteith Simkins Glenn E. Smiley A. Maceo Smith Kelly Miller Smith Mary Louise Smith Maxine Smith Ruby Doris Smith-Robinson Charles Kenzie Steele Hank Thomas Dorothy Tillman A. P. Tureaud Hartman Turnbow Albert Turner C. T. Vivian A. T. Walden Wyatt Tee Walker Hollis Watkins Walter Francis White Roy Wilkins Hosea Williams Kale Williams Robert F. Williams Q. V. Williamson Andrew Young Whitney Young Sammy Younge Jr. Bob Zellner James Zwerg
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