This article first appeared in the St. Louis Beacon, March 25, 2009 - He's been called the hip-hop intellectual, one of Ebony's 100 most influential black Americans. He's written of the death of Martin Luther King Jr., the life of Marvin Gaye, his love of black women and the state of race across many layers of American life.
Michael Eric Dyson has written 16 books, is a professor of sociology at Georgetown University and a Baptist minister.
At 8 p.m. tonight, Dyson gives the keynote address for the opening of the Callaloo Conference on "The Intellectual's Dilemma: Production and Praxis in the 21st Century" at Washington University. The conference will bring together several notable scholars, artists and poets to discuss and debate the role of black intellectuals in society. Before his talk in St. Louis, we posed five questions to Dyson, about the new president, the economy and where the country is headed next.
The Callaloo Conference is about "the complex and burdensome positions and responsibilities black artists and intellectuals are expected to assume in society and in institutions of higher education." What are those positions and how have they changed over time?
Dyson: Black artists and intellectuals have historically borne what James Baldwin termed the "burden of representation" because of the relative paucity of iconic, or representative figures, assuming a position of cultural authority in the mainstream, or at least among one's black peers. Often the artist and intellectual was thrust into a position of legitimacy as a result of her or his craft, art, contribution or reflections, and became de facto spokespeople for both their own genre of artistic pursuit and in some cases for one's race. This position of authority, and legitimacy, was especially acute when there were severe restrictions placed on acquiring the skills that allowed one to prosper as an artist and intellectual, and when the narrow racial codes on black humanity and intelligence were much more strictly enforced.
As black folk have gained greater access to a number of media -- besides television and radio, the Internet in particular -- there has been a relative democratization of the means to engage and distribute artistic and intellectual issues. Still, to this day, the question of black intelligence and humanity are at the forefront of black artistic and intellectual pursuits, and remain a viable and vexing point of departure for many artists and intellectuals.
You wrote the book "April 4, 1968: Martin Luther King Jr.'s Death and How It Changed America." If you wrote about the day of our last presidential election, how would you consider it changed America, or has it?
Dyson: Obviously, the election of Barack Obama signaled a profound shift in American racial politics. America's choice to elect Obama as president suggests that at critical moments in our national life we are capable of moving beyond strict racial considerations to promote the best person for the highest office in the land. At the same time, Obama's election surely does not signal the automatic or immediate end of racial oppression or conflict; neither does it suggest that America has ended the discriminatory practices that prevent other potential Barack and Michelle Obamas from emerging. While symbolic racism has subsided, structural racism persists, and we must engage the society at the deepest levels of its racial malaise to overcome the persistent inequalities that ravage the lives of millions of blacks.
During and since the presidential election, many people began declaring our country as "post-racial." Do you agree with that, and if not, what are some major areas that still need work by the public?
Dyson: We do not -- neither should we strive -- to live in a post-racial world. Post-racial suggests that we must delete critical strands of our collective memory around race and negate the positive contribution of our blackness to our humanity, our culture and this nation. Instead, we should aim to be postracist -- stretching and striving beyond the limitations imposed because of racial hierarchy on our lives and attempt to breathe and live fully free of such impediments, obstacles and barriers to our flourishing. Thus, we must attend to failed public schools, the over-incarceration of poor blacks, and the persistent poverty that clouds the lives of millions.
What's your role, and the role of other black intellectuals and artists, in setting the agenda for where the country goes next, and where do you hope that is?
Dyson: As a public intellectual, (I believe that) my responsibility -- and that of others -- is to think as sharply and deeply and broadly as possible about the most pressing issues confronting the nation as I attempt to shape national discourse and public policy around a core of progressive beliefs. I hope the country becomes far more humane in its treatment of poor folk, racial and sexual minorities and addresses the appalling gender gaps that mock true justice for all.
The Washington Post recently wrote about a survey of consumer finances by the Federal Reserve. In 2007, for every $1 a white family held, a black family held a dime. That's down 2 cents from 2004 and doesn't account for our current economy. What impact does the economy have on racial equality right now?
Dyson: Black folk are truly the canary in the coal mine: What affects us first affects all later. We have been dealing with economic downturns and depressions for quite a while; the nation is merely catching up. Of course, a thudding economy makes it even more difficult to distribute goods and services for minority and poor folk, but we must take advantage of the poor state of the economy to suggest principles and practices that benefit all, while pointing to how this temporary rough passage for the nation is the permanent plight for too many poor folk of all stripes.