2008 Woodie Awards
Hip-hop intellectual wants minority men to move on up
Jessie Burche
Issue date: 10/8/07 Section: News
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West is the ultimate gangster because he spoke out against the most powerful man in the world, George Bush, after Hurricane Katrina.
"What's more gangster than that?" Dyson said.
Dyson visited UMKC Friday, Oct. 5 and spoke to a packed Pierson Auditorium. He was the keynote speaker for the African-American Male and Latino Empowerment Summit (AALo).
He is also one of the most well known black intellectuals in the United States and according to his book jacket for "Know What I Mean?" Dyson was named in Ebony magazine as one of the hundred most influential black Americans.
The AALo summit's subtitle was "How do you 'do you' in academia?" This topic, among many others, was the subject of Dyson's speech.
Before he began speaking, Dyson got the audience going by rapping some Snoop Dogg lyrics.
He addressed stereotypes.
"There's a huge perception and a grand tradition, even a pervasive and profound and problematic stereotype that young people of color are disinterested in learning," Dyson said. "When everywhere, all together, there is a decidedly explicit rejection of such a ludicrous presupposition...Black and brown kids are just as interested [in learning] if not more, than their white counterparts."
He said this stereotype was based on a study done in one school.
He also addressed the issue of dominant white culture and minority cultures of color in the United States.
"The project of deromanticizing white-ness is a project that must be taken up not just by people of color, but by white brothers and sisters themselves so they can be freed of the mythology of their inherent superiority," Dyson said. "Mediocrity has no copyright in terms of color….But why is it that people of color have to prove themselves to be geniuses just to get along with the folk from New York and other communities?"
Viewing Comments 1 - 3 of 5
Will S
WS
posted 10/08/07 @ 4:45 PM CST
You know what's even more 'gangster'? Not making mockery of yourself by demonstrating you know absolutely nothing about the local and state government's responsibilities instead of just claiming that George W. (Continued…)
D. Coates
posted 10/08/07 @ 6:46 PM CST
Dyson makes a lot of sense by preaching responsibility, but he dilutes it by accepting some of the hip hop behaviors. Oh yeah (and I have to say this now-a--days) his views do not represent ALL black people. (Continued…)
John Bertrand
posted 10/09/07 @ 8:58 PM CST
He is an embarrassment to my university.
I am withholding my contribution to the annual fund until he is terminated.
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