Michael Eric Dyson

2021

A distinguished University Professor of African American and Diaspora Studies, College of Arts & Science, and of Ethics and Society, Divinity School, and Centennial Professor at Vanderbilt University. One of America’s premier public intellectuals and the author of seven New York Times bestsellers including JAY-Z, Tears We Cannot Stop, and What Truth Sounds Like, and most recently Long Time Coming. A contributing opinion writer for The New York Times, Dr. Dyson is a recipient of two NAACP Image awards and the 2020 Langston Hughes Festival Medallion.

For more than thirty years, Michael Eric Dyson has played a prominent role in the nation as a public intellectual, university professor, cultural critic, social activist, and ordained Baptist minister. Entertaining Race is a collection of his work--not only celebrating the great impact of African American culture and politics on this country but also calling out the destructive effects of racism and historical amnesia.

Entertaining Race offers a compelling vision from the mind and heart of one of America’s most important and enduring voices. It is a testament to Dyson’s consistent celebration of the outsized impact of African American culture and politics on this country. Most of this work will be new to readers, a fresh light for many of his long-time fans, and an inspiring introduction for newcomers.

"Everybody who speaks after Michael Eric Dyson pales in comparison." -Barack Obama, former president of the United States

"To read Entertaining Race is to encounter the life-long vocation of a teacher who preaches, a preacher who teaches, and an activist who cannot rest until all are set free." —Senator Reverend Raphael Warnock