TAVIS SMILEY | Guest: Dr. Michael Eric Dyson | PBS

[raza1st]

"As brilliant as Dr.Dyson is and has been, he is missing the point. What they should be talking about is not the who died but the why ??Jackson was one of many entertainers who have fallen victim to the corporate and secretive groups and their Machiavellian tactics." Any other talk about making this a race issue is nothing more that smoke and mirrors...

[IamNeutral]

Am I suppose to be impressed because I'm not.

[SugarCoatedMorphine]

@torr5962 I say this with love. HE did not degrade Elvis Presley at all.HE SIMPLE STATED FACTS. Music is one the few things in the mixture of the cement foundation of America. The complied mixture laying flatly on the ground is our HISTORY. Built in our HISTORY is this EMPIRE is great wealth,music and innovation that many of our peers are disillusioned to believe that it simply "poofed" into existence. We need to stop giving sugar coated solutions to complex problems.

[VeggieTrunks]

@SugarCoatedMorphine

Honestly, who the hell took this as an insult. Ugh.

[kimo9449]

i love mr dyson but he's also talked shit about michael jackson at times. but thank you for your words of respect mr dyson.

[melvinmaverick]

dyson just murdered every wannabe smartass with style hahahahahha!

[MikeTysonEatsKids]

Eric Dyson: You stepped on my shoe

White Guy: Sorry Sir..

Eric Dyson: My shoe is black. you stepped on the shoe of a blackman simply because his shoe is black further cementing racial ignorance in this entire Country. you should send all me and my black folks extra welfare money for this or I will use more big words

Black Lower class: Doc dysa sho told him. when we gettin em checks cracka?

[supermike2164]

I'm guess I have much more studying to do every time I hear Mike Dyson He VERBALLY knocks me OUT.

Or he knocks me IN to a dictonary.

[01choicelover]

@supermike2164 lol! I here you.

[AlwayzCheesinDev]

Dr.Dyson is a great black intellectual and scholar. He used so many commodious words I had to look them up in the dictionary. Love this man!

[SuperMARCUS96]

wow lol thats all i can say

[xPirus26]

very wise words

[EJC2004]

Go lord, Mike's vocabulary is incredible!!!

[Steadno]

real talk

[Thelookoutslookout]

Dyson, blah blah blah...too much yapping

[bennykoy]

The fact that this man has anybody who considers him articulate, profound or intelligent is a testament to the shockingly high levels of illiteracy in black America.

I say this because it is impossible to actually comprehend this man's arguments and still think he is clever. Practically everything he says is a pathetic liberal platitude clothed in esoteric vocabulary choices and repeated at rocket-speed. He is a billboard for the term: "pseudo-intellectual". His fans need to learn to read.

[LuckyStarr22]

Hi, can you check out my poetry video: A dream not deferred."

Thanks and enjoy!!!

[vexnsiolence]

Elvis also wasn't accused of raping little boys and an "alleged" a homo. Elvis doesn't have the negative stigma with his life as does Michael Jackson. This is why Elvis is considered bigger in death rather than life. Michael Jackson? I don't think so.

[MrXfree57]

@vexnsiolence Elvis didn't have to suffer the public scrutiny of a Michael Jackson the media today is lite years away in regards to tabloid reporting and destroying reputations in order to gain ratings. It is more profitable today to create scandal by the media because of the America's voyeuristic behavior.

[melvinmaverick]

@vexnsiolence michael jackson is the king of pop, elvis is nothin to him

[supermike2164]

moonwalk away from the wiggle great expression

[Tobydaniel]

Elvis didn't molest children. Big difference between the two. One was a druggie and the other was a child molesting and self mutilating druggie.

[MJsGyrl]

@Tobydaniel Didn't Elvis marry an underage girl? Statutory Rape....And didn't Elvis have issues with the way he looked as he got older due to a severe weight problem? Deep Fried Peanut Butter and Banana Sandwiches..Wasn't Michael Jackson found not guilty of the charges brought against him? Didn't the corner disclose Michael Jackson suffered from a skin disorder and lupus? I was just wondering...

[maverick7211]

by the way elvis did have plastic surgery he had his nose done. fact not fiction

[balancedeath]

bunch of whiners on here

[cs5841379]

what did these people major in?

[MongoloidBabyUSA]

Well, if blacks are going to whine about Elvis et al "stealing" black music, well it was whites who developed all recording, transmission, amplification devices from mikes to the internet as well as every instrument sans percussion as well as written music. Dyson is the consummate pseudo intellectual. It's funny, but when MJ was alive the black power people couldn't give a fig about him, now that he died, all the phonies like Dyson came out to say what a great black he was, BS.

[34Illmatic]

Really? So I guess the Japanese, Chinese, Arabs, Persians, Indians that invented math, modern total quality management (TQM) processes, and every hi-tech device you enjoy had nothing to do with it. Blacks are the most creative artists in the world. Just look at your album or DVD collection. I'm not black BTW.

[truthman50]

Its hilarious, these supposedly educated blacks saying how much greater M.Jackson was than Elvis. Does it really matter one way or another? They forgot to mention 1 thing though. Elvis never slept with little boys, nor did he change his skin color or have plastic surgery. Yes!! lets celebrate the pedophile !!!!!

[statelybird3]

@truthman50

Truthman, they ARE well-educated--both of them ARE college graduates. And the bottom line is, as talented a singer-musician as Elvis, he still got most of his style and influence FROM black musicians---he was always upfront and honest about that. Basically they're saying that Elvis had more of an advantage to put his music out there because at the time he came out black musicians got nowhere as much airplay or promotion due to the segregation back then. He was cleared of charges.

[hagnuj]

Elvis made it OK for whites to come OUT of the closet and try to sing black. (beatles, the who, led zeppelin) Sam Cooke took singing out of the solar system and left everybody else here.

[BeverlyHills2ndGen]

Man, where most people have to plan, write, and edit essays...Dr. Dyson simply speaks with the same proficiency.

[hagnuj]

gotta love the moonwalk tie in though. Dyson is venom.

[MsDimplecheeks]

This guy is so smart!

[hagnuj]

When is he going to drop a CD? Maybe he and KRS ONE should do some collabo and kick start this music scene again.

[edmame]

not familiar with dyson's track record...has he always claimed MJ as part of black experience, "chocolate genius"?

[MrJacksonvill]

he got the song wrong..it's called "Who 's Loving You" by Smokie Robinson

[aquarianrican]

The more 1 is spiritually, academically, musically etc, educated/advanced, the more 1 is able to understand, speak, sing, & express themselves in ways that r more complex, thus hearing seeing things normal folks dont. Dyson/MJ are proud black examples for all of humanity to enjoy

[thomaserossi]

Dyson is racially insecure. That's why he hears things that no one ever said and sees things that never happened.  He's another pathetic afro-centrist. Translation: black racist.

[xxfrijolxx]

to thomaserossi: I think 'aquarianrican' (though that is not this human's real name) summed it up perfectly. Read this reply as a starting point to understanding the minority pt. of view. And follow it up with questions and authentic interest in discovering the uphill battle that minorities face in anglo saxon/viking america. And in understanding each other can we really begin to move toward a more harmonious and balanced america. An America that is greater than it has ever been.Love.u

[FuckUtube2008]

@thomaserossi i think you meant to say that dyson and jesse jackson are your idols and you strive to be like them when you grow up.

[pabankhead1]

Glittering

Very well said......Dr. Eric Dyson is the Mike Tyson of Literature!!

[ndrangheta2008]

The Beatles were truly great artists that changed music. MJ wasn't that. Real artist write and play their own music.

[glitteringdamsel2000]

michae eric dyson is the mike tyson of literature

[tsfonline]

You know...sometimes I think intelligent people are so busy analyzing a subject to death, they don't have time to use the common sense it takes to recognize the obvious...MJ was a very talented person....he wrote music that was infectious and very danceable... his electrifying stage presence was undeniable...nobody cared that he was black or how hard he worked to get to the top....it's as simple and as complicated as that...it just doesn't make sense to read racism into everything...

[tanio12]

well tsfonline some did care that he was black. One can't wear rose-colored glasses thinking we are the world and everybody is colorblind.

[tsfonline]

You know...sometimes I think intelligent people are so busy analyzing a subject to death, they don't have time to use the common sense it takes to recognize the obvious...MJ was a very talented person....he wrote music that was infectious and very danceable... his electrifying stage presence was undeniable...nobody cared that he was black or how hard he worked to get to the top....it's as simple and as complicated as that...it just doesn't make sense to read racism into everything...let it go...

[urlildawg2]

Elvis can't come close to what MJ accomplished as a singer, dancer, songwriter, or musician. Adding his name to songs that Otis Blackwell, a BLACK man , wrote so that he could get publishing. HAHA, MJ owns his catalog!

[ndrangheta2008]

What songs did MJ write? He added his names to songs written by Quincy Jones, Neither Elvis or MJ were great artists. Dyson always try to overstate so-called black accomplishments.

[kahretsin]

LOL are you illiterate? you seriosly don't know the songs MJ wrote,composed and arranged, that changed the music business? Right on about Elvis, he did not right songs

[statelybird3]

@kahretsin

That's so true---Elvis didn't even write most of his biggest hits. BTW, it was a black songwriter who wrote 2 of his biggest hits, "All Shook Up: and "Return To Sender" forgot his name. BTW, Elvis wasn't a saint---funny how truthman convieniently forgets that Elvis was also a drug addict, that he may have been fooling around with his future wife when she was barely 15. Michael WAS cleared of all charges, so get off that. And it found that he did indeed have vitiligo, a rare disease.

[MyKiCkNtOoNiE]

Music is colour blind.

Michael didn't try to break barriers he just did by making music that everyone would like, that everyone could relate to, and that everyone can dance to. I don't think he tried, he just did it.

[MyKiCkNtOoNiE]

Ok. I like Elvis, but Elvis was a drug addict. There's no comparison to Michael. He was not a drug addict when he died. And people need to stop saying that.

[gamehound83]

Jackson unlike Elvis is a child molester!

I would never support a child molester

[CrashArtSkillz]

Elvis was an imposter and a drug addict!Fact!

MJ was a molester?Is that a fact?was it proven or did the kids come forward and said they were brainwashe by their parents to promote those lies?

[layfam21]

First of all people are people, simple and plain! What I was wondering is how come a degree makes you qualified for all forums? Hip Hop is not being defined by the appropriate people. No offense to Dr. Dyson, but he's not helping.

[guyNbluejeans]

Here's another example showing why Caucasians and Blacks should not be in the same country, 'cause it just doesn't work.

Jackson's talent was waaay overrated, and yet this supposed racist culture allowed him to become known world-wide. What a joke that so much is made out of his supposed talent.

The other day a Caucasian dude named Les Paul died and he got about two sentences in the news, even though his contribution to the music world was a trillion times greater than Jackson's.

Sure, racism

[FamousPoets]

MJ's talent was not overrated at all. You have no idea...NO IDEA...the obstacles MJ and the Jackson 5 had to overcome to be acknowledged. Yes, it may seem that their success came over night but very very few white owned radio & tv stations (God bless Ed Sullivan who gave them a national stage) refused to acknowledge this group. Sweetheart it is far beyond just black and white.

[CrashArtSkillz]

les paul never heard of him and im sure niether has chines ppl

[truthchecknow]

Dr. Dyson is awesome. He is NOT bitter towards white folk...he just speaks the truth. He is not "putting the white man" down, the white man did that to himself through a terrible system of white supremacy. How much lower can he go? Prof. Dyson speaks the truth...and sometimes the truth hurts, especially to the guilty party.

[MikeTysonEatsKids]

@truthchecknow

i understand. BUT I feel he takes it too a extreme. When asked about issues about blacks illegitimate kids being at 70% etc.all he says is "jesse jackson is working on that" but he never claims that blacks are responsible for it. He needs someone that will not be afraid of his oral skills and challenge him on real issues. not everything is the "white man's fault" as he tries to say in big words. At some point black parents have to be responsible for their kids. Shelby Steele!

[torr5962]

@truthchecknow But at what cost is truth? Everyone knows the terrible legacy of this country. Dr. Dyson wouldnt have been allowed to exist 100 or even 50 years ago--his opinions would be ignored. But I dont see the point in degrading Elvis as just a cheap black copy who, although poor as dirt, had advantages because of beign white.. Cant we just enjoy Elvis and MJ and their talents? Where did Jackson's blackness hold him back? The white structure that Dyson points do helped make him huge.

[SGTLima66]

@truthchecknow So its ok to gang rape white and hispanic women? Then blame whitey when the 28 blacks are arrested in Texas?

[bashir6789]

@truthchecknow I'm pretty sure Dr. Dyson has some white in him.

[IamNeutral]

@bashir6789 News Flash! Most of American has some white in them.

[jc02151]

@truthchecknow Explain to me what the terrible system of white supremacy is?

[lishol7]

Dyson enjoys his words like a plate of food at a banquet. He invites us to enjoy the feast with him... the phrases, the metaphors, the alliterations, his message becomes secondary and I don't really mind, he's either an intellectual poet or a poetic intellectual.

[Facebook289]

lmfao hel yeah. but he needs 2 put a period on what he says sometimes

[hagnuj]

TV time doesnt allow you to get all you want to say so I appreciate how fast he get his stuff off. Sometimes you have to rewind this guy to get what the hell he just said.

[bi0dude42O]

dyson never misses an opportunity to put down a white man. jackson and presley were both great, but his bitternes toward white people won't allow him to leave it at that.

[ezekielthemack]

The white man has already been put down and has a lot to answer for. You just want black people to circumvent and ignore what was done to them for 400 years - it's not gonna happen.

[TheSoctress]

How is he "bitter" towards Whites? What exactly did he say in this clip or has said that to you, makes him bitter towards Whites?

[cleanface100]

elvis stole black peoples' songs.

Simple and plain.

[VeronicasPlace]

dr dyson is a genius!!

[PurpleLionessWoman]

lolol chocolate genius, mike trips me out!

[th3inquisitiv31]

you caught that too

[midplants]

He started out a chocolate genius, but in his later years he became a white chocolate fool. LOL!

[tanio12]

Michael just kill the words sometimes brother LOL

[webnuts4u2]

A chocolate genius? Dyson loves to hear himself talk.

[Facebook289]

lol hes hilarious.

[mefilmmaking]

Good conversation.

[Aiden057]

What did Dr. West say? I'd like to hear that more than Dyson.