Obama Living Up to Post-Racial Promise? - Michael Eric Dyson

Complete video at: http://fora.tv/2009/05/27/Michael_Eric_Dyson_Can_You_Hear_Me_Now

Author Michael Eric Dyson discusses bigotry and african-american identity in the Obama era. "I don't think we should be post-racial, but I do think we should be post-racist," he says.

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Sociologist and cultural critic Michael Eric Dyson talks about his book, Can You Hear Me Now? This program was recorded in collaboration with the Commonwealth Club of California, on May 27, 2009.

Named one of the 100 most influential black Americans by Ebony magazine, Dyson touches on politics, the arts and the personal, including justice, poverty, faith and spirituality.

Known as the "hip-hop" intellectual, he examines issues of class, race and poverty, and political strife. - Commonwealth Club of California

Michael Eric Dyson, named by Ebony as one of the hundred most influential black Americans, is the author of sixteen books, including Holler if You Hear Me, Is Bill Cosby Right? and I May Not Get There With You: The True Martin Luther King Jr. He is currently University Professor of Sociology at Georgetown University. He lives in Washington, D.C.

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[truthchecknow]

Prof. Dyson is absolutely brilliant. He is a "race" man, but not a RACIST. He pretty much says what many are afraid to say. As far as solutions...read some of his books and you will see that he offers many solutions to the plight of African Americans.

[DavidWillB]

"Race" doesn't actually mean anything.

It is an artificial categorization which causes opposition and difference through meaningless distinctions.

I think putting empty, meaningless, divisive ideas behind us is what that post racial comment was about.

Species means something. We are human. Why don't we dwell on that for a while?

As to ethnicity, that is a term so broad as to be almost useless. It can mean various things such as culture, genetics, national, state or city origin or religion.

[batongbakalpare]

@DavidWillB We cannot "default" to notions of "racelessness", because that is to default to narratives and mandates dominated by whites, it is to ignore the disparities in freedom (economic, educational, social, cultural, and so on) among whites and people of color, it is to absolve the structures and participants of privilege of their responsibilities, and it is to allow previous egregious violations of justice and humanity to resurface.

[batongbakalpare]

@DavidWillB As to "ethnicity," ethnicity is historically impacted by cultural (e.g. religion) and secular (e.g. the creation of national borders and political nation-states) factors, but it is not defined by them. The term "ethnicity" is far less broad than the parameters you posit.

Yes, we are all human. But to attempt now to somehow erase the historical truths of racism or to fallaciously pretend as though race is no longer relevant is to perpetuate white supremacist ideologies.

[batongbakalpare]

@DavidWillB Yes--"Race" as a concept of classification (and eventually the perception of racial hierarchies) was entirely a manmade, white construct.

However, as "Race" began to take social manifestations, its implications were made real. This is to say, the concept of "race" was born from the arbitrary perceptions by whites, but it took on social realities--such as the slavery of Blacks and the extermination of Native Americans--as a result of its acceptance. This is the genesis of racism .

[bennykoy]

@truthchecknow I'm not the least bit interested in the plight of blacks, but thanks anyway.

[TheGoalSetter]

It means to not define yourself by a race.

Racial pride is the foundation of all racism.

Replace the ridiculous notion of race and you rid our world of racism.

[MandisaAzalee]

i love him!!!!!!!!!!!

[DrCruel]

Certainly he is an eloquent champion of the liberal race industry. I must say, his "game" is certainly much more polished than that of, say, someone like Al Sharpton or Jeremiah Wright.

[firefox8192]

Dr. Dyson rules. and owns the competition.