Author defends Black poor; urges 'live each night with a good conscience'

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There is no correlation between a person's social or economic status and moral standing, renowned author, minister and "hip-hop intellectual" Michael Eric Dyson told a large crowd gathered at the Stephen M. Ross School of Business Jan. 16 for his lecture as part of the MLK Symposium.

Detroit native, author and professor Michael Eric Dyson during his MLK Day lecture Jan. 16 at the Business School challenged comedian Bill Cosby's criticisms of the Black community. (Photo by Martin Vloet, U-M Photo Services)

In his speech to an audience that spilled into six overflow rooms at the Ross School, Dyson urged those in attendance to follow King's example of helping the vulnerable and less fortunate.

"You can't deny your brothers and sisters their legitimate access to the tree of life or to economic equality without fearing that one day it will come back on you," he said. "King understood that and that's why he marched for the poor."

Dyson, a Detroit native and professor of humanities at the University of Pennsylvania, peppered his talk with rap lyrics by Mos Def, Snoop Dog, Master P. and Tupac Shakur, as well as references to English poet Alfred Lord Tennyson and American writer James Baldwin. He spoke candidly about his recent book, "Is Bill Cosby Right? Or Has the Black Middle Class Lost Its Mind?," in which he responds to Cosby's charges that America's Black poor aren't taking responsibility for their situation.

Dyson, who is hailed as one of America's most inspiring African Americans, argued that Cosby's statements at the 2004 NAACP awards—critical of poor Blacks for their spending habits, speech patterns and the names they give their children—were ill-informed and not given in the context of the bigger picture or problems that exist for impoverished Black Americans.

Dissecting a few of Cosby's arguments, Dyson defended the Black underclass, including his response to Cosby's view on "Black English," which advocates say helps poor Black youth speak standard English while retaining an appreciation for their dialects and native tongues. "Don't call bad English 'ebonics.' You've got to have skills to speak it."

Dyson said white America has been marketing "Black English" through television programs and advertising, and Cosby himself used it to portray his Fat Albert character.

"The purpose of Black English had an edifying end—for the perpetuation of the legacy of African Americans," said Dyson, a regular commentator on National Public Radio and author of several best-selling books, including "Why I Love Black Women," "Between God and Gangsta Rap" and "Race Rules: Navigating the Color Line," as well as books on King, Marvin Gaye, Shakur and Malcolm X.

Addressing Cosby's comments about black American names, Dyson said, "Unless you are paying their child support, you can't say anything. Cosby is reproducing the pathology of bigotry when he should be fighting it."

Resolute in holding the famous comedian accountable for his comments, Dyson added, "All who have made it need not have 'Afroamnesia'," referring to successful blacks who forget from where they come. "We need to target the upper echelon first, Mr. Cosby, not the poor," he said.

Regarding affirmative action, Dyson said society must invite those who have historically been excluded into the larger circle of American privilege because they've been prevented from sharing their great gifts—not because they're inferior.

Dyson's affinity for reciting hip-hop and rap music provided further insight to the author's platform. "If we listen to these 'pavement poets,' King's agony about the decline of the American dream comes full circle," he said. "Yes, they have profanity. But what's more profane and obscene are the conditions they continue to confront."

Dyson completed his speech with references to the sacrifices King made in standing up for what he believed in. "Use Dr. King as one of the great inspirations of our life," he said. "Never mistake the price he paid. See him manifest in all sorts of struggles we see now. That's the genius of his universal application."

"MLK spoke out against the gross materialism that those of us who have now expanded to Black middle class and are now trying to justify our upward mobility by 'dissing' those we left behind," he added. "You've got to live each night with a good conscience. That's the King we must remember and embrace. That's the King who most resembles the marvelous, matchless, perilous example of a soul in constant conversation with his infinite possibility."