Michael Eric Dyson

Michael Eric Dyson is one of the nation’s most renowned professors, gifted writers, inspiring preachers, knowledgeable lecturers, and prominent media personalities. As a teacher who earned a PhD in Religion from Princeton University, Dyson has taught at some of the nation’s most distinguished universities, including Brown, UNC Chapel Hill, Columbia, the University of Pennsylvania, Georgetown University, and most recently holds the position of Centennial Chair at Vanderbilt University. He serves as University Distinguished Professor of African American and Diaspora Studies in the College of Arts and Science, and University Distinguished Professor of Ethics and Society in the Divinity School at Vanderbilt. Dyson is recognized as one of America’s foremost public intellectuals and is the author of over 25 books, including seven New York Times bestsellers, and has been a political analyst for MSNBC. He has won two NAACP Image Awards, an American Book Award, and was recently honored with the Langston Hughes Medal.

Dyson has written bestselling volumes on significant cultural figures including Martin Luther King, Jr., Malcolm X, Tupac Shakur, Marvin Gaye, Bill Cosby, and Barack Obama. His book "Tears We Cannot Stop: A Sermon to White America" was described by The New York Times as "one of the most frank and searing discussions on race...a deeply serious, urgent book," and won the 2018 Southern Book Prize. Dyson's 2020 publication "Long Time Coming: Reckoning with Race in America" received critical acclaim for its comprehensive analysis of racism in America and its call for justice, described by NPR as featuring “great research informed by Dyson's powerful voice, full of frustration, pain, admiration, and hope.” His latest work, “Entertaining Race: Performing Blackness in America,” continues his exploration into American culture and racial issues.

Beyond academia and writing, Dyson has been a preacher for over 40 years and has delivered sermons in many of the nation’s most noted pulpits, including Washington National Cathedral where Martin Luther King, Jr., delivered his last Sunday sermon. Dyson is also a seasoned orator, having lectured extensively in top educational institutions, public theaters, auditoriums, as well as for corporations and unions. In addition to his scholarly and speaking engagements, he has made appearances on major television and radio shows including NPR’s "Morning Edition" and "The Takeaway," and on television programs like "Meet the Press" and "Good Morning America." He has also appeared in scripted TV shows such as "Soul Food," "The Game," and "Black-ish." Described by Naomi Wolf as “the ideal public intellectual of our times,” Nathan McCall aptly sums him up as "a street fighter in suit and tie.”