Michael Eric Dyson

Michael Eric Dyson is a distinguished academic, author, and media commentator, known for his incisive intellectual contributions to discussions on race, religion, and American politics. After earning his Ph.D. in religion from Princeton University in 1993, Michael Eric Dyson swiftly established himself as a leading public intellectual. He published his acclaimed debut, Making Malcolm: The Myth and Meaning of Malcolm X in 1994, which quickly positioned him as a significant voice in American intellectual discourse.

From 2016 to 2018, he served as a distinguished visiting professor at Middlebury College, cementing his academic standing. Maintaining a highly visible media presence, Dyson is a commentator for National Public Radio and MSNBC, and a regular guest on CNN and Real Time with Bill Maher. His print contributions include serving as a contributing opinion writer for The New York Times and a contributing editor for The New Republic and ESPN’s The Undefeated. His 2017 book, Tears We Cannot Stop: A Sermon to White America, received the Southern Book Prize in 2018.

He also published What Truth Sounds Like in 2017 and JAY-Z: Made in America in 2019. In 2020, Dyson was awarded the prestigious Langston Hughes Medal for his literary achievements. In 2021, Dyson joined Vanderbilt University as a Centennial Chair and University Distinguished Professor of African American and Diaspora Studies and Ethics and Society. His recent literary output includes Long Time Coming: Reckoning with Race in America (2020) and Entertaining Race: Performing Blackness in America (2021).

He collaborated with Marc Favreau on Unequal: A Story of America (2022) and Represent: The Unfinished Fight for the Vote, released in 2024, furthering his exploration of critical social justice issues.