Kirsten West Savali of The Root, Dr. Greg Carr of Howard University and Indy Journalist Ben Norton discuss many of the missing pieces in the West v. Dyson exchange on WEAA 88.9 FM’s No Hooks for the Hip-Hop Chronicles. And if you missed it go back and check out the iMWiL! crew deal with this in rap battle format with Dj RBI and the seminal scholar Neely Fuller!*
*This discussion was taped April 21, 2015
In my view, Dr. Dyson launched a discourteous, vindictive, and Souls on Black Folk like personal attack against Dr. Cornel West in the racist publication The New Republic. I take exception to Dr. Dyson’s characterization of Dr. West as if he’s on some sort of academic decline and not relevant. Dr. “neoliberal” Dyson, you have the Chutzpah to assert that Dr. West’s previous books are not scholarly. I would venture in saying that none of Dyson’s 16 books qualify as being scholarly based upon what he’s been trained in academically.
In fact, when was the last time Dr. Dyson published any peer reviewed articles or books in the field of philosophy or religion? If Dr. Dyson were really being intellectually honest, he should explain to the public why he was literally ran out of the University of Pennsylvania (UPENN) for your lack of publishing scholarly works, or why Howard University did not hire you for similar reasons. Further, Dr. Dyson, the majority of your books are similar to what one writes who has a Ph.D. in African/African American studies and literature and not a Ph.D. in Religion and Philosophy such as yourself. What was even more disheartening Dr. Dyson, if you disagreed with Dr. West so vehemently you should put your ego to the wayside and talked with Dr. West in person instead of using The New Republic platform.
Dr. Dyson, for taking this questionable and narcissistic course of action, it only reveals your loyalty to the Democratic Party elite along with the neoliberal establishment. Dr. Dyson needs to you realize that his error in judgment and should publicly apologize to Dr. West and not allow personal and political gain as your modus operandi.
Simply stated, why have you’ll wasted time dealing with two sycophantic hirelings?