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The co-op bookstore for avid readers
Between God and Gangsta Rap: Bearing Witness to Black Culture
A former welfare father from the ghetto of Detroit, Michael Eric Dyson is today a critic, scholar, and ordained Baptist minister who has forged a unique role: he is a compelling spokesman for the concerns of the black community, and also a leader who has a genuine rapport with that community, particularly with urban youth. In his essays, lectures, sermons, and books, he has emerged as one of the leading African-American voices of our day. There is a section of wonderful profiles Dyson calls "Testimonials" - studies of black men, from O. J. Simpson to Marion Barry, and from Baptist preacher Gardner Taylor to Michael Jordan and Sam Cooke. In "Obsessed with O. J., " Dyson offers an extremely personal and insightful series of reflections on the case. In "Lessons, " Dyson takes up the subjects of politics and racial identity. Newt Gingrich and moral panic, Qubilah Shabazz, Carol Moseley Braun, the NAACP, Martin Luther King, Jr., and Malcolm X all figure in these insightful and accessible pieces. And "Songs of Celebration" draws from Dyson's writings for the popular press such as Rolling Stone and Vibe, and explores the joys and pitfalls of black expression, from the black vernacular bible to gospel music, R & B, and hip-hop. Dyson concludes with an essay framed as a letter to his wife, which offers a positive counterbalance to the opening address to his brother. The letter serves as a tribute to the redemptive powers of love, the black family, spirit, and change. Arguing that the richness of black culture today can be found in the interstices - between god and gangsta rap - Dyson charts the progress and pain of African Americans over the past decade. As a compendium of his thinking aboutcontemporary culture Between God and Gangsta Rap will find a wide audience among black and white readers.
Book Details
- Publisher: Oxford University Press
- Publish Date: Jan 30th, 1997
- Pages: 240
- Language: English
- Edition: undefined - undefined
- Dimensions: 8.04in - 5.38in - 0.48in - 0.41lb
- EAN: 9780195115697
- Categories: • Cultural & Ethnic Studies - American - African American & Bl• United States - General• Sociology of Religion
About the Author
Michael Eric Dyson is an ordained Baptist minister, Director of the Institute of African-American Research, and Professor of Communication Studies at the University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill. He is the author of the widely acclaimed Reflecting Black: African-American Cultural Criticism, and Making Malcolm: The Myth and Meaning of Malcolm X. His most recent publication is race Rules: Navigating the Color Line.
Praise for this book
"Michael Eric Dyson is...one of our most compelling spokesmen for the concerns of the Black community today."--Black History"A provocative collection of essays on black culture.... Dyson is one of a group of contemporary black writers, including bell hooks, Cornel West, and Derrick Bell, who are forging what might be called a new canon of inclusion."--Christopher John Farley, Time"Eclectically jumping from profiles of Michael Jordan...to the Rev. Gardner Taylor, ...Dyson provides an expertly composed snapshot of contemporary African-American life."--Newsday"If you're a member of the hip hop community who's fed up with critics attacking the genre and villifying its artists, Michael Eric Dyson's latest book, Between God and Gangsta Rap, provides long-sought-after relief. This brother's sermon is a must-read."--Shani Saxon, Vibe