Social Critic Michael Eric Dyson to Speak Feb. 27

By Jill Yesko, University Relations

Contact: (336) 334-5371

Posted 2-4-08

GREENSBORO, NC – Best-selling author and scholar Dr. Michael Eric Dyson, whose books have tackled some of the toughest and most controversial issues from race and identity to class in black America, will speak on Wednesday, Feb. 27, at 7 p.m. in Cone Ballroom.

Dyson will deliver a lecture titled “Know What I Mean."

Hailed as one of the nation’s most inspiring African Americans, Dyson has been credited with revitalizing the role of the public intellectual with the fervor of an ordained Baptist minister.

Dyson’s more than 15 books have tackled topics such as the virtues of hip-hop culture and the political and racial fallout from Hurricane Katrina. He is the author of the New York Times bestseller “Is Bill Cosby Right? Or Has the Black Middle Class Lost its Mind?”

Dyson has been nominated for the prestigious NAACP Image Award three times and has won it twice. He has been named one of the 100 most influential black Americans by Ebony magazine. His next book, “April 4, 1968,” will be released for the 40th anniversary of the assassination of Martin Luther King, Jr.

Dyson received a PhD in religion from Princeton. He is a professor at Georgetown University where he teaches courses that explore the boundaries between religion, culture and society.

The event is sponsored by the African American Studies Program, the Neo Black Society, the Office of the Provost and the College of Arts and Sciences.

The lecture is free and open to the public. However, advance tickets are required. Tickets are available through the University Box Office at www.uncg.edu/euc/boxoffice/tickets, or by calling (336) 334-4849. Tickets are limited to two per person.

For more information contact smreid@uncg.edu, or call (336) 256-2576.