I am lily and im a bend associate of politics and prose and im really glad you were here tonight. We do events all of the city from our main store on connecticut avenue to our busboys and poets who locations. We have gotten incredibly diverse and dynamic lineups this season starting tonight and continuing in the next few weeks with Sybrina Fulton and tracy martin who are the parents of trayvon martin. We hope you will join us for those events. Tonight we are so glad you have joined us to welcome Michael Eric Dyson who is a Georgetown Professor of sociology and ordained minister and author of 19 books most recently the black presidency from which he read at politics and prose not thank. His newest book tears we cannot stop a sermon to White America is the core Patrick PhillipsNew York Times has book that should take its place in baltimore and the fire next time in kings when we way. Combines colter mouses personal experience and is consuming in every way. Washington post Carlos Lovato wrote readers will find searing moments in tears we cannot stop when dysons words are unforgettable and i confess to that. This is the book that will stick with me for a long time. Our conversation with wesley lowered her who is a National Reporter at the Washington Post and the author of they cant kill us all Ferguson Baltimore and the new era in american justice. Im going to turn this over to wesley but before i do please join me in welcoming Wesley Lowery and Michael Eric Dyson. [applause] good evening everybody. We appreciate you coming out for what is sure to be an excellent conversation about what is a remarkably done and very moving and compelling piece of writing. You have written 19 books and i would hope you would start getting pretty good at it. But what we have all known is that dr. Dyson has been excellent for a long time. Now it would be unfitting i guess to start this conversation anywhere else than where we were having it back in the green room prior where we were sitting here two days before a president ial inauguration after a campaign to replace the first black president in a campaign, and a campaign that led to the election of their replacement who objectively ran a campaign premised on certainly racial discord and racial unrest in many would say racism. How would you describe the temperature of the current moment in this nation as it relates to the ongoing wages of what our president describes in our original sin of slavery . First of all i want to thank politics and prose and sixth and i. And one of the most gifted and fiercely intelligent journalists and thinkers we have brother Wesley Lowery. Lets give it out for him. [applause] we are in a fix, a model. There are many words we could generate to articulate this sense of missouri misery social distress of apocalypse and chaos and thats just the beginning of the analysis but it is true that my pastor used to tell me we have are to come through what we have come to so Howard Thurmond the great africanamerican mystic said refused to reduce your life to the events you confront. This particular events will not exalt the Infinite Possibilities of eternity or even time from fulfilling themselves and for us engaging in behavior that will modify a future that is not yet arrived. In other words we kinkajou beat to the changing of society and the scene in which we live i our concerted efforts and actions so its not fixed. Start rigidly determined. We may have some predestination that would determine the outcome in advance but i think that the radical possibilities of human act 70 can always modify what we think is in the offing. When it comes to president obama versus donald trump its too easy to draw the contrast. One man interviewed by the New York Times about the hoax that informed his own consciousness, the wide range of literacy that articulates one of the most profound sensibilities of engagement with cerebral matters that his ever darken the oval office. Right . [applause] so we have abraham lincoln, thomas jefferson, a rock obama, even if we must be grudgingly or grudgingly acknowledge Woodrow Wilson pickett as he was Theodore Roosevelt in fdr, these are men who have engaged in serious and sustained rapport with literate sources. Then we have donald trump. I dont know if tweeting constitutes a new form of literacy in a postmodern moment they did construction of sense and logic and in their place prices up a episodic intervention. This is the first toddler presidency and i say that with all due respect to toddlers. [applause] lets be real. Donald trump has arrived in america for a very specific reason. This is the man who attacked the legitimacy of Barack Hussein obama for a year and a half, two years with relentless intensity, with remorseless velocity. He shattered the social compact such as it existed in the nation around us a fragile, and c. By intervening with some of the most vicious lambasting in the last 50 years. A sitting president being challenged to his legitimacy as president of the United States of america in the birther racism by suggesting his or her certificates suggested that he wasnt really an american and that he was hiding something. All of this amalgam of Conspiracy Theory and hateful vengeful white supremacist thinking. When you put that stuff together that concoction as well prove to be a nasty brew and yet still this is the guy who rolls to the top. This is the man that any people in america chose to be president of the United States of america. Hes a standard bearer over a party that rose up against him to begin with. We think about frankenstein remember frankenstein was the name of the doctor, not the monster. Thats too created, whoever created the donald trump equally responsible as donald trump the monster himself metaphorically speaking mr. Trump so the reality is a party created him. When you are assaulted obama and said the first thing you want is to do was make him a oneterm president and when you got together on the day of his inauguration to say we will figure out a way to make him unsuccessful you are unpatriotic. My friends you are not americans but you placed yourselves up to suggest that obama was not truly american. What is he lacks hes a socialist, he is a communist and you are recognized there are contradictory elements within these assertions. He doesnt believe in god he believes in one other gods of the whole point is all this stuff they try to lay on obama was the articulation of a venomous fundamental principle. We dont want a knee grow in charge and you can dress it up and you can try to pretend that his ideological, political, sure thats part of it that at the end of the day the resurgence of racial animus he of lack hostility is at the root of so much of what we see in response to obama and now that he is living leaving, dont we miss him already . Oh my god, oh my lord where are you going . Is like the color purple. I dont know, just help them out. Secretary of common sense but mr. Trump does represent something thats quite interesting. It is the fact that theres a certain kind of misstep metastasizing whiteness a particular variety and species of white as that is indifferent to its own innocence, that is hostile to being taken to account for the things it says and does and in my book what i try to do is to interrogate the sources of that. Whered it come from . It didnt start with donald trump. It began long ago at the beginning of our experiment of democracy. What i try to address in the book is where we got it from and what we do now that he has arrived in the most powerful metaphor for metastasized whiteness in the body politic that led to the deception of the mock or see. Sorry for that metaphor but thats kind of where i am. The books subtitle is a sermon to White America. Early in the book, page 70 right i simply want to bear witness to the truth icmb reality i know and without White America wrestling with history and accepting these realities we may not survive. In this moment to whiteness is not a new construct and not something invented by donald trump. Although its certainly interacted with the black presidency. I think the phrase fierce urgency of now again youre right we might not survive in a world essentially in which White Americans are unwilling or incapable of can writing this concept of whiteness in technology and the truth and the reality of black and brown america. Its a great point. Look, many White Brothers and sisters perhaps even present here tonight are just a little bit subcutaneous reaction of things seen as a group. How dare you. They havent had the luxury of being individuals. Black folks dont know anything about that. Where all part of the group and if one of you all did it you updated. Please dont let it be a black man, please. Not this time. Dont let it be please. No disrespect, take some of the blame. Let it be a latino and all of us together led to be a white guy. So the way in which we are born into and almost intrinsic conception of collectivity that we can never be judged as an individual that even when we are seen as an individual we are seen as an exception too or the bad and the black people do are seen as representative of the group and the great things we do are seen as exceptions to the group. Many White Brothers and sisters are thinking of themselves not as white as human beings. What a luxury. What a beautiful thing. You dont even see your whiteness. Thats great. We see it and whats interesting is on the one hand theres an edifying conception of a certain kind of endeavor and two at the city or race. Thats beautiful of but on the other hand its real dangerous because when you have that you dont know it and it can be real problematic if you are not a handle it. You think you have a toy gun that youve got a winchester. You know what im saying, a glock. To be more contemporary, and are a whats up . Whats interesting is if you deployed a whiteness without knowing you are to playing at its problematic in many white others and sisters did not want to be called to account metaphysically or metaphorically as a group. On the radio earlier, why are you calling us . Okay. I can come up with a nonblack nonbrown nonyellow, right . Ycs altogether . I understand the rebellion but the reality is its a way of engaging a group of people that we you know you have diversities and contradictions many of which are not ascribed to africanamerican people in the shoe was on the other foot or the tongue is on the other side of the cheat or the reality is that black americans have not been invited and engaged to think soap critically and introspectively about what it means to be white. When we think like men, men think gender, thats a bunch of women. You have a gender too. You can grab things. You can be predatory. Misogyny sexism and patriarchy combined tube lethal attempts against vulnerable bodies. So men dont think about gender with regard to themselves and white others and sisters dont take think about race with the guards themselves. You have a race too. Ethnicity is one thing. If we bring up anything italian lithuanian jewish or polish and race however is made in the crucible of america because you would be italian or lithuanian or polish and you come to america and its a crucible of grace. That polish identity is pulverized in the crucible of race and remade as white men. People dont begin to make those distinctions. You are from the northern part of italy or the southern part of france and poland and then greek and all those differences that make a difference when you are in europe become less important when you come to america because you lose a specificity of ethnicity and race substitutes in a planned way but it also disallows a serious engagement with the social construct called whiteness. Whiteness as a political identity. Soft something you are worn with. You learn to become white and you become white by breathing in the atmosphere of a society that will insert significance in what that white identity is. Many white runners and sisters were of the description of Group Identity to them and yet welcome to the world of black and brown and yellow people and welcome to the world of women and many minorities. I think its extremely important for us to wrestle with that notion of whiteness in employer test method how does operates a white others and sisters become conscious of it and get a grasp on it and began to interrogate it empty and just active about it, begin to talk about it in ways that are not defensive for nastier vicious or putting down but calmly reflective about the existential and political identities that are ascribed to you and how whiteness has been an advantage for you. So my people tell me hey you are a rich professor from georgetown. Im certainly a professor from georgetown, thats true. Im a rich professor from georgetown but the reality is that it aint like Jackie Robinsons children who got an exemption from jim crow because they were rich. Its not like joe louis family got an exemption. In other words rich black people didnt get treated better than poor black people when it came to a white water fountain so why is it now as it compensatory scheme of justice we say well its not right that black people be aired to certain legacies of benefit advantage because now youve got more money. It was never about the dell. It was never about the cash. It was never about the money. It was about the color and the culture in the race. On the other hand if you are white person and you get stopped by the police and you dont die thats the greatest White Privilege in the world at least in america that you dont interact with a Police Person and you end up dead. I was in front of bens chilly bowl at few months ago at 4 30 in the morning i was doing a study that night. [laughter] the bacchanalia of the clubs of d. C. Wondering what the young people were engaged in. Let me see myself. Im out there 4 30 and a white kid is going off on the police. You. [blank] ,. [blank] and ipad oh my god theyre going to shoot him. No, hes a white guy. Heres what the police said. Son, you are clearly inebriated. You need to go home. All black folks are saying, can we get that . Dont shoot us, dont stab us. Tamir rice within two seconds you have made a snap decision to deprive our children of rights. That is the cumulative knowledge the epistemology of fear. It is the projection of stereotype of unconscious racial profiling of a 12yearold child. What we want is a cessation of the velocity of stereotype and a granting of the same humanity that you rant each other. If White Brothers and sisters can tell the truth about that and can grapple with that i think we would make a lot more progress than trying to grapple with what it means to be white. It struck me as i start with this book and something on the conversation of many black writers and journalists and authors have themselves. One thing that came to mind is i remember a response that to nazi codes response. Why do white people of the so much and talking about who he writes for he said i felt like any of the people i was reading the 90s were burdened by it the need to explain to white people. You set out with the stated goal and purpose of proselytizing to white people. This was believe it or not the title of the sermon. What do you see as the role of black men and black women who are engaged in telling the stories of black drama and black pain and what is the responsibility to engage with the white majority. Thats a great point. Many of my millennial students say look im not here to teach you speaking to White America. They are talking to you but they are speaking to me. Im not there to teach you anything. Im literally a teacher. Yes, i am your teacher and i get all kinds of hate mail from white people. I might as well say that get 10 emails a day. Im such a great guy. Could you at least a professor, please . Can you at least shout me out on the pedigree of my i. D. . So you get that kind of low back and you get that animus and that kind of hostility and some of the letters i get from irate parents i cant believe you are a professor at georgetown. You are trying to work the mines of my children. Yeah i am actually. Thats my stated goal. Beam them up scotty, warped speed. Ive got to try to reject or that bank that ive got to try to open those minds up. I want to deconstruct it and challenge it. I want to do mythologizing use words that might make you upset because you dont know im saying and you are especially mad that a unique row would say stuff that you dont understand because you out simultaneously. I come from a different generation than brother coats. I understand his explanation to say i take a black university is the norm therefore i dont speak to white mothers and sisters. I have the books that dont even take into account what dominant Society Might believe are perfect on in the sense of a cultural starting point but my job always as the scholars to think critically about this. Im a bit more suspicious about the fact that he spent as an intellectual its not that we all agree about certain things. Its about being a contact cantankerous individual. We can write about would change the world but we are going to be able to work on it. I was at the march on washington here this past saturday and ive been involved not as a summer job that is a real thing, no disrespect. I also know what it means to be suspicious and skip tickle is to be suspicious and skeptical of your own thinking and your own thoughts, their own surety in your own certitude. Thats what it means to be an intellectual come to raise questions about it. Its not that you dont land a particular round. Your position and willingness to defend it but it does mean your fit moores ethical. You have to have a little bit more humility about i could be wrong. I believe this is the decision but im willing to engage and negotiate. Is the difference between a barack obama is going to say im going to reach ac