Thankfully, Dyson’s words were no different to this audience than when he speaks to the Congressional Black Caucus, Urban League or NAACP. His words rang true while enlightening and entertaining this group just as with any other. His poignant and powerful message took the audience to a few, safe expected places, but more consistently pushed, prodded — and at times, stunned them as he used humor and wit to deliver new perspectives on the subtle nuances of race realities in America.
Dyson assailed the race-based mistreatment of black people in his remarks, saying, “the history of racism in America is so specific and particular in regard to the demonization of and the quarantining of the hatred for blackness, [which is] written into the laws of the land that reflect … the inferiority of black people.” He continued, “for the same offenses white children are told ‘not to do that anymore Johnny and Jill,’ black and Latino people are sent to juvenile detention, which sets them up for jail, which sets them up for prison; their schools become feeders for the prison industrial complex,” and sent the audience deep into their own paradigm of where they are on the spectrum of understanding the intricate maze of race relations and the role it plays in much of what happens in this country.
–randy fling
