MICHAEL ERIC DYSON--distinguished University Professor of African American and Diaspora Studies, College of Arts & Science, and of Ethics and Society, Divinity School, and Centennial Professor at Vanderbilt University--is one of America's premier public intellectuals and the author of seven 
New York Times bestsellers including 
JAY-Z, 
Tears We Cannot Stop, and 
What Truth Sounds Like, and most recently 
Long Time Coming. A contributing opinion writer for 
The New York Times, Dr. Dyson is a recipient of two NAACP Image awards and the 2020 Langston Hughes Festival Medallion. Former president Barack Obama has noted: "Everybody who speaks after Michael Eric Dyson pales in comparison."