There are huge divorces and divides and chasms in black America between the have-gots and the have-nots, between the monied and the poor, between the educated and the non-educated. And there are huge and growing chasms daily. And I want to say that it's not simply about generation. It's about genre.
Interpretation
The quote highlights the increasing disparities in wealth, education, and opportunities within Black America.
Michael Eric Dyson emphasizes the widening gaps in society, particularly within the Black community, between those who possess wealth and education and those who do not. He argues that these divisions are not solely based on generational differences but also on various social and cultural factors, suggesting an urgent need to address these inequalities as they continue to grow.
In practice
In a discussion about socioeconomic disparities during a community meeting.
Hip hop scholarship must strive to reflect the form it interrogates, offering the same features as the best hip hop: seductive rhythms, throbbing beats, intelligent lyrics, soulful samples, and a sense of joy that is never exhausted in one sitting.
Oprah Winfrey represents the most ingenious and creative expression of black spiritual genius in the public mainstream that we've had in quite a long time, if ever.
My ambition didn't grow out of nowhere. It was planted in me by a community that nurtured me.
When Dr. King was murdered, I had no idea who he was. But as soon as I heard his words on television that night when I was 9 years old, I was dumbstruck, awestruck by their power.
I grew up in Detroit. I was a teen father. I lived on welfare for three years. I have a brother serving life in prison, though I believe he's innocent.
George Bush ran a campaign where he bragged about being an anti-intellectual, dismissing his Harvard and Yale pedigree, pretending he was an American every day, ordinary everyman, and as a result of that, played up his fumbling speech because it signified that he was a good guy. That is deeply and profoundly anti-intellectual.
Child labor perpetuates poverty, unemployment, illiteracy, population growth and other social problems.
Young mothers who apply for housing assistance in our nation's capital literally could be grandmothers by the time their application is reviewed.
We have failed to fully appreciate how deeply housing is implicated in the creation of poverty.
The news media's silence, particularly television news, is reprehensible. If we knew as much about Darfur as we do about Michael Jackson, we might be able to stop these things from continuing.
Most Americans have never seen the ignorance, degradation, hunger, sickness, and futility in which many other Americans live...They won't become involved in economic or political change until something brings the seriousness of the situation home to them.
When I was confronted with just the bare facts of poverty and inequality in America, it always disturbed and confused me.
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