By Howard Packowitz
NORMAL – A prominent liberal voice did not hide his contempt for President Donald Trump during an appearance Friday at Illinois State University, but he also said the nation’s first African-American president failed to lead on race relations.
African-American scholar and author Michael Eric Dyson, the keynote speaker at ISU’s annual Martin Luther King Jr. Cultural Dinner, said Barack Obama wasn’t forceful enough on race even as he and First Lady Michelle Obama were repeatedly subjected to racial slurs.
“They’re still looking at your wife as a chimpanzee, a simian of some sort, saying she belongs more in National Geographic along with Serena Williams than on Elle Magazine or Vogue. Obama had to deny what was before his face in deference to what he thought was an optimistic outlook,” said Dyson.
“Imagine having Michael Jordan in the White House, but he won’t talk about basketball,” Dyson also said.
“This is a guy (Obama) who knew a lot about race, who had tremendous insight about it and yet he felt compelled to be silent or be racially reticent and not speak out. I think that damaged not just the interests of black people, but American society,” Dyson added.
Still, Dyson considers Obama one of the nation’s top 10 presidents.
Now, Dyson said there’s a white supremacist ideology in the White House, but he warns not to underestimate President Trump’s ability to win re-election.
“Donald Trump’s problem though is that he is attracted to those things which will fuel and foster such horrible deadly consequences for the sake of political thrill, or winning, or the narcissism that is white supremacy,” Dyson said.
He commended newly-installed Democratic House Speaker Nancy Pelosi for standing up to Trump.
Dyson is a sociology professor at Georgetown University. He met with students, faculty, and the news media before addressing more than 600 people who attended Friday night’s cultural dinner at Redbird Arena.
“It’s wonderful to be back in a place called Normal — wish we could do so in our politics,” Dyson lamented.
Howard Packowitz can be reached at [email protected]
