PROGRAM
Please join us at Roosevelt House as we welcome Michael Eric Dyson, University Professor of Sociology at Georgetown University, and mark the publication of his new book, The Black Presidency: Barack Obama and the Politics of Race in America. Professor Dyson will be in conversation with Tamron Hall, of the Today Show and MSNBC Live. They will discuss how the politics of race have shaped Barack Obama’s groundbreaking presidency. This talk, part of our ongoing Keynote Series: Decision 2016, will take place the night after the Iowa caucuses, and provides an opportunity to examine the state of the presidential campaigns in both parties.
Dyson, “one of the most graceful and lucid intellectuals writing on race and politics today,” according to Vanity Fair, examines how President Obama has dealt publicly with race, as the national traumas of Trayvon Martin, Michael Brown, Freddie Gray, and Walter Scott have played out during his tenure. Drawing on interviews with the President for his book, Dyson will also discuss what he believes we can learn from Obama’s major race speeches about his approach to racial conflict and the black criticism it provokes. Dyson explores whether Obama’s use of his own biracialism as a radiant symbol has been driven by the president’s desire to avoid a painful moral reckoning on race. And he sheds light on identity issues within the black power structure, telling the fascinating story of how Obama has spurned traditional black power brokers, significantly reducing their leverage.
The event will be followed by a reception and book signing.
SPEAKERS
Michael Eric Dyson
Michael Eric Dyson, named by Ebony as one of the hundred most influential black Americans, is the author of sixteen books, including Holler if You Hear Me, Is Bill Cosby Right? and I May Not Get There With You: The True Martin Luther King Jr. He is currently University Professor of Sociology at Georgetown University. He lives in Washington, D.C.
Tamron Hall
Tamron Hall is co-host of the third hour of NBC News’ “TODAY” and anchor of “MSNBC Live with Tamron Hall,” which airs weekdays from 11am-noon ET on MSNBC. Hall has also hosted several special reports for MSNBC and NBC News, including “Making the Grade,” “Debating the Black Agenda,” the 2012 London Olympics and “Education Nation: Teacher Town Hall,” which was nominated for an Emmy Award in 2011. She also served as a correspondent for the NBC News special “The Inauguration of Barack Obama,” which won an Emmy for Outstanding Live Coverage. Hall was part of the NBC News team to receive a 2015 Edward R. Murrow Award for her segment on domestic abuse as part of TODAY’s “Shine A Light” series. Since September 2013, Hall has also been the host of “Deadline: Crime with Tamron Hall” on Investigation Discovery.
Prior to joining MSNBC in July 2007, Hall spent 10 years at WFLD in Chicago, and four years at KTVT in Dallas. A native of Luling, Texas, Hall earned her B. A. degree in Broadcast Journalism from Temple University, and began her broadcasting career at KBTX in Bryan, Texas, as a general assignment reporter.
Hall was the recipient of Temple University’s Lew Klein Alumni in the Media award in 2010 and in 2015, was appointed to Temple’s Board of Trustees. She is involved with several charitable organizations that strive to end homelessness and illiteracy, as well as others that fight domestic abuse. In addition, Hall is an active member of the National Association of Black Journalists.
