“Hip-Hop Intellectual” Michael Eric Dyson reflected on race and the legacy of civil rights leader Martin Luther King Jr. last night to an overflowing room in Tresidder Union.

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John Shen

Georgetown University professor and acclaimed author Michael Eric Dyson discussed Race, Hip Hop, and the legacy of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr last night in Tresidder.

The Stanford chapter of the NAACP sponsored the visit of the ordained minister, syndicated radio talk show host, prolific author and Georgetown University professor of theology, English and African American studies.

In a two-hour speech peppered with rapping and singing, Dyson had audience members both roaring with laughter and nodding in sober agreement. Dyson addressed a variety of concerns along race, class and generational lines, focusing on topics ranging from hip-hop to the use of the “n-word.”

“Our history is filled with distortions of amnesia,” Dyson said. “We live in the United States of Amnesia.”

Dyson’s speech focused mainly on the legacy of King, his struggle and how he is remembered in American history. He recalled an incident in April 1968 when about 70 members of Stanford’s Black Student Union marched into Memorial Auditorium days after King was assassinated and demanded the increase of African American representation in the student body and faculty.

He said that Stanford students must continue to stand for the vision that King promoted.

“Forty years later, a black man, Barack Obama, is a beneficiary of King’s legacy,” Dyson said. “But we must remember, electing a black man to office will not stop poverty the next day. There are limits proposed on those who are elected to office.”

Dyson argued that the ideals King stood for have now been watered down and sweetened. In fact, he said people should not forget that King struggled and was scrutinized and disliked by many at the time of his death.

“He was lifted up in history because he was let down on that balcony in Memphis,” Dyson said.

He reminded audience members that King gave most of his earnings to the civil rights movement, knowing that it was a movement from the bottom up rather than the the top down. Dyson emphasized the struggle that King faced personally, as he was continually hounded by death threats and even with government wire tappings.

“Don’t get caught up in the mythology,” Dyson said. “He got killed because he was a great man who challenged the world, he made us uncomfortable. Had he lived, he would not have been famous. He would have been irrelevant.”

He urged Stanford students to work to make the legacy of King a reality.

“Carry those demonized and oppressed minorities,” Dyson said, “people who never will have the opportunities you have.”