Fairfield will welcome Dr. Dyson and Dr. McWhorter for an in-person conversation on the topics of race and social justice, titled “Race, Liberty & Justice: Diverging Perspectives with Eyes on the Prize.”
On Tuesday, March 8, 2022, at 7:30 p.m., the Regina A. Quick Center for the Arts will present “Race, Liberty & Justice: Diverging Perspectives with Eyes on the Prize,” led by prominent academics and public intellectuals Michael Eric Dyson, PhD, and John H. McWhorter, PhD. This event is part of the Open VISIONS Forum (OVF) and the College of Arts and Sciences’ Common Ground Series.
A Detroit, Michigan native, Dr. Michael Eric Dyson was ordained a Baptist minister at the age of 19, graduated magna cum laude from Carson-Newman College, and earned his PhD in religion from Princeton University. A prominent commentator on major media outlets, Dr. Dyson is a contributing opinion writer at The New York Times and The New Republic.
Author of 22 books, Dr. Dyson’s acclaimed work, Long Time Coming: Reckoning With Race in America, was selected by Esquire magazine, Barnes and Noble, and Amazon as a 2020 Best Book of the Year. In a review for NPR, Gabino Iglesias described the book as “a timely, heartfelt book that uses history to slice our nation open and show how racism is a sickness that has shaped our culture and society in a variety of insidious ways.”
Born and raised in Philadelphia, Dr. John H. McWhorter earned his BA from Rutgers, his MA from New York University, and his PhD in linguistics from Stanford. An acclaimed linguist and award-winning writer, Dr. McWhorter is currently an associate professor of English and comparative literature at Columbia University, with an academic focus on American linguistic history.
Dr. McWhorter has authored more than 20 books, including the 2021 New York Times best-seller, Woke Racism: How a New Religion Has Betrayed Black America. A regular contributor to The New Republic and The Atlantic, his provocative 2021 guest essay in The New York Times, “Examining the Use of the N-Word,” was adapted from his most recent book, Nine Nasty Words: English in the Gutter.
“Race, Liberty & Justice: Diverging Perspectives with Eyes on the Prize” with Dr. Michael Eric Dyson and Dr. John H. McWhorter will take place on Tuesday, March 8, 2022, at 7:30 p.m. This program is sponsored by Moffly Media, the Artisan, Delamar Southport, the Delamar Spa, and WPKN 89.5FM. Tickets ($15 for Quick Members and $30 for non-members) are available at Quickcenter.com. To become a Quick Center Member today, visit quickcenter.com. or call the box office at 203-254-4010 or toll free at 1-877-ARTS-396.