Why I Love Black Women [Hardcover]

Michael Eric Dyson (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: January 7, 2003

Son and husband, soulmate and teacher, Michael Eric Dyson owes his success to the love and support of the black women in his life. Yet too often, he warns, African American women are the victims of negative stereotypes that dominate the larger culture and even many quarters of black America. It's time to stop viewing black women as scolding sapphires, welfare queens, professional prima donnas-and carping competitors with white women -and to start giving them the respect and the love they deserve.Why I Love Black Women is an act of cultural restoration that rescues black women from vicious rhetoric and irresponsible generalizations. It is a catalogue of virtues, an unapologetically cheerful view of black women that rescues their strengths and beauties from callous denial or cruel indifference. Deeply personal and socially provocative, Dyson singles out the defining virtues of African American women. More than a colored knock-off of "vanilla" virtues, these qualities evoke praise and conjure awe in the face of black women's struggles. In an era marred by bigoted and baleful beliefs about black women-from hip-hop to the pulpit, from the streets to scholarly focus-Dyson offers a welcome reprieve from cultural madness. Why I Love Black Women explodes taboos while it celebrates the perseverance and the pride, the sensuality and the sophistication, of African American women everywhere.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

With his Open Mike: Reflections of Philosophy, Race, Sex, Culture and Religion published by Basic just 60 days prior to this title, Dyson-University of Pennsylvania professor and the author of sensitive and determined polemics covering the legacy of Martin Luther King (I May Not Get There with You), the murder of Tupac Shakur (Holler if You Hear Me) and the political and cultural impact of Malcolm X (Making Malcolm)-is on a roll. This book, mostly set amid Dyson's barnstorming of the lecture circuit, records his meetings and discussions with black women throughout his life, and takes stock, from a highly partisan perspective, of their recent accomplishments. Dyson's descriptions of the women he meets are nearly novelistic: "I can still see her face: a honey chocolate, pie-shaped visage silhouetted by a shock of dark curls and lit by bright eyes that were lanterns of learning through which her students illuminated the first time to dark corners of black history," he writes of his fifth grade teacher in the book's opening sentence. But he goes on to give astute accounts, peppered with dialogue and compelling historical digressions, of the binds facing successful black women, who have to contend with racism in the workplace and the threat they represent to black men still struggling to find their own collective professional identities. He details his youthful fascination with Angela Davis (whom he later meets) and his admiration for "brave black revolutionary" Assata Shakur. He delves into the life and work of Susan Taylor, "In the Spirit" columnist for Essence magazine, and many others, including his wife, ordained minister Marcia Dyson. The author sneaks a remarkable amount of history and political content into this energetic, clearly voiced title. It should attract a diverse audience, from self-help to cultural studies readers.
Copyright 2003 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From Booklist

Dyson draws on his personal life, marriages, and history to praise and celebrate black women. He starts with the women (mother, teachers, writers) who put his feet on the path from young welfare father in a Detroit ghetto to celebrated theologian, writer, and social commentator. He profiles several prominent and unknown black women who have made valuable contributions to national life and to Dyson's personal life. Among the black female icons he celebrates are the revolutionaries Angela Davis and Assata Shakur, the legislators Maxine Waters and Barbara Lee, and legal scholar Kimberle Williams Crenshaw. Dyson ties them to a historical lineage of black women who have supported black men despite strained relationships, disparities in income and educational levels, and interracial dating and marriage. Dyson takes to task those aspects of black culture, from hip-hop music to church doctrine, that undermine or disrespect black women. He ends with a sermon, a message of mutual respect and love that is particularly applicable to the continuing struggles of black men and women. Vanessa Bush
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Hardcover: 224 pages
• Publisher: Basic Civitas Books (January 7, 2003)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0465017630
• ISBN-13: 978-0465017638
• Product Dimensions: 8.6 x 5.7 x 1.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.1 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (26 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,294,154 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

28 of 32 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars THANK YOU DR. DYSON!!, January 15, 2003

By 

April M. Branch "ambckb" (Chicago, Illinois USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Why I Love Black Women (Hardcover)

Dr. Dyson is a serious intellectual, but one who is "down-to-earth", and who can identify and relate to everyone whether you are as highly educated, working class-- whoever. Dr. Dyson continues to give props to his race, and especially to black women who are often misunderstood, stereotyped, and unacknowledged. He no doubt loves, respects, appreciates, and worships black women. He never fails to use his intelligence and gifts to showcase the black woman. His columns and writings always bring about serious dialogue between the sexes and races. Thank you Dr. Dyson for letting black women shine!!

22 of 26 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars One man's dissertational view of women of color, May 19, 2003

By 

Alvin C. Romer "The Jackal" (Miami, FL USA) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)   

This review is from: Why I Love Black Women (Hardcover)

When I think of the contribution that black women have contributed to the makeup of this country, and their role in society in general, I as a responsive father, son, and husband can certainly give homage to why they are so important to our existence. As I've read other references on this subject it only reminded me that others may share some of the reverence I hold, and have opinions of their own. Eric Michael Dyson is one such person. Always opinionated bordering on controversial, his views somehow find ways to permeate the African-American social Diaspora. Why I love Black Women is his latest offering to commentary that he has given us throughout his annals in the academy. Dyson, married and an ordained minister, is the Avalon Professor in the Humanities at the University of Pennsylvania, once again shoots from the hip taking no prisoners as he candidly and vociferously opines about the virtues of the women that hold reverence in his mind. This is a book that will undoubtedly garner mixed emotions from some of the things that are articulated by the author. Albeit, his expressing his love for sisters in a way which is up front and personal. While he does devote some worthwhile space to his mother, the bulk of the book focuses on what seems to be his compulsive attraction to the rich and famous....and it may well be this fixation that may cause the average black woman to take issue with this show of "preference".

My problem with the text is that the author's appreciative gestures are to the point of distraction. As a result, one may perhaps tend to find other vestiges of value to justify continuing with the read. It's okay to fawn and express feelings for those that you admire on the level that you gravitate, but having such a lofty view should not neglect those that are women nonetheless and would ascend the same positions if they were so inclined. What's the big deal over this Ivy-League professor getting all worked up, not over everyday people, but over academics, lawyers, congresswomen, celebrities and business executives. Comments range on the rich and famous from Freda Payne to Star Jones.

I can't help but think too, that if I extol all that I love about African-American women, it would be imperative that I not neglect to include in generic reference all that may fall within my periphery in lieu of exalted personage. In sum, though Michael Eric Dyson's heart and mind might have been in the right place with good intent, his excessive if not thinly disguised parlance for lust got in the way of his emotion in this book superficial proportions.

13 of 16 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars In Salute of the Black Woman, April 7, 2003

By 

Dawn R Reeves "tamardi" (Harrisburg, PA United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Why I Love Black Women (Hardcover)

Michael Eric Dyson tells us why he loves black women by featuring several prominent and not so prominent African-American females in Why I Love Black Women. He begins with tributes to an elementary teacher, his mother and aunts. He continues with tributes to women he comes into contact with as his educational and religious careers expand. His descriptions of their physical attributes and intellectual brilliance are intense, vivid and classic Michael Dyson. It may be too descriptive for some but it is vintage Michael Dyson. His spoken word definitely shines through his written word.

With each women highlighted, Mr. Dyson showcases their brilliance with reflections and quotes of his meetings. Many social issues are explored and while we all may not agree with the politics, Mr. Dyson has portrayed women who can back up their claims and go toe-to-toe with the best of the male species.

As an African-American female, this is a feel good testament to African-American women by a prominent African-American male; a read that is thought provoking; one that would illicit excellent discussions among book clubs because of the social commentary and one that I recommend to both women and men alike.

Reviewed by Dawn R. Reeves
APOOO BookClub