Michael Eric Dyson joined HuffPost Live on Tuesday and explained why his public takedown of Cornel West, published this week in The New Republic, was “necessary,” despite the “sense of hurt” that came with his break with the Princeton professor.
Although the academics have been friends for years — West even wrote a letter of recommendation for Dyson’s Princeton University graduate school application back in 1984 — the two have parted ways over West’s harsh critique of Obama and other black intellectuals.
Dyson defended his choice of venue to air his grievances, telling host Marc Lamont Hill he hopes others can learn from the debate. He explained:
[quote_box_center]You know what the old people used to say? “Where you did it is where you get it.” So people say, “Why don’t you do it in private?” Because [West’s comments were] done in public. And the public character of what we’re doing here is vital and necessary because the lessons that can be learned, either from my mistakes, either from my flaws, either from my failures and professor West’s are instructive to other people, who will then learn. I’m not saying that therefore we have to mess up in order to clean up, so that we can have object lessons. I’m saying that in the engagement of these ideas, whether it’s Langston Hughes, whether it’s W.E.B. Du Bois, there’s a long tradition.[/quote_box_center]
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