Michael Eric Dyson, CCNY's 2020 Langston Hughes Medalist.
The work and legacy of Michael Eric Dyson are the subject of a symposium ahead of the Langston Hughes Medal presentation to the award-winning author and renowned sociologist at The City College of New York on Nov. 12.
Entitled “Celebrating Michael Eric Dyson," the virtual conference, 12:30 – 2:30 p.m., features several leading academics and intellectuals. City College President Vincent Boudreau, Provost Tony Liss and Dean of the Division of Humanities and Arts Erec Koch will offer remarks at the presentation ceremony, 6 – 8:30 p.m.
In addition, the Rev. Frederick Haynes III, pastor of Friendship-West Baptist Church, Dallas, Texas, will give the benediction; Joel L. Daniels will offer a spoken word performance, and Vanessa K. Valdés, director of CCNY’s Black Studies Program, will engage in a conversation with Dyson before the Medal presentation.
Linda Villarosa, New York Times Magazine contributing writer and an assistant professor of journalism and Black Studies at CCNY, will emcee the evening ceremony. Both ceremonies will be available after the event on the Langston Hughes Festival YouTube channel.
The Langston Hughes medal is awarded to highly distinguished writers from throughout the African American diaspora at CCNY's annual Langston Hughes Festival, which is celebrating its 42nd anniversary this year. It recognizes honorees for their impressive works of poetry, fiction, drama, autobiography and critical essays that help to celebrate the memory and tradition of Langston Hughes. Past award winners include:
• James Baldwin;
• Gwendolyn Brooks;
• Toni Morrison;
• August Wilson;
• Maya Angelou;
• Octavia Butler;
• Zadie Smith; and
• Rita Dove.
Author of the best seller “Tears We Cannot Stop: A Sermon to White America” (St. Martin’s Press, 2017), Dyson has written 23 books. They include the American Book Award winner “Come Hell or High Water: Hurricane Katrina and the Color of Disaster” (Civitas Books, 2007) and “The Black Presidency: Barack Obama and the Politics of Race in America” (Mariner Books; reprint edition, 2017), which was a Kirkus Prize finalist.
Dyson is a two-time NAACP Image Award winner, a New York Times contributing opinion writer, and a contributing editor of The New Republic, and of ESPN's The Undefeated website. The Detroit native is also an ordained Baptist minister. He’s the newly named Centennial Chair and University Distinguished Professor of African American and Diaspora Studies in the College of Arts and Science and University Distinguished Professor of Ethics and Society in the Divinity School at Vanderbilt University.
About the City College of New York
Since 1847, The City College of New York has provided a high-quality and affordable education to generations of New Yorkers in a wide variety of disciplines. CCNY embraces its position at the forefront of social change. It is ranked #1 by the Harvard-based Opportunity Insights out of 369 selective public colleges in the United States on the overall mobility index. This measure reflects both access and outcomes, representing the likelihood that a student at CCNY can move up two or more income quintiles. In addition, the Center for World University Rankings places CCNY in the top 1.8% of universities worldwide in terms of academic excellence. Labor analytics firm Emsi puts at $1.9 billion CCNY’s annual economic impact on the regional economy (5 boroughs and 5 adjacent counties) and quantifies the “for dollar” return on investment to students, taxpayers and society. At City College, more than 16,000 students pursue undergraduate and graduate degrees in eight schools and divisions, driven by significant funded research, creativity and scholarship. CCNY is as diverse, dynamic and visionary as New York City itself. View CCNY Media Kit.