Large segments of the Black blogger sphere, in particular twitter, has been churning overtime in response to the 10,000 plus word essay written by professor Michael Eric Dyson that heavily criticizes his fellow Black intellectual academic brother, professor Cornel West.
In all frankness, criticizing is too mild a word. Dyson’s article is a searing takedown of West and of what he sees as the “irrational, immature, petty” and otherwise less than positive attitude that West has exhibited toward him, President Obama, other leading Black intellectuals and aspects of Black intellectual culture in general.
A number of observers have characterized the feud between Dyson and West as a boxing match, battle of the narcissists, opportunism at its worst and other derisive terms. This sort of animated speculation and voyeurism is problematic. It assumes a certain degree of clairvoyant ability that none of us possess.
The fact is that only Dyson and West know what motives and emotions lie in their hearts and agendas. For all those who have been captivated by this recent feud between two prominent members of the contemporary Black intelligentsia, the fact is that such behavior is nothing new.
As a historian, I can attest to the fact that dissent among the Black intellectual elite is nothing new. Indeed, writers, politicians, community activists, entertainers, professors, ministers and others have and publically sparred with one another for centuries. Examples of this are:
· Booker T. Washington and WEB DuBois
· WEB DuBois and Marcus Garvey
