Blackness, whiteness, black history and all the different shades of race in America were the topics of an energetic 80-minute discourse Tuesday by acclaimed author and educator Michael Eric Dyson.

Dyson, who has been hailed as a "street-fighter in a suit and tie," wowed the large crowd with his speaking style, which ran the gamut from rapid-fire gangsta rap to intellectual digressions that could put a philosophy professor to shame. But his message was constant: Race is much more than a simple black and white issue.

"Race is so much more complex than it used to be," he said. "Race is at the heart of the American project."

Dyson discussed the wide range of ethnicities and of experiences, that fall under the moniker of "black," and the equally wide variety of types of "white," "Latino" and "Asian" that make up American society today. He contended that Americans should learn to appreciate and accept these varying racial identities.

"We should not try to force Tiger Woods to be either black or Thai, because he's both," he said.

There are many different varieties of blacks and whites and Latinos, Dyson said, and conflicts between different groups within and between the races arise from a variety of misunderstandings. His lecture focused on blacks, and he discussed the clash between today's youth — "the hip-hop generation" — and their parents, who lived through the civil rights movement, and who Dyson contended, too often accuse the entire younger generalization of materialism, without listening.

"There is some criticism of that [materialism] within hip-hop, but if you don't listen to it, if you hate it, if you criticize your own children, you won't see it," he said. "Listen to internal critique, because there's something important going on."

Dyson also discussed the importance of an understanding of black history, both for blacks and for people of all races, saying that it is a crucial part of American history.

"African-American studies is not just for African-Americans," he said. "The reality is that that this is important for all of us to learn."

The history of black people, and other minorities, in America is one which is essential to students' understanding of this country's past and future in no small part because of the divisions among different ethnicities, he said.

"Our history has always been about conflicting streams and strands," he said.

Dyson is a professor at DePaul University in Chicago and an ordained Baptist minister. He has written three books on the subject of race.

The talk was held in the Hesburgh Library Auditorium. It was a part of the Office of Multicultural Student Affairs lecture series "Leadership in Diversity: Recognizing Our Role Models."

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