Tears We Cannot Stop: A Sermon to White America
Written by Michael Eric Dyson
Narrated by Michael Eric Dyson
4.5/5
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About this audiobook
This program is read by the author
"Elegantly written, Tears We Cannot Stop is powerful in several areas: moving personal recollections; profound cultural analysis; and guidance for moral redemption. A work to relish." —Toni Morrison
"Here’s a sermon that’s as fierce as it is lucid. It shook me up, but in a good way. This is how it works if you’re black in America, this is what happens, and this is how it feels. If you’re black, you’ll feel a spark of recognition in every paragraph. If you’re white, Dyson tells you what you need to know—what this white man needed to know, at least. This is a major achievement. I read it and said amen." —Stephen King
As the country grapples with racist division at a level not seen since the 1960s, one man's voice is heard above the rest. In his New York Times op-ed piece "Death in Black and White," Michael Eric Dyson moved a nation. Isabel Wilkerson called it "an unfiltered Marlboro of black pain" and "crushingly powerful," and Beyonce tweeted about it. Now he continues to speak out in Tears We Cannot Stop—a provocative and deeply personal call for change. Dyson argues that if we are to make real racial progress we must face difficult truths, including being honest about how black grievance has been ignored, dismissed, or discounted. Short, emotional, literary, powerful—this is the book that all Americans who care about the current and long-burning crisis in race relations will want to read.
Editor's Note
A call to action…
In his searing sermon to white America, Michael Eric Dyson writes: “There is a paradox that many of you refuse to see: to get to a point where race won’t make a difference, we have to wrestle, first, with the difference that race makes.” This is a fantastic place to start.
Michael Eric Dyson
MICHAEL ERIC DYSON—Distinguished University Professor of African American and Diaspora Studies, College of Arts & Science, and of Ethics and Society, Divinity School, and NEH Centennial Chair at Vanderbilt University—is one of America’s premier public intellectuals and the author of numerous New York Times bestsellers including Tears We Cannot Stop, What Truth Sounds Like, JAY-Z, and Long Time Coming. A winner of the 2018 nonfiction Southern Book Prize, Dr. Dyson is also a recipient of two NAACP Image awards and the 2020 Langston Hughes Festival Medallion. Former president Barack Obama has noted: “Everybody who speaks after Michael Eric Dyson pales in comparison.”
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Reviews for Tears We Cannot Stop
184 ratings17 reviews
- Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5I sought this book out after seeing Eric Michael Dyson on Bill Maher's show; the author schooling Maher on his joke, using the N-word. I have been researching Women's History that we were not taught and inevitably one will run into untaught Black and Indigenous Americans' history, when researching Women's contributions to the USA and the World. This book really brings home the idea that even Liberals do not comprehend how little we understand equality and what it really means to be advocates. I watched in dismay as my Liberal friends took offense to Black Lives Matter. I have been accused of having, "white guilt", simply for explaining some Black History on social media, simply because I have been searching for more than I was taught. I was also appalled at the 48% apathy rate in the 2016 election and this book has given me some idea of why that may have happened. I have asked a writer friend, "Why don't blacks follow police instructions?" He told me that they are simply fed up, and if I am fed up with the way men treat women and disgusted with our buried history, identities and contributions, then I already have my answer. If you want to keep learning and keep the dialogue open, then this book is a great part of that journey. The audiobook is especially nice, hearing Dyson's powerful oration. He gives many other references to keep your educational journey going. This book is time well-spent. I am thankful Scribd and Eric Michael Dyson have given us the opportunity to have this book so quickly.
3 people found this helpful
- Rating: 2 out of 5 stars2/5Foul language - Harsh judgementalism of "whiteness" - very crude
2 people found this helpful
- Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Good! Eloquently described white privilege. Gave tools to act consciously
2 people found this helpful
- Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Excellent, painful, moving book, especially if you are white. Every white person should read it!
2 people found this helpful
- Rating: 1 out of 5 stars1/5Woke garbage to people that want to pretend they are better people.
1 person found this helpful
- Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5It was a great book that I hope opens the mind of those who it was intended for
1 person found this helpful
- Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Dr. Dyson is a shining example of why White people never wanted us to learn how to read, because of the power of knowledge expressed in words. He so brilliantly and eloquently tells White people off, and tells them about themselves in a way that they need to hear it, as well as in a way that can be objectively received by a rational and conscious human being. He precisely identifies some of the problems of the psyche of White folks, such as the C.H.E.A.T. (Chronic historical evasion and trickery) disorder. This is a must listen for people who are concerned about true change, as well as for people who are stricken with the aforementioned disorder.
1 person found this helpful
- Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Excellent read, so grateful for truth-sayers like Dyson, great book recommendation as well!
- Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5A necessary book for every white person to listen to. Dyson is poignant and well spoken. Very relevant in 2020.
- Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Unsettling, must read book. To ignore yhis messsge is to continue to bury one's head in the mud and blood of a whitewashed history of America. Preach on brother Tyson preach on!
- Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5A book every white christian should read or listen to. Very practical.
- Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5This was a wonderful audiobook. I think I learned as much or more than I did after reading white fertility. All white people need to listen to this!
- Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Been watching Dr. Dyson on Interviews and debates for years. Finally decided to read one of his books. Glad I did! It was eye opening! Definitely a must read!
- Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Great Read it was very informative and positive information to know that can be use to understand how the world works @ times.
- Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5An important message for white Americans and all Americans. Eloquently written and compelling.
- Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5This book will give any open minded white person a lot to think about no matter how "not racist" we think we are. I can't help but thinking, though, after hearing all of the problems America faces and trying (and failing) to speak with friends about these matters, that our future is very bleak.
- Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5A must read for every White person in America. Truth