Michael Eric Dyson and Come Hell or High Water Reviewed

Introduction

Michael Eric Dyson has become a pivotal figure in the world of race relations in America. The professor and author has written several books on race relations over the last decade. The purpose of this discussion is to explore the life and scholarship of Michael Eric Dyson as it pertains to the book Come Hell or High Water. The research will reveal that Come Hell or High Water is a book that is insightful in both breadth and depth as it pertains to racial politics and the reaction of the federal government in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina.

Michael Eric Dyson: Background and Scholarship

Dyson was born in 1958 in Detroit, Michigan. At a young age he was recognized as a great orator and a profound thinker. He was able to escape the poverty-stricken streets of Detroit through academic pursuits, which led him to Princeton University, where he received a PhD in religion. He has worked as a professor at DePaul University, Brown University, and the University of Pennsylvania. He is currently a professor of Sociology at Georgetown University, where the courses he teaches include African American Studies and theology.

Connections Between Dyson's Life, Scholarship, and Come Hell or High Water

The links between Dyson's life, scholarship, and the book Come Hell or High Water are obvious and concrete. As it pertains to his life, the book chronicles the difficulty that the people of New Orleans had in leaving the city when confronted with the reality that a dangerous storm was approaching. Dyson points to the plight of the poor and the working class, and how the cost of daily living impeded their ability to escape the storm. He notes that these were not people who could afford to simply pick up and leave — quite often they did not have transportation, and even if they did, they would not have had the money for a hotel room once they fled the city. Those who were able to get out and had to rebuild their lives elsewhere faced a great deal of adversity. This scenario and other aspects of the book are connected to Dyson's own life in that he comes from an impoverished background and therefore has a personal understanding — to some extent — of the difficulties that poor and working-class individuals face.

As it pertains to scholarship, the book highlights Dyson's in-depth knowledge of history and sociology. His historical scholarship can be seen in the way he relates the fate of enslaved people in the ancient city of Pompeii — who were left to be consumed by the erupting volcano — to the working-class people of New Orleans who were left to face the fury of Hurricane Katrina. The ability to draw this connection is evident in the following passage from Come Hell or High Water:

"The way it was for the poor people of Pompeii is the way it was for the poor people of New Orleans. They were ensconced in a city rich with culture and yet could not take full advantage of its incredible delights. They served a ruling class and visiting tourists but were kept from the pleasures they helped to provide. And when the city fell to the fury of nature, they were most vulnerable to the environment's brutal backlash" (Dyson, 2006, p. x [preface]).

Dyson's sociological scholarship is evident in the manner in which he displays his expertise regarding black migration and the government policies that prevented the victims of Katrina from being properly cared for. His studies in American sociology are pronounced throughout the book as he explains the relationship between the government and Black citizens. Not only does he demonstrate his knowledge of race relations, but also his understanding of classism and how the government treats poor people. More specifically, Dyson uses his scholarship to highlight the failings of the Bush administration and the American government in their response to Hurricane Katrina and its victims, who were overwhelmingly Black and poor. He also presents statistics and facts associated with the population of New Orleans to support his arguments.

Conclusion

As it pertains to literary criticism, Angela P. Dodson of Black Issues Book Review asserts that the book presents a scathing account of the tragedy caused by the hurricane and the United States government's failure to act in the face of the disaster. Dodson also points out that Dyson does not lay all the blame at the feet of the government; instead, he also questions the failure of upper-class Black people to assist poorer Black residents (Dodson, 2006). Dodson further notes Dyson's skillful use of language and rhetoric in conveying his argument.

Jed Horne — an editor of the New Orleans Times-Picayune — offers additional criticism, asserting that some of Dyson's statistics are not reliable, particularly regarding the number of people who could not leave the city because they lacked cars. Horne argues: "A lot of the people who stayed behind to ride out Katrina — rich and poor, Black and white — turned down rides out of town or had cars of their own, making the city's low rate of vehicles per capita a less reliable tool for analyzing the debacle than Dyson suggests" (Horne, 2006). This critique highlights an ongoing debate about Hurricane Katrina's causes and consequences, and invites readers to engage critically with Dyson's evidence even while appreciating his broader analytical framework.

The purpose of this discussion was to explore the life and scholarship of Michael Eric Dyson as it pertains to the book Come Hell or High Water. The research has demonstrated that the book provides keen insight that can be attributed to the life and scholarship of Eric Dyson. The research also supports the conclusion that Come Hell or High Water is insightful in both breadth and depth as it pertains to racial politics and the reaction of the federal government in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina.