Naughty Naughty Deborah

The thing I love about Debra Dickerson is that, in an age when the majority of our black public intellectuals seem to have stolen their freshest ideas from an oily sack in the back of Richard Wright's garage*, Debra remains one of the only people who consistently comes up with new perspectives on our society. You never know what the hell is going to come out of her mouth (or keyboard), but you do know that whatever it is it is going to be smart, bold, and different.

(Dear Public Black Intellectuals: Do we really need you saying the same things over and over? Do you really need to publish another book saying that racism's bad, and that it's had a negative impact on our community, and that we need to overcome it, and that white society has screwed and is screwing us over? You got anything else in there? Here's an thought: next time you come up with a book idea, go reread Dubois and Baldwin and Ellison, and J. A. Rodgers and E. Franklin Frazier and then, if you find that they already explored your topic ad nauseam, why don't you turn your computer off. Just take it easy, enjoy life, give your publicist a vacation. That would be just great. For everyone.)

Go check out Debra Dickerson's new blog, The Last Plantation. And remember, if she makes you mad, it means she's making you think as well.


*The phrase stolen ___ freshest ideas from an oily sack in the back of ______'s garage was itself stolen by me from Victor Lavalle