45 pages • 1 hour read
Michael Eric DysonTears We Cannot Stop: A Sermon to White America
Nonfiction | Book | Adult | Published in 2017A modern alternative to SparkNotes and CliffsNotes, SuperSummary offers high-quality Study Guides with detailed chapter summaries and analysis of major themes, characters, and more.
Chapters 1-4Chapter Summaries & Analyses
Chapter 1 Summary: “Call to Worship”
Dyson argues that most of America’s social problems derive from race. The history of slavery remains a haunting issue that creates racial division between Black and white people. Dyson describes society’s disruption, referring to the paradox of electing Donald Trump, a representative of white privilege, after the presidency of the first Black president, Barack Obama. He states that America must deal with its “original sin.”
Dyson describes his work as a critic, scholar and activist, and states that he primarily considers himself a “Black preacher.” In this spirit, he reveals his hopes for the nation’s healing. The only solution America has is to confront its racist historical past and the ongoing oppression of Black people, as the legacy of slavery continues to impact American society. Dyson addresses his book as a sermon toward white Americans, hoping that they can hear his call for redemption. White Americans must come to terms with the country’s historical and social reality, and unite with Black people for a hopeful future.
Chapter 2 Summary: “Hymns of Praise”
Dyson relates one of his own encounters with the police. While on a drive with his family, Dyson, a young father, stops the car to discipline his son by beating him. He comments that he now realizes the mistake of such punishment. Later, six white policemen stop the family because somebody had reported Dyson for child abuse. Dyson asks the policemen the reason for stopping him, but they ignore him. They command him to come out and keep him forcibly against the car, while his wife and son try to convince them for several minutes that nothing is wrong. Dyson tells the policemen that he loves his son; he tried to discipline him so that he will avoid arrest by them later in his life. Finally, the policemen leave with no apology. Dyson ponders on the incident and refers to the “unwarranted police aggression and terror” that plagues the lives of Black people (13).
Continuing in the sermon style, Dyson invites the readers to sing. He mentions songs and lyrics by famous African American singers like Beyoncé, Kendrick Lamar, and Tupac that refer to police brutality, and characterizes them as hymns. He emphasizes the importance of these singers as contemporary “griots,” or storytellers with an Afrocentric perspective. Through their songs, they reveal the ongoing issue of police violence.
Chapter 3 Summary: “Invocation”
This chapter continues as a prayer invoking God. Dyson describes Black people’s feelings of helplessness and despair in the face of violence, and how they can do nothing to stop police brutality and the killings of Black people in the street. He poses questions about the possibility of social change. He wonders about how Black people can fight an unjust system and addresses white people about their investment in white privilege, which impedes them from realizing the effects of racism and Black suffering.
Dyson emphasizes the impact of discrimination against African American youth by relating a story about his own daughter, Maisha. At the age of six, she attended a party where a few white girls called her and her friends the n-word, and the oldest Black girl reacted with anger. That day, Maisha began to realize the implications of race. Two years later, the same thing happened and Maisha and her friends responded with laughter. Dyson notes that in the face of such incidents, Black youth develop self-defense mechanisms to “combat the flow of racial insanity into their minds” (25). Encounters with racist behavior often distort young people’s sense of self.
Dyson fears that his own children might be victims of police violence and emphasizes the hostility of society toward Africans Americans. He relates a story about his son, Mwata, and his experience of police aggression. Mwata was stopped and falsely accused by a white policeman of speaking on his cell phone while driving. The officer insulted and threatened Mwata in front of his five-year-old son.
Dyson highlights the “deafening silence” of American society around the incidents of police aggression and violence against African Americans. He wishes that white people could realize and share the pain of Black people.
Chapter 4 Summary: “Scripture Reading”
Dyson refers to Martin Luther King Jr. and his legacy, which still defines the racial debate in America. He notes that King is a symbol of the struggle for equality, but his words are distorted in public discourse. White people do not realize the reality of the man who was “too Black” and “too radical” (37). King was deeply rooted in Black culture but understood the “white psyche.” Dyson notes that King condemned racism in his sermons, and his initial optimism about white people’s ability to change was replaced by skepticism. King’s words reveal the racist reality of American society which has yet to be acknowledged.
Dyson cites excerpts of King’s speeches and writings. King highlighted America’s foundational problem of “racial hatred” referring to the genocide of the Indigenous American people. He mentioned that white Americans never invested themselves in racial equality and African American rights. Finally, Dyson emphasizes that King’s work remains timely and important.
Chapters 1-4 Analysis
Dyson structures his book as a sermon to give his text a religious dimension and to reinforce the significance of his arguments. Dyson narrates in the second person, addressing his reader directly, to create an immediate and conversational tone. To underscore the religious dimension of his text, Dyson characterizes America’s journey of overcoming racial hate as a redemptive one. To heal racism, America must confront its past and legacy of racism to embrace hope and love. He emphasizes that his text primarily addresses white Americans.
Dyson argues that addressing the issue of race is urgent. His central theme is Empathy and the Hope for Social Change and Equality. Dyson stresses that his text is addressed as “a plea, a cry, a sermon” toward white Americans and aims to engage them in an honest conversation about race (6). He highlights the necessity of white participation in the struggle for equality. White Americans must confront the country’s racist past and their own culpability in the ongoing persistence of racism. Ultimately, they must unite with Black people to redeem the country.
Racism remains a central problem in American society, one that hails from the enslavement of Black people. Slavery is a traumatic historical event and its legacy still impacts the nation. Dyson argues that racism persists because America has yet to address its racist foundations and continues to sustain itself on cultural myths and symbols. The initial step toward change is for America to address its “original sin.”
Dyson explores another key theme, Police Brutality as a Form of Institutional Racism, and analyzes the impact of police brutality on the lives of Black people. Dyson mentions contemporary African American singers who tackle police brutality in their songs, and emphasizes the centrality of police brutality in Black cultural expression. Police brutality is an ongoing problem in the United States which disproportionately impacts the African American community. Dyson stresses the issue of systemic racism and how the structure of the criminal justice system is inherently designed to work against Black people.
Institutional racism continues to exert control over Black bodies and unsettle the Black mind. To illustrate his point, Dyson describes his own experiences with racial aggression and with police abusing their power. Black people live in constant terror regarding their encounters with the police and Dyson fears for his own children. He stresses the distorting effect of racism on Black youth, who have to confront hate early on. Ultimately, American society remains a hostile environment for Black people.
Dyson criticizes white Americans for their “deafening silence” and “crushing indifference” about police brutality (31). White Americans must acknowledge the reality of racism and confront harsh truths about the historical past and their own privilege.
Dyson references Martin Luther King Jr. to reinforce his analysis about the legacy of racism in America. King noted racial hatred in how America was created and the colonizers’ genocide of the Indigenous nations. Through King’s words, Dyson foregrounds his argument about the country’s racist foundations. America has a racist past that informed its social structures, and white Americans have yet to acknowledge that reality and commit to change.
