John McWhorter on the enduring effects of rhetoric after the Rodney King assault

The Invisible Men

In this episode, Ian and Nique are joined by John McWhorter — public intellectual, Professor of Linguistics at Columbia University, and author of two forthcoming books, 9 Nasty Words and The Elect. Much like Ian and Nique, John was a graduate student at Stanford University as news of the Rodney King assault swept the nation in the early 1990s. John shares how he grew to feel alone in this time — becoming deeply impacted by the disjunction between a culture that was telling him he should feel just as much of a victim as Rodney King and a personal life experience that spoke to a much different reality. This dichotomy shaped John’s intellectual journey as he, a Ph.D student in Linguistics, began to explore the long-term negative effects of movements seeking to associate “real blackness” with a posture of victimhood.

Later, John discusses prevailing expectations for black scholars and leaders to speak primarily about issues of race, despite their other interests and expertise. As an academic at heart, John finds great joy in growing and deepening his work in Linguistics apart from conversations on race. Yet, he continues to weigh in as an authority on such issues out of a sense of duty — because the challenges facing Americans today are serious and American children need to be taught to develop a sense of purpose, identity, and agency rooted in their own personhood, even in the midst of any barriers they might face. Tune in to the full episode to learn more of John’s story and hear his words of advice for “Darryl.”

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