The Big Take-Away From The Small Dispute Between Terrence Howard and Neil DeGrasse Tyson
For once a public argument between Black men leaves everyone better off and no worse for the wear. Thank God this clash between prideful high profile Black men wasn’t a rap beef. If it were, we’d be at the stage where Oscar nominated actor Terrence Howard would be making disparaging remarks about superstar astrophysicist Neil DeGrasse Tyson’s wife or children. It is hard to imagine a brother like Terrence channeling Tupac and firing off a line like: ‘you claimin’ you a genius but I fucked yo wife.’
In retrospect, it’s no shock that Pac was shot to death on a crowded Las Vegas street 90 days later. That’s some foul energy he elected to emit into the world. Lucky for Neil and Terrence, and for the rest of us, both of these men are much bigger and better than that. In both style and substance, their public spat is an example of how Black men should lock horns with each other if and when the time comes that they must.
By our very nature, men in any shared space are going to have confrontational disagreements. And sometimes they will be spirited. But the content, context, and execution will determine the impact of the fallout. In this case, for those inclined to take a closer examination, the impact can be an upgrade in the state of public debate amongst Black men of…
