Moving beyond the scope of the literary scholarship for which he is known, Dr. Houston A. Baker Jr., in his latest book, takes a fierce stand as a social critic and assesses several Black scholars and the writings that have won them recognition as public intellectuals. In Betrayal: How Black Intellectuals Have Abandoned the Ideals of the Civil Rights Era, prominent scholars, such as Cornel West, Henry Louis Gates, Stephen Carter, Shelby Steele, and John McWhorter, come under fire for their books and punditry that analyze contemporary U.S. society and race relations.

Late last month shortly before the release of Betrayal by Columbia University Press, Baker, a distinguished university professor at Vanderbilt University, spoke to Diverse and offered his views on why the works of some of the most prominent Black intellectuals have failed to reflect the social commitment to the Black community akin to what Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. demonstrated during the civil rights movement.

Click here to listen to the audio of Dr. Baker’s interview with Diverse.

Click here to read the transcript of his interview with Diverse.