Wynter, Leon E. 1953-

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WYNTER, Leon E. 1953-

PERSONAL: Born August 30, 1953 in New York, NY; son of Rupert and Sylvia (Juerdine) Wynter; married (divorced). Ethnicity: African American. Education: Yale University, B.A., 1974; New York University, M.B.A., 1979; attended New York University, 1979-80.

ADDRESSES: Home—New Rochelle, NY. Offıce—c/o Wall Street Journal, 200 Liberty St., New York, NY 10281.

CAREER: Journalist and author. Manufacturers Hanover Trust Corporation, New York, NY, lending officer in corporate banking, 1974-79; Washington Post, Washington, DC, staff writer, 1980-84; Wall Street Journal, New York, NY, staff reporter, 1984—; Baruch College, City University of New York, associate professor of English and journalism, 1994—; commentator, National Public Radio.

MEMBER: New York Association of Black Journalists (member, 1989 convention committee).

AWARDS, HONORS: Outstanding Communicator, National Black MBA Association, 1992.

WRITINGS:

American Skin: Pop Culture, Big Business, and the End of White America, Crown Publishers (New York, NY), 2002.

Contributor to periodicals, including Washington Post, New York Times, and New York Newsday.

SIDELIGHTS: Journalist and radio commentator Leon E. Wynter created and wrote the "Business and Race" column for the Wall Street Journal for over a decade and is a regular contributor to National Public Radio. His essays on business, race, and American culture have also appeared in the Washington Post, New York Times, and New York Newsday.

In his book American Skin: Pop Culture, Big Business, and the End of White America Wynter writes that American culture is in the process of changing from its roots in a largely white, European sensibility to a "transracial" culture deeply informed by African-American influences. Wynter examines the imprint of African-American musical forms on jazz and ragtime; the increase in corporate marketing to nonwhite markets; and the effect of urban hip-hop culture on fashion. According to Wynter, this cultural melding has drawbacks as well as advantages: among the drawbacks is the potential loss or dilution of African-American identity and culture. One of the advantages of this change is that it allows African Americans much greater access to the commercial marketplace. For example, while nineteenth-century musical pioneer Scott Joplin struggled for acceptance and financial reward, many African-American stars in sports, fashion, music, film, and other venues now have enormous commercial appeal and the bank accounts that result from it, as well as great cultural influence on both white and African-American audiences. The traditional idea of America as a "melting pot" is true, Wynter writes in the book's introduction; now it is "bubbling again, but on a higher flame; this time whiteness itself is finally being dissolved into a larger American identity." And, he writes, "My arguments and insights ultimately rest on one premise and guiding belief about this country: We have always been, and will ever be, of one race—human—and of one culture—American."

In Publishers Weekly a reviewer wrote that Wynter makes "an indisputable if sometimes obvious case for non-white influence on American culture." A Booklist reviewer praised the book's "cutting insights," and a Kirkus Reviews writer noted that Wynter assembles an impressive collection of data and anecdotes in support of his ideas. "Trendspotters," the reviewer concluded, "will find Wynter's study fascinating."