If you want to know if racism is a problem in your country, you might not want to ask white people. Tim Wise More Quotes by Tim Wise More Quotes From Tim Wise Antiracism is not "my" campaign. I have been doing antiracism organizing, activism, educating and writing for 20 years, in one form or another, but it's not a personal crusade. My work is part of a larger tradition, and larger effort, involving mostly people of color, and of course some white allies as well. Tim Wise colorwritingyears Violating the 4th Amendment guarantees against illegal searches and seizures is not the way to solve crime problems. Tim Wise problemguaranteesway It's hard to say when or if we will actually arrive at that place called 'post-racial', or, better yet, post-racism. Tim Wise hardpostsracism When I got to college, the fake ID thing wasn't that important, since pretty much everyone could get away with drinking in New Orleans. But the drugs, well, that was a different story altogether, because drugs are every bit as illegal in New Orleans as anywhere else--at least, if you're black and poor, and have the misfortune of doing your drugs somewhere other than the dorms at Tulane University. But if you are lucky enough to be living at Tulane, which is a pretty white place, especially contrasted with the city where it's located, which is 65 percent black, then you are absolutely set. Tim Wise citiescollegedrinking Being asked to describe what 'post-racial' means is a bit like being asked to describe a leprechaun, cold fusion or unicorns: we know what is meant, but, if we are willing to be honest, we also know that none of the four describe something real, something tangible, something true. Tim Wise fusionrealmean So, in "Melting Pot" the children (about a third of whom were kids of color) sang the line, "America was the new world and Europe was the old," in one stroke eradicating the narratives of indigenous persons for whom America was hardly new, and any nonwhite kids whose old worlds had been in Africa or Asia, not Europe. Tim Wise colorkidschildren As a writer, there are times when you have something to say, and yet no particular “hook” upon which to hang the missive you are burning to release. Tim Wise releaseburninghook People of color have to do this work as a mater of everyday survival. And so long as they have to, who am I to act as if I have a choice in the matter? Especially when my future and that of my children in large part depends on the eradication of racism? There is no choice. Tim Wise colorlongchildren Children are free moral agents and have a right to be exposed to a range of beliefs well beyond the rigid doctrinal confines of their parent's faith, and we have an obligation to insist that they be so exposed, at least in public schools, if not elsewhere. Tim Wise freeparentfaithchildren Our failure as a society to properly acknowledge and confront the psychological, social, and political effects of white privilege has perpetuated racial inequality and race-based political resentments. Tim Wise failuresocietypoliticalwhite There are lots of research, of course, saying that a vast majority of us have been exposed to racial biases and stereotypes and, to some extent, we've internalized them, because that's so ubiquitous. That's why I'm so bored with the conversation about who's a racist and who's not. Tim Wise sayingboredresearchconversation I don't think the job of the antiracist is to convert the far-out heathen racist, or give them their 'come to Jesus' moment, as it's called. They'll either have those or they won't, and usually, when they have them, it's not because of something someone said per se; it's because of some life crisis that makes them rethink. Tim Wise jobthinkmomentlife Progress is always relative: to the oppressed, it can only be viewed as an all or nothing deal - if oppression continues, even in a modified form, then the system must still be attacked until that injustice is eradicated. Tim Wise nothingalwaysinjusticeprogress To believe that the United States is post-racial requires an almost incomprehensible inability or unwillingness to stare truth in the face. Tim Wise starefacetruthbelieve When you allow racial disparity and institutional inequity to affect one part of the country, eventually it's coming back to get everyone. Tim Wise everyonebackyoucountry Jesus was not born in a manger in central Pennsylvania. He was a man of color. And the fact that we have represented him for centuries literally as a white man speaks to the entire history of white supremacy. Tim Wise mancolorwhitehistory Mass media over-represents persons of color in negative ways, especially as criminals, relative to the share of crime actually done by such persons. Tim Wise crimemediacolornegative For people of color - especially African Americans - the idea that racist cops might frame members of their community is no abstract notion, let alone an exercise in irrational conspiracy theorizing. Rather, it speaks to a social reality about which blacks are acutely aware. Tim Wise alonecommunityrealitypeople Only blacks can play the race card, apparently; only they think in racial terms, at least to hear white America tell it. Tim Wise thinkracewhiteplay In short, and let us be clear on it: race is not a card. It determines whom the dealer is, and who gets dealt. Tim Wise shortuswhorace
