Tim Wise
Tim Wise
Timothy Jacob "Tim" Wiseis an American anti-racism activist and writer. Since 1995, he has given speeches at over 600 college campuses across the U.S. He has trained teachers, corporate employees, non-profit organizations and law enforcement officers in methods for addressing and dismantling racism in their institutions...
NationalityAmerican
ProfessionActivist
Date of Birth4 October 1968
CountryUnited States of America
writing color years
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.
reality color white
The system of white supremacy is intended to make folks of color doubt themselves, their intelligence, their abilities, their very sanity. And so it's important to remember that folks of color know their own realities.
children color long
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.
children kids color
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.
color white people
Precisely because white denial has long trumped claims of racism, people of color tend to underreport their experiences with racial bias rather than exaggerate them.
thinking color keys
I think for folks of color the key to combatting racism period is a) trusting their instincts and b) solidarity with one another.
intensity played
We haven't played with the intensity on that end that we need. That's where we'll put our emphasis.
door good intentions people results willing
Many times people will come through the door with good intentions but may not be willing to put in the work. They just want to see some results right away.
came game good great sign support
It was a great game and a good win. We came out as a sign of support and respect.
address alone campaign elected ignore injustice likelihood nearly obama president shrinks speak truth whites willing
Sadly, if President Obama is willing to ignore the pain of race-based discrimination and injustice so as to make whites comfortable - and this, after he has already been elected and the campaign is long over - then the likelihood he will ever speak the truth about these matters, let alone address them, shrinks to nearly zero.
agents beliefs beyond children confines exposed faith insist obligation public range rigid
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.
dealer determines gets whom
In short, and let us be clear on it: race is not a card. It determines whom the dealer is, and who gets dealt.
convert either heathen job life per
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.
bad category folks others people share unwilling
Old white people have pretty much always been the bad guys, the keepers of the hegemonic and reactionary flame, the folks unwilling to share the category of American with others on equal terms.