White Like Me by Tim Wise

In our country, we've overcome slavery, civil war, segregation, and have even elected a black president. Does this mean we're a post-racial society? In today's class, we took a trip to the theatre to find out. The movie we watched was called "White Like Me" by Tim Wise.

Wise's parents went to segregated schools, and wanted to give him a more diverse education. This is why they sent him to a preschool program at a predominantly black college: Tennessee State University. He was one of three white children in his class of about twenty. Because of this, Wise's friends and authority figures were mostly black. This made a big difference in how he saw the world. For example, wise said that having black authority helped him respect black authority in ways that his white peers may not have (Wise). But as he got older, Wise found that his black friends were not treated in the same way. This is how he "figured out that race mattered" (Wise).

Wise went to Tulane University in New Orleans. Here, he was involved in the anti-apartide movement. But one day he realized that he "had the privilege of choosing to address racism 8000 miles away while doing nothing in the face of de facto apartheid conditions that existed right here in my own backyard" (Wise). This was a big moment for Wise, because it made him reflect on his own privileges. His own privileges "as a white person." This is where the film lost me. The notion of "white privilege" is the definition of racism: generalizing a group of people based on the color of their skin. Wise may have been a privileged white person, but that does not mean that every white person is privileged. Sorry Tim Wise, but you can't fix racism with racism.

In reality, Tim Wise is not a very good example at all. One time he got on a flight headed to St. Louis when he saw "not one, but two black pilots at the controls of the plane." Although this should have been a pleasant sight to "anti-racist" Tim Wise, his reaction was more "along the lines of... 'Alright now everybody, get in crash positions'" (Wise). "'Oh God, can these two guys really fly this plane?'" (Wise). Why we sit here and watch Tim Wise lecture us on anything to do with race is beyond me.

One of Wise's main "proofs" of racism today is the wealth disparity of ethnic groups in America. The truth is that there is a disproportionate poverty rate in the black community, but the reason is not often stated. The fact is that the black community holds the highest single mother rate (70%). Last time I checked, two parent households make more money than single parent households. In fact, the poverty rate among black two parent households is a mere 7%. This is one example of Wise trying to deceive his audience. I could spend all day refuting Tim Wise, however, I have better things to do with my "white privilege."

In the end, racism still exists today (on a small scale), but lecturing people on their "white privilege" will only make it worse.

Sources:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fxDO7_C8gy0&list=WL&index=20&t=13s

https://tmonahan8.wixsite.com/mysite/blog/white-like-me