Sept. 9, 2009 - Anti-racism activist and author Tim Wise will speak at the KSU Campus. Wise is the author of six books including his latest, Between Barack and a Hard Place: Race and Whiteness in the Age of Obama (City Lights Books, 2009). This event is sponsored by the Center for African and African Diaspora Studies, the Office of Diversity and Inclusion, and the Siegel Institute for Leadership, Ethics & Character. Find out more about Tim Wise at http://www.timwise.org/
What would motivate whites to act for social change when the nature of that change would mean a level playing field where whites would move from the top of the social hierarchy of privilege? If one takes seriously the moral, ethical, or religious principles by which most of us claim to live, resisting oppressive systems that cause harm, exclusion or deprivation of rights is the appropriate thing to do.
Is it true that privileged people's commitment to social change tends to be more reliable when it is grounded in an acknowledgement of one's own interests? We can't deny that it doesn't always motivate people with unearned privilege to act for social change of the very system that gave them the privilege.
What are the costs to white people of being white in a white-supremicist society? What do we say to people who deny white supremacy exists, or who deny responsibility for the discrimination and injustices done by generations before us? I can't count the number of conversations where my white relatives or friends claim to not be racist, and then purport that they have done nothing personally against non-whites and are not responsible for what happened during slavery or the resistence to the civil rights movement...and then express their fears about "black power" or "minority power" occuring when our "minority" people groups outnumber the white population.
What lies exist that support the system that denies the full humanity of non-white people? I agree with author Robert Jenson who wrote, "To be fully human is to reject a system that conditions your pleasure on someone else's pain" (The Heart of Whiteness: Confronting Race, Racism, and White Privilege; City Lights Books; 2005). This is a vital discussion that we must explore and resolve with ourselves if we want to lay claim to our full humanity. Next on my reading list before Sept. 9 is Tim Wise's book, White Like Me: Reflections on Race from a Privileged Son.
- Karen Pressley, Graduate Research Assistant
Siegel Institute for Leadership, Ethics & Character
Tim Wise - "Between Barack and a Hard Place: Race and Whiteness in the Age of Obama"
Sept. 9 at KSU
Kerwin Swint
AUGUST 27 - 12:00pm: Author, Political Scientist, KSU Professor
Why would the Siegel Institute, whose stated purpose is to build ethical leaders from the inside out through experiential opportunities and excellence in scholarship and teaching invite a self-avowed anti-white racist to discuss racism in America? His bias makes the lecture material obvious. He's going to attack white people and claim they're all inherently racist because they're white. Which is the definition of racism.
ReplyDeleteMr. Wise's positions demonstrate the soft bigotry of low expectations, as evidenced by his belief that black Americans cannot succeed without the help of government intervention and/or affirmative action.
Will the Siegel Institute be offering an opposing perspective to provide balance to Mr. Wise's racist and anti-American views?
As a KSU alum, and as a white person who was raised to give no consideration to race, I find those who make their living spreading dissent, dissatisfaction and racial angst disturbing. More people need to treat every person equally, judge people by their individual merits, and pay no attention to anything else.