Tim Wise, a prominent anti-racist writer and activist, spoke Tuesday night to University of Wisconsin students and community members at the Memorial Union about the widespread presence of racism in contemporary American society.
Wise said because racism is not a topic white people are forced to consider, only “the wisdom of colored people” makes it possible for a white person to “utter one intelligible syllable on the subject of racism.”
“Every colored person I have ever met in my life has forgotten more than I will ever know about racism,” Wise said.
Wise said tolerance and diversity were popular but meaningless topics, and he would only discuss racism. Wise asked, “Are we in such bad, piss-poor shape” that a speaker has to come to a college to promote tolerance toward minorities?
However, diversity does not have to be promoted or discussed, Wise asserted, because “it is what it is.” Wise said no one can discuss the topic without first considering the question, “Why isn’t diversity here already?” The answer, Wise argued, is racism.
One of the major problems in discussing racism, according to Wise, is the confusion of the definition of racism. Wise said that “overt bigotry [is] not a necessary component” of racism.
Racism refers to the belief in an inherent superiority of a particular race from an ideological perspective, according to Wise. Wise argues racism must also be viewed from a systematic perspective, in which the definition is extended to include any policy, practice or procedure having the effect of furthering or causing inequalities of race.
Wise points to the job market as an example, in which he claims 80 to 90 percent of the jobs in this country are not openly advertised, leading to an “old-boys’ network” which he said predominantly favors white males.
Wise added the education system and its reliance on standardized tests presume the “standardization of access” to the tests’ information. He said standardization does not exist and therefore perpetuates racial inequality.
Wise said he frequently encounters accusations as a strong critic of racism. Wise said others accuse him of “playing the race card” and abusing the “politics of victimology.” Wise countered that people accuse him of this because they do not consider racism a crime.
“Why don’t we look at crime victims and say, ‘Hey, get over it. That happened a long time ago’?” Wise asked.
Wise briefly touched on affirmative action, describing the notion of “reverse” discrimination as “silly” and asserting that the “history of this country has been the history of affirmative action for white people.”
“The lecture was really entertaining, full of facts, and was extremely thought-provoking,” UW freshman Matthew Krejcarek said.
Much of the audience seemed to agree with Krejcarek, as many of Wise’s controversial statements were met with applause.
Wise concluded his lecture by differentiating between guilt and responsibility, comparing the problem of racism to the problem created by a messy roommate. If the people guilty of creating racism are not going to clean up the problem, Wise reasons, then someone else needs to take responsibility.
