Tim Wise

Tim Wise was one of the most interesting speakers I have ever heard. He talked about racism towards black and brown Americans in a very objective way. When I say objective way, I mean he stated stories and facts about racism in America that were so relevant and real, that it was impossible to deny or object to any of his claims. Wise started his speech by stating that the very reason that others listen to him and give him credibility is because of his race, sex, and age. He followed this by explaining that he will know when his message is received and his work is fulfilled when a black person can stand in his shoes and deliver the same speech and receive the same amount of respect and attention that he does. Most of the speech comprised of Wise talking about the most recent incidents between police and innocent black folks that ended in murder. He pointed out how in several different cases of obvious race discrimination, the first move by white defendants was always to deny any racist actions. He explained how people would always deny racism on a personal level. Then Wise showed the importance of institutional racism, which referred to the statistics of lower employment rates and higher delinquency rates for blacks. Wise also talked about a study in New York that proved that crimes with black criminals and white victims were shown in the media in proportion to how often these crimes were committed. This showed how institutional racism affects individuals both on a conscious and unconscious level. Tim Wise covered a lot of other topics that all portrayed the same message, which is that whites are racist towards blacks. The only constructive criticism I have for Wise is that perhaps he should have given more of a call for action, or given potential solutions for this major problem. He did an excellent job of proving racism, but never really said what we should do about it, except for talk about it. Overall this speech was very informative and eye opening about the racist problem in America.