Take a photo of a barcode or cover
4.03 AVERAGE
4.03 AVERAGE
Wise has written a searing but accessible discussion of white privilege and the disparate treatment of White and Black people by referring to and breaking down his own experiences. He highlights the pervasiveness of systemic racism in everything from education to humanitarian aid, as well as the importance of recognising and dismantling racist thoughts and systems. Awful, necessary stuff but it isn't as self-flagellating as it sounds. The book's purpose I think is to be a call to action - but I'd recommend this as a companion to books on racism written by non-White authors rather than as a standalone authority.
I want to give this book as a gift to many of my family, friends and acquaintances.
Such a great read, and so applicable to people. It is a poignant read and a great discussion on race and perception and whiteness versus BIPOC lives.
Such a great read, and so applicable to people. It is a poignant read and a great discussion on race and perception and whiteness versus BIPOC lives.
Great book - starts a little slow with some family history but then gets really interesting. Helped open my eyes to a lot of things that I simply wasn't aware of before.
I can't even remember how this book got on my want to read list, but it was super interesting to read. I definitely didn't expect this to be a memoir (I think I was thinking it would be traditional nonfiction examining broad sociological trends rather than a deeply personal reflection of the ways white privilege has worked in the author's life). Wise brings an interesting perspective as a Southerner, and reading a book from someone born in 1968 on this issue was pretty interesting. I think this is an accessible book for white people who may be new to antiracist reading, especially those who may not have a lot of background in the issues. However, I think the book does gloss over some history that would be important for those new to the subject, but there are other books that dwell on that more specifically.
challenging
dark
emotional
hopeful
informative
inspiring
reflective
sad
tense
slow-paced
Important information for me, as a white accomplice in the fight against racism, oppression, and inequity.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Alcoholism, Cursing, Death, Hate crime, Racial slurs, Racism, Sexism, Slavery, Violence, Xenophobia, Police brutality, Islamophobia, Dementia, Mass/school shootings, Death of parent, Cultural appropriation, Gaslighting, Colonisation, War
informative
fast-paced
Wise's memoir of his own awakening to systematic racism in the United States is a powerful and useful tale for white people to read and reflect on their own experience. From his early upbringing in the south to his education in New Orleans and early days of activism against the David Duke campaigns in the 1990s, Wise explores the ways in which he has succeeded and failed in being an ally to non-white people. But what Wise does best throughout the book is to mark with clarity the ways in which the privilege afforded him by being white created opportunities or nullifed threats that would have existed for him, were he not white. Additionally, he is great at unpackaging the ways in which investment in whiteness doesn't harm just non-whites but does damage to white people as well. For anyone looking to better understand how one can strive to address and engage with the racial strife in this country, Wise's book is a great start.
OK, majorly important book here. Let's please take a moment and give Tim Wise the ridiculous amount of respect he deserves for advancing the dialogue on white privilege. I want to give this book 5 stars just for its existence. I settled on 4 because I don't know if it's a brilliant book, but it's without a doubt a provokingly honest book. I hope that readers will come away from it as I did, not guilt-stricken but with a greater sense of empathy and mindfulness.
Grounding an exploration of white privilege in his personal narrative is obviously an intentional choice that raises the bar for all of us to examine race and privilege in our own lives. And an accessible rather than scholarly text? No problem here. That being said, I felt it sort of went back and forth between "treatise on white privilege" and "this is a memoir so excuse me for a moment while I work out my own family issues."
Relatedly, I feel like the title may as well have been "White liberal activist like me." He works with people from all walks of life in his speaking career, but this book seemed pretty narrowly aimed at the white crowd who honestly call themselves progressive on race and other social issues, were activists or sympathetic to activism while obtaining a liberal arts degree, and are eager to have their eyes opened to the insidious nature of white privilege. This is, of course, his own background, and we are the demographic most likely to pick up his book. But for a speaker gifted at connecting with all kinds of audiences, why not write with the same aim?
In fact one of the strongest aspects of the book is that for whatever reaction you might want to voice, he's had that conversation before. His most effective strategy is including anecdotes from his own experience where criticism pushed him to even deeper understanding. Like the man who had known Wise's grandfather, a Jew who gave back to the black community where he owned a liquor store, and asked him how it felt that "such a good man, was, for all intents and purposes, a drug dealer in the ghetto?" He works through that uncomfortable realization to conclude that all of us are neither good nor bad, but complicated, and that the best of intentions cannot shield us from overwhelming social forces that tend to make us part of the problem.
Says Wise: "We could make our lives a hell of a lot easier if we'd just embrace the complication and confront the contradictions with our eyes and our hearts wide open, willing to celebrate our victories but also willing to learn from our failures."
One of the most powerful moments comes when he relays the story of an early lecture. A young white woman spoke up with, "I really agree with you, and would love to do the kind of work you do, but I'm afraid black people won't trust me, won't accept my contribution." In the interests of furthering rather than suppressing debate, he chose to let an obviously angry black woman give the expected response. "Make NO mistake, we do hate you and we don't trust you for one minute!"
He gives a thoughtful reply, excerpted thusly:
"Ultimately, I'm not doing this for you... I don't view it as my job to fight racism so as to save you from it. To do so would be paternalistic... I fight racism because racism is evil and I don't want to contribute to, or collaborate with, evil. I fight it because it's a sickness in my community, and I'm trying to save myself from it."
Furthermore, in this discussion of resistance he writes:
"I want to be clear that I (and other whites) have an obligation to do this work."
"What white liberals must understand is that people of color owe us nothing. They don't owe us gratitude when we speak out about racism. They don't owe us a pat on the back. They don't owe us a goddamn thing."
Now we're getting somewhere! I do think that he could perhaps have left his readers with some more concrete tools for empowering them to be allies for people of color. But I suppose we all are meant to seek our own paths. Or maybe he'll just have to write another book.
Grounding an exploration of white privilege in his personal narrative is obviously an intentional choice that raises the bar for all of us to examine race and privilege in our own lives. And an accessible rather than scholarly text? No problem here. That being said, I felt it sort of went back and forth between "treatise on white privilege" and "this is a memoir so excuse me for a moment while I work out my own family issues."
Relatedly, I feel like the title may as well have been "White liberal activist like me." He works with people from all walks of life in his speaking career, but this book seemed pretty narrowly aimed at the white crowd who honestly call themselves progressive on race and other social issues, were activists or sympathetic to activism while obtaining a liberal arts degree, and are eager to have their eyes opened to the insidious nature of white privilege. This is, of course, his own background, and we are the demographic most likely to pick up his book. But for a speaker gifted at connecting with all kinds of audiences, why not write with the same aim?
In fact one of the strongest aspects of the book is that for whatever reaction you might want to voice, he's had that conversation before. His most effective strategy is including anecdotes from his own experience where criticism pushed him to even deeper understanding. Like the man who had known Wise's grandfather, a Jew who gave back to the black community where he owned a liquor store, and asked him how it felt that "such a good man, was, for all intents and purposes, a drug dealer in the ghetto?" He works through that uncomfortable realization to conclude that all of us are neither good nor bad, but complicated, and that the best of intentions cannot shield us from overwhelming social forces that tend to make us part of the problem.
Says Wise: "We could make our lives a hell of a lot easier if we'd just embrace the complication and confront the contradictions with our eyes and our hearts wide open, willing to celebrate our victories but also willing to learn from our failures."
One of the most powerful moments comes when he relays the story of an early lecture. A young white woman spoke up with, "I really agree with you, and would love to do the kind of work you do, but I'm afraid black people won't trust me, won't accept my contribution." In the interests of furthering rather than suppressing debate, he chose to let an obviously angry black woman give the expected response. "Make NO mistake, we do hate you and we don't trust you for one minute!"
He gives a thoughtful reply, excerpted thusly:
"Ultimately, I'm not doing this for you... I don't view it as my job to fight racism so as to save you from it. To do so would be paternalistic... I fight racism because racism is evil and I don't want to contribute to, or collaborate with, evil. I fight it because it's a sickness in my community, and I'm trying to save myself from it."
Furthermore, in this discussion of resistance he writes:
"I want to be clear that I (and other whites) have an obligation to do this work."
"What white liberals must understand is that people of color owe us nothing. They don't owe us gratitude when we speak out about racism. They don't owe us a pat on the back. They don't owe us a goddamn thing."
Now we're getting somewhere! I do think that he could perhaps have left his readers with some more concrete tools for empowering them to be allies for people of color. But I suppose we all are meant to seek our own paths. Or maybe he'll just have to write another book.
White Like Me is a first person account of author Tim Wise's awakening as a racial being and later development as an ally and activist for racial equality.
Wise does a respectable job of unpacking what Peggy McIntosh refers to as the "invisible weightless knapsack of assurances, tools, maps, guides, codebooks, passports, visas, clothes, compass, emergency gear, and blank checks" better known as white privileged.
If you're unaware of the unearned advantages white people have, you're probably white.
And the fact that you're unaware of the enormous unearned advantages that we have, that other people fight and die for, but we get just for being us.
Well let's just say, that's part of the package. In fact, in the end that's probably the most valuable feature.
Reading this book is like entering into a contract to trade out some of that privilege, in the form of the indolent comfort of unawareness, for a little bit of edification and empowerment.
It's a nice lil after dinner digestif' for washing down that awful election.
I didn't give it five stars because it didn't blow me away. But it is really fucking good and I highly recommend reading it.
Wise does a respectable job of unpacking what Peggy McIntosh refers to as the "invisible weightless knapsack of assurances, tools, maps, guides, codebooks, passports, visas, clothes, compass, emergency gear, and blank checks" better known as white privileged.
If you're unaware of the unearned advantages white people have, you're probably white.
And the fact that you're unaware of the enormous unearned advantages that we have, that other people fight and die for, but we get just for being us.
Well let's just say, that's part of the package. In fact, in the end that's probably the most valuable feature.
Reading this book is like entering into a contract to trade out some of that privilege, in the form of the indolent comfort of unawareness, for a little bit of edification and empowerment.
It's a nice lil after dinner digestif' for washing down that awful election.
I didn't give it five stars because it didn't blow me away. But it is really fucking good and I highly recommend reading it.
Came away feeling better equipped to disseminate privilege in my own life, learned some new things about the institutionalization of race at a very human level. Great read, heartily recommend.