Talking Point #6

Tim Wise/ Brown vs. Board of Education

1. "I like to be hopeful but I think that it is important to deal with what's real...whether were talking about housing, education, criminal justice, employment, health care, or elsewhere, the evidence of discrimination against average everyday folks of color is still very much in evidence." (Tim Wise)

Tim Wise stated this quote in beginning of the first video. In relation to President Obama representing changes of racial equality, Tim Wise clearly believes that the United States has a long journey ahead. He claims that even though he likes to be hopeful about the future of equality in the United States, the only way to actually reach that goal is to look at the problems that need to be fixed. This reminds me of Johnson's idea of "naming the problem". Both Johnson and Wise claim that he must identify the problem and recognize that we, as a nation, are failing to treat all men equal before we can reach equality. Even though the case of Brown vs. The Board of Education was a major building block for racial equality, it would be foolish to assume that putting a law in place automatically fixes these problems.

2. "We just need to be on the lookout for the potential of success of what I am calling racism 2.0...to support Obama because they view him, as many in fact said they did, as transcending race as being different from the black or brown norm and my fear there is that the black and brown norm is considered in a negative light. The fact that we can carve out exceptions for certain people of color that make us comfortable is not going to get us the whole way towards racial equity." (Tim Wise)

What Tim Wise calls Racism 2.0 is really a tactic that people use to attempt to fit other people into the categories of S.C.W.A.A.M.P. The need to fit people into the norm of society and try to find reasons for powerful people who don't fit under the norms of society pushes us further from equality. By making claims such like: Obama is an exceptional black man; that he is so successful because he has many white qualities, all prove that our society continues to shame his race. That we, as a nation, do not want to give credit where credit is due; people will not accept that a black man is successful because of his race, it must be all of his other privileges that made up for his lack of privilege. This shows that we are continually in denial, unable to name the problem, and are unwilling to see people for who they are as individuals rather than their categorical privileges.

3. "we, as white folks, can be really articulate or really inarticulate and still become president..." (Tim Wise) "...the standard is that you [minorities] have to be truly exceptional to break that glass ceiling." (host?)

This conversation between Tim Wise and the host of the Ring of Fire Talk-show shows the continuing double standard between people of different races. In relation to the presidential election, Wise focused on how a person of white ethnicity, such as George W. Bush, can be extremely inarticulate and still become president for two terms. While President Obama does stand today as an African American president of the United States, it required him to be much more qualified to be provided with the same opportunity. The truth is that blacks, Hispanics, and other minorities are not provided with equal opportunities to things such as education, criminal justice, and employment as white people. Therefore, it is common (if not always the case) that successful people of color are forced to work much harder than a white person simply because of their lack of privilege.

4. "If you want to know if a problem is still a problem, it probably makes sense to talk to the ones that were the target of it, not the ones that don't have to know because were not...I don't have to know that; I can be a good person, a decent person, and remain oblivious." (Tim Wise)

This quote reminded me of McIntosh a lot. This resonates with the entire idea of white privilege; that white people have the option to be oblivious; that they can stand in denial and be completely unaffected. It also focuses on one of the major problems that relates to equality: most of the information about any topic is generally based from the suppressor; the people in power. It is very rare that the people being targeted by inequality are asked how they feel and it is much easier for the suppressors to stand in denial than to actually accept their crimes. Fortunately, there have been cases in the past, such as Brown vs. Board of Education, where suppressed people have fought for their chance to be heard and make the changes that they know are necessary. Even Though instances such as this one are extremely important to the continual growth of equality, we must carry on by being aware of new forms of inequality. We must remember to focus on the present rather than solely remembering events from history; even though it is important to remember the steps that people have taken to put our nation in the place it is today, we must continue to better the lives of our citizens and focus on our future.

I really enjoyed this week's assignment. It was a nice change from the articles and I think having a visual often makes things easier to understand. I like that Dr. Bogad is asking us to draw a link between the case of Brown vs. Board of Education and the current issues of inequality that we are facing as a country. Clearly, there have been major steps that have been taken, such as Brown vs. The Board of Education and the election of President Obama, which have improved equality for Americans. However, as Wise explains in the video, change requires a collection of these changes. Yes, one thing can make a difference. But, a number of things make an even bigger difference and a problem that is as big as equality of all people requires a lot of time and effort to make a complete transformation.

These videos brought up a lot of ideas that we have focused on with previous articles. Being able to name the problems we are facing is extremely important to the success of the future of Americans. It is a theory that was mentioned by both Johnson, in the topic of privilege, and Wise, in the topic of race inequality. Also, McIntosh's idea of whiteness as a invisible privilege is also highlighted by Wise. He claimed that it is important to ask those that are suppressed about the topic of being suppressed rather than the suppressor. Often times, the suppressors do not even believe, or realize, that they are suppressing others. Therefore, it makes sense that they would not be knowledgeable of how to fix this problem. I really like how this assignment tied in so closely with other articles from the class. I also think it is important to realize that issues of inequality began a long time ago and will continue in the future.