Talking Points #6

Tim Wise: Between Barack and a Hard Place

Doing a video blog was much more interesting than doing the other readings we have done. I definitely feel like I could follow his points and ideas, and I think it helped just hearing the tone of voice he was using. Like many of the other pieces we have been discussing in class, Wise was very adamant about the fact that we have a long long way to go in regards to racism and equality in this country. Wise states in the interview,"The proof of racial equity will be the day that people of color can be as mediocre as white people and still get hired". I absolutely loved this quote. He said this in response to the notion of people that think that because we see greatness in colored people like Barack Obama, the racism problems in this country are solved. But Obama is an extreme example and special exception because of his incredible intelligence and clean cut style. Wise wants us to strive for the day that colored people who offer different "styles" and who are "mediocre" can be accepted and successful in mainstream America.

How Wise's discussion and the famous case of Brown v Board of Education relate is somewhat obvious, but I think deeper with some analyzation. Brown v Board overturned segregation in schools and made the conjecture of "separate but not equal". This was obviously a huge step in the fight for equality in the United States. Wise is also pushing for equality, and I think he sort of talks about the "separate but not equal" idea in his discussion in a round-a-bout way. He talks about the fact that some people of color that are every bit intelligent as white people( but in a different way), but don't get a chance to give what they have to offer. So what people of color who are equally intelligent as white people have as opportunities are way less than those of white people. What they have to offer may be different, but it should be thought of as equal. However, it is not, and it goes back to the whole separate but not equal notion. Wise is pushing for the same thing Brown was, and many others throughout history pushing for true equality.