75 of 88 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
A very penetrating book, February 15, 2009
This review is from: Between Barack and a Hard Place: Racism and White Denial in the Age of Obama (Paperback)
Mr. Wise's several internet essays after the great triumph of hope (Obama's election) last November left me a little worried about him. He seemed a little too caught up in the irrational exuberance of the period as he denounced left wing gadflies who were, in his opinion, spoiling the joy of the moment by continuing to denounce Obama as a pro-corporate militarist front. But in spite of the understandable celebration of having the first black president, there is the inescapable fact that Obama's policies, stripped of the veneer of pretty rhetoric, are hardly different than his Democratic presidential predecessors. In his short time in office, while doing a few small good things, he has already shown his commitment to the fundamentals of the military industrial complex and the re-empowerment of Wall Street speculators. I'm glad that Mr. Wise, as this book demonstrates, has managed to retain a level head regarding Obama, in spite of those post-election essays.
Quoting sources like academic studies and Department of Justice reports, Wise shows that racism is still a serious problem in this society. Black and brown people are 25 percent of the drug users in this country but make up 90 percent of those in prison for drug possession. White people are 70 percent of the drug users yet are only ten percent of the persons in prison for such a crime. A 2001 report from the Department of Justice found that black women were 9 times more likely than white women to be stopped at airports and searched for contraband but white women were 2 times more likely than black women to actually have drugs on them. More blacks than whites are pulled over by police on suspicion of having contraband but white people are actually more likely to have contraband in these incidents. Studies show that at least a third of businesses have discriminated in hiring based on race. A National Opinion research survey in the early 90's found that 50 to 60 percent of whites were willing to admit to holding the view that blacks are generally lazier, more prone to violence, etc. than whites. In a September 2008 AP poll, 60 percent of likely Democratic voters admitted to having negative views about blacks in general but still planned to vote for Obama. A big stereotype that polling among whites has revealed is that whites associate blacks with welfare dependency, even though, as Wise notes, 5 of 6 blacks have never received welfare. Wise notes that a Wall Street Journal article in 1995 showed that around 70 percent of whites with bad credit could still get a mortgage but only 16 percent of blacks with bad credit could do so. As for Hurricane Katrina reconstruction, Wise notes how federal government policies have caused a veritable ethnic cleansing of blacks from New Orleans. Wise also recounts the horrendous incidents in the Algiers Point neighborhood of New Orleans during Katrina.
Wise is very worried that while Obama's election signifies some good things, it also could serve to make fighting racism even harder. Obama's election could serve to reinforce white racism. White people already have pointed to Obama's election as proof that if black folks would just work hard and stop complaining, they can rise to the pinnacle of this society just like Oprah, Michael Jordan, Tiger Woods, etc. One of my favorite statements that Wise makes in this book (as in his previous book) relates to the argument that Obama's election proves racism is not a serious problem in this country. To make such a claim, according to Wise, is like arguing that because Benazir Bhutto was one of the leading political figures in Pakistan, that proves that sexism and violence against women is not a serious problem in that country.
I'm particularly glad that Wise puts something in this book about the right wing talking point that the current financial crises has been caused by the Community Redevelopment Act(CRA) forcing banks to lend money to financially troubled people of color. In reality, a large majority of sub-prime loans were made by the big mortgage houses, which were not covered by the CRA. Loans made under the CRA actually have a significantly less default rate than regular loans. Wise notes that studies have shown that black people have not uncommonly been directed into sub-prime mortgages even when they qualify for a prime loan. Greedy bankers brought down this financial system by deliberately starting speculative bubbles not because ACORN and the federal government terrorized them into making bad loans. As for ACORN, Wise dispels the notion that they encouraged reckless lending. In his endnotes, Wise also notes the fake scare about ACORN trying to engage in voting fraud.
Wise does not believe that, in many ways, Obama's victory represents a very significant step in the battle against racism. Obama, after all, rarely addressed the issue of white supremacy and so he made white folks feel comfortable just as Bill Cosby's sitcom made white folks comfortable. Obama has wholeheartedly embraced the pre-dominant white narrative about the heroic and more or less virtuous character of American history.
Wise argues that to make significant progress between the races, white people are going to have to no longer dismiss black people who tell stories of the way racism has affected their life. They must understand why a lot of black people were not disturbed by Jeremiah Wright's false claim that white people created the AIDS virus to use against black people. After all, it has been well documented over the years where black people have been used in medical experiments against their will, for example injected with plutonium and cancer cells. Our own CIA, as the Senate Church Committee revealed in the 1970's, conduced "medical experiments" under the MK Ultra program, including, in the early 50's, releasing yellow fever and whooping cough mosquitoes in black populated areas of Miami and Savannah, Georgia.
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22 of 29 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Not About Blame, August 12, 2009
This review is from: Between Barack and a Hard Place: Racism and White Denial in the Age of Obama (Paperback)
I am thoroughly convinced that we have reached a point in American history where racism can only be addressed and, eventually, abolished though the conscious action of White America. Just as women who speak against sexism are labeled weak and accused of whining; blacks who speak against racism are destined to be accused of 'playing the race card'.
Tim Wise constructs two pithy arguments pertaining the "Call for White Responsibility". First, Wise discusses the denial of racism in the current age. Second, Wise discusses the need for white Americans to confront, attack and reverse the impact of white privilege.
People of all races must be wary of the concept of "transcending Blackness". This is the tendency to accept a select segment of the Black population because the defy the current stigmatism of negative stereotypes. Wise examines this phenomenon in detail.
Second, people of all races must admit that the vast majority of white Americans currently living are not to blame for current systems of racism which are in place. However, Wise is calling for Caucasians to acknowledge any benefits that they may receive from the inherited system and work towards truly equalizing the American experience through the abolition of racism.
If I could suggest that every American read a selection of Tim Wise before they attend an American University, I would. Perhaps the world would be a different place.
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2 of 3 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Between Barack And A Hard Place, January 6, 2011
This review is from: Between Barack and a Hard Place: Racism and White Denial in the Age of Obama (Paperback)
As a student of African American History, I have always been puzzled by how white Americans can easily go about their lives, seemingly oblivious to the lives of others, particularly African Americans. While in college in the 1970s, I had the rude awakening regarding White Christianity and its support of slavery. Despite the teachings of Jesus and the need to lead society, the majority white church suborned herself to the culture of the day and sided against their black brethren. It became abundantly clear to me that if the majority of white people in America had taken the stance of the Quakers and others, along with the abolitionists, slavery would have ended much sooner. The sad part about race in America is that most people are in denial about the continuing ill effects of racism on our country. In his book, Tim Wise makes a most cogent argument regarding the devasting impact of racism on everyday life of people of color, and the apparent disregard or denial by whites of such impact. This book is a very powerful statement of the impact that race plays in the national life of our country. It has the potenital of bringing about change, if white people will remove their rose colored glasses and see what is apparent to numerous others. I commend Mr. Wise for having the courage to confront his fellow citizens for their indifference. I am recommending it to all of my friends in celebration of African American History Month
Between Barack and a Hard Place: Racism and White Denial in the Age of Obama.
Between Barack and a Hard Place: Racism and White Denial in the Age of Obama
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