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Between Barack and a Hard Place: Racism and White Denial in the Age of Obama
Race is, and always has been, an explosive issue in the United States. In this timely new book, Tim Wise explores how Barack Obama’s emergence as a political force is taking the race debate to new levels. According to Wise, for many white people, Obama’s rise signifies the end of racism as a pervasive social force; they point to Obama not only as a validation of the American ideology that anyone can make it if they work hard, but also as an example of how institutional barriers against people of color have all but vanished. But is this true? And does a reinforced white belief in color-blind meritocracy potentially make it harder to address ongoing institutional racism? After all, in housing, employment, the justice system, and education, the evidence is white privilege and discrimination against people of color are still operative and actively thwarting opportunities, despite the success of individuals like Obama. Is black success making it harder for whites to see the problem of racism, thereby further straining race relations, or will it challenge anti-black stereotypes to such an extent that racism will diminish and race relations improve? Will blacks in power continue to be seen as an “exception” in white eyes? Is Obama “acceptable” because he seems “different from most blacks,” who are still viewed too often as the dangerous and inferior “other”? Tim Wise is among the most prominent antiracist writers and activists in the US and has appeared on ABC's 20/20 and MSNBC Live. His previous books include Speaking Treason Fluently and White Like Me .
120 pages, Paperback
First published February 1, 2009
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1499 people want to read
About the author
Tim Wise
22 books503 followersTim Wise is among the most prominent anti-racist writers and activists in the U.S., and has been called the foremost white anti-racist intellectual in the nation, having spoken in 46 states, and on over 300 college campuses, including Harvard, Stanford, Cal Tech and the Law Schools at Yale, Columbia, Michigan, and Vanderbilt.
From 1999 to 2003, Wise served as an advisor to the Fisk University Race Relations Institute and in the early 90s was Associate Director of the Louisiana Coalition Against Racism and Nazism: the group credited by many with the political defeat of white nationalist, David Duke. His anti-racism efforts have been termed revolutionary by NYU professor and award-winning author, Robin D.G. Kelley, and have also earned praise from such noted race scholars as Michael Eric Dyson, Kimberl Crenshaw, Derrick Bell, Joe Feagin, Lani Guinier, and Richard Delgado.
Tim Wise is now the Director of the newly-formed Association for White Anti-Racist Education (AWARE) in Nashville, Tennessee. He lectures across the country about the need to combat institutional racism, gender bias, and the growing gap between rich and poor in the U.S. Wise has been called a "leftist extremist" by David Duke, "deceptively Aryan-looking" by a member of the Ku Klux Klan, and "the Uncle Tom of the white race," by right-wing author, Dinesh D' Souza. Whatever else can be said about him, his ability to make the right kind of enemies seems unquestioned.
Wise is a featured columnist with the ZNet Commentary program: a web service that disseminates essays by prominent progressive and radical activists and educators. His writings are taught at hundreds of colleges and have appeared in dozens of popular and professional journals. Wise serves as the Race and Ethnicity Editor for LIP Magazine, and articles about his work have appeared in the Los Angeles Times, Washington Post and San Francisco Chronicle.
He has contributed to three recent anthologiesWhen Race Becomes Real: Black and White Writers Confront Their Personal Histories (Chicago Review Press, Jan 2004); Should America Pay (HarperAmistad, 2003), a compilation of essays concerning slavery and its aftermath; and The Power of Non-Violence (Beacon Press, 2002)."
From 1999 to 2003, Wise served as an advisor to the Fisk University Race Relations Institute and in the early 90s was Associate Director of the Louisiana Coalition Against Racism and Nazism: the group credited by many with the political defeat of white nationalist, David Duke. His anti-racism efforts have been termed revolutionary by NYU professor and award-winning author, Robin D.G. Kelley, and have also earned praise from such noted race scholars as Michael Eric Dyson, Kimberl Crenshaw, Derrick Bell, Joe Feagin, Lani Guinier, and Richard Delgado.
Tim Wise is now the Director of the newly-formed Association for White Anti-Racist Education (AWARE) in Nashville, Tennessee. He lectures across the country about the need to combat institutional racism, gender bias, and the growing gap between rich and poor in the U.S. Wise has been called a "leftist extremist" by David Duke, "deceptively Aryan-looking" by a member of the Ku Klux Klan, and "the Uncle Tom of the white race," by right-wing author, Dinesh D' Souza. Whatever else can be said about him, his ability to make the right kind of enemies seems unquestioned.
Wise is a featured columnist with the ZNet Commentary program: a web service that disseminates essays by prominent progressive and radical activists and educators. His writings are taught at hundreds of colleges and have appeared in dozens of popular and professional journals. Wise serves as the Race and Ethnicity Editor for LIP Magazine, and articles about his work have appeared in the Los Angeles Times, Washington Post and San Francisco Chronicle.
He has contributed to three recent anthologiesWhen Race Becomes Real: Black and White Writers Confront Their Personal Histories (Chicago Review Press, Jan 2004); Should America Pay (HarperAmistad, 2003), a compilation of essays concerning slavery and its aftermath; and The Power of Non-Violence (Beacon Press, 2002)."
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 61 reviews
May 12, 2010
This brief book (two essays) is something I would recommend to any reader who wishes to understand issues of racism in today's world. One need only look at the badly spelled signs at "Tea Party" rallies and Arizona's SB 1070 to know that racism is, unfortunately, alive and well in the USA even as some pundits argue that President Obama's election proved its demise.
Tim Wise examines racism (an institutionalized matter) and bigotry (an individualized matter) not only from historical attitudes but also from the perspective of exceptionalism. He has facts and figures to back up his opinions, and addresses what needs to happen in order for our culture to truly get past the idea that skin color is some kind of valuation.
In my opinion, this is a must-read for everyone. I am vehemently anti-racist and still found some matters in this book via which my assumptions were challenged. Not to be missed.
Tim Wise examines racism (an institutionalized matter) and bigotry (an individualized matter) not only from historical attitudes but also from the perspective of exceptionalism. He has facts and figures to back up his opinions, and addresses what needs to happen in order for our culture to truly get past the idea that skin color is some kind of valuation.
In my opinion, this is a must-read for everyone. I am vehemently anti-racist and still found some matters in this book via which my assumptions were challenged. Not to be missed.
Read
August 4, 2016"Wise's short book reads like an old-school polemic: Thomas Paine's 'Common Sense' for the 21st century. . . . A post-racial United States is an imagined country." — Adam Bradley, The Washington Post
"Wise, a white anti-racism activist and scholar (and author of White Like Me), pushes plenty of buttons in this methodical breakdown of racism's place in the wake of Barack Obama’s victory. In the first of two essays, the author obliterates the canard of the US as a post-racial society; bigotry and insititutionalized discrimination, he contends, have simply morphed into 'Racism 2.0,' in which successful minorities are celebrated 'as having 'transcended' their blackness in some way.' While racial disparities in employment and income, housing, education and other areas persist, Obama has become an amiable sitcom dad like Bill Cosby, putting whites at ease by speaking, looking and acting 'a certain way'—not to mention avoiding discussion of race. In his second, more incendiary essay, Wise concludes that whites must take responsibility for racism. What the majority of whites fail to grasp, he says, is that they continue to benefit from a system of 'entrenched privileges' centuries in the making, and that racism remains a serious obstacle for millions of African Americans. There’s no sugar coating here for whites, nor are there any news flashes for Americans of color, but Wise bravely enumerates the unpalatable truths of a nation still struggling to understand its legacy of racist oppression."
—Publishers Weekly
"From income and jobs, housing, education, criminal justice, and healthcare, Wise masterfully demonstrates the continuing disparities between black and white America. He notes the absence of these issues in the Obama-Biden campaign or the attempt to read structural inequalities through a race-free lens called CLASS. At every step, Wise absolves the Obama campaign of responsibility for their less than candid approach to racial issues, saying that campaign strategists confronted the reality of white racism by side-stepping the issue. . . Wise's book provides welcome relief to the obnoxious self-congratulation that followed Obama's election to the presidency."
—Jillian McLaughlin, Kosmopolitan
"The punning title of his book, 'Between Barack and a Hard Place,' belies the sobering material within. Wise paints a stark picture of racial inequality in the United States today. . . .Wise's short book reads like an old-school polemic: Thomas Paine's 'Common Sense' for the 21st century. . . . A post-racial United States is an imagined country."
—Adam Bradley, The Washington Post
"Tim Wise, a long-time anti-racist activist, has just finished a very timely book that warns against becoming comfortable with racism while we are distracted by Obama's election. Between Barack and a Hard Place: Racism and White Denial in the Age of Obama continues the excellent work around the issue of [w:]hite [p:]rivilege that Wise has pounded home in his books, articles, and public talks across the country."
—Jeff Smith, Media Mouse
"Wise, a white anti-racism activist and scholar (and author of White Like Me), pushes plenty of buttons in this methodical breakdown of racism's place in the wake of Barack Obama’s victory. In the first of two essays, the author obliterates the canard of the US as a post-racial society; bigotry and insititutionalized discrimination, he contends, have simply morphed into 'Racism 2.0,' in which successful minorities are celebrated 'as having 'transcended' their blackness in some way.' While racial disparities in employment and income, housing, education and other areas persist, Obama has become an amiable sitcom dad like Bill Cosby, putting whites at ease by speaking, looking and acting 'a certain way'—not to mention avoiding discussion of race. In his second, more incendiary essay, Wise concludes that whites must take responsibility for racism. What the majority of whites fail to grasp, he says, is that they continue to benefit from a system of 'entrenched privileges' centuries in the making, and that racism remains a serious obstacle for millions of African Americans. There’s no sugar coating here for whites, nor are there any news flashes for Americans of color, but Wise bravely enumerates the unpalatable truths of a nation still struggling to understand its legacy of racist oppression."
—Publishers Weekly
"From income and jobs, housing, education, criminal justice, and healthcare, Wise masterfully demonstrates the continuing disparities between black and white America. He notes the absence of these issues in the Obama-Biden campaign or the attempt to read structural inequalities through a race-free lens called CLASS. At every step, Wise absolves the Obama campaign of responsibility for their less than candid approach to racial issues, saying that campaign strategists confronted the reality of white racism by side-stepping the issue. . . Wise's book provides welcome relief to the obnoxious self-congratulation that followed Obama's election to the presidency."
—Jillian McLaughlin, Kosmopolitan
"The punning title of his book, 'Between Barack and a Hard Place,' belies the sobering material within. Wise paints a stark picture of racial inequality in the United States today. . . .Wise's short book reads like an old-school polemic: Thomas Paine's 'Common Sense' for the 21st century. . . . A post-racial United States is an imagined country."
—Adam Bradley, The Washington Post
"Tim Wise, a long-time anti-racist activist, has just finished a very timely book that warns against becoming comfortable with racism while we are distracted by Obama's election. Between Barack and a Hard Place: Racism and White Denial in the Age of Obama continues the excellent work around the issue of [w:]hite [p:]rivilege that Wise has pounded home in his books, articles, and public talks across the country."
—Jeff Smith, Media Mouse
January 2, 2012
I was quite happy when this book popped up on my paperbackswap wish list. I started reading it fairly soon after receiving it in the mail, stealing a few minutes here and there to read, often on the walk to work. Then, the train trip to Kalamazoo (for our fall OMA meeting) afforded me the chance to plunge through the rest of the book, fighting back tears in the Kalamazoo train station as I waited for Debbie to pick me up, as I read about the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina and finished the book.
As always, I found Tim Wise's writing to be insightful and incredibly informative. I had really been yearning for Wise's analysis of the racial issues surrounding Obama's election, and it was wonderful to have Wise not just validate all my uncomfortableness with some of the stupid crap people kept saying by laying those same issues out, but to have him really dig deep into exactly what made them so awful and wrong.
At times it felt like I was bookmarking every other page, and many quotes theories and anecdotes made their way into my conversations in the following weeks. I could go on and on about why I find the writings of this white anti-racism activist refreshing, but instead I filled my reading journal with a list of page references to quotes and arguments that I wanted to be able to refer back to. Normally, I just write the entire quotes. But with this book? There were too many and too long and it would have taken an age. Though I do want to record this one quote, which is a lovely statement on the book as a whole:
As always, I found Tim Wise's writing to be insightful and incredibly informative. I had really been yearning for Wise's analysis of the racial issues surrounding Obama's election, and it was wonderful to have Wise not just validate all my uncomfortableness with some of the stupid crap people kept saying by laying those same issues out, but to have him really dig deep into exactly what made them so awful and wrong.
At times it felt like I was bookmarking every other page, and many quotes theories and anecdotes made their way into my conversations in the following weeks. I could go on and on about why I find the writings of this white anti-racism activist refreshing, but instead I filled my reading journal with a list of page references to quotes and arguments that I wanted to be able to refer back to. Normally, I just write the entire quotes. But with this book? There were too many and too long and it would have taken an age. Though I do want to record this one quote, which is a lovely statement on the book as a whole:
... I have come to realize something: namely, even with Barack Obama as the forty-fourth president of the United States, we will still need a back-up plan. For Obama cannot be relied upon, any more so than any other president or national leader, to shepherd our nation out of the wilderness of racism and inequality. The job is too great, and the single solitary man too small for such an effort. Which is to say that if we want the job done right, we're going to have to do it ourselves, all of us.
February 27, 2012
I give this book 3 stars it was pretty good. Mr. Wise sparked several questions and thoughts about Barack Obama’s presidential victory compared to the state of race relations in America. The author wrote a short book, I was able to read in one sitting. I enjoyed both essays contained in its 150 pages. The first “Barack Obama, white denial and the reality of racism” asked the question: If we have an elected African American president then can we consider racism and outdated idea? Did America move beyond its racial dividing line? Mr. Wise suggests that we have eliminated racism; only upgraded from racism 1.0 to racism 2.0. The 1.0 version if full of overt racial aggression examples likes of ‘Jim Crow’ south and segregation come to mind. The 2.0 version is passive-aggressive racial responses like good ol’ boy networks that stop promotion ability of minorities and ‘good black’ versus ‘bad black’ cognitive division. Version 2.0 says that we can have a successful African American because he transcends his race. In other words people who observe the president literally see a neutral person (thinks along the lines of Cliff Hugstable in the Cosby Show). This person does not address or mention racial topics in any way.
The second essay was ‘The Audacity of Truth: A call for white responsibility.’ It was the shorter of two essays asking White America not to dismiss racism as overcome or an excuse used by minorities but, acknowledge this dark part of American history, speak out against it, and recognize any events that appear to resemble a negative racial stereotype. Essentially, racism cannot be abolished by one race. It is a relationship based solution where both parties have to agree to change and improve.
Over all I thought the book was informative but did not provide a lot of supporting evidence. My perspective was broadened and it reminds me not to pretend that favoritism or racism no longer exists. This book succeeded in expanding my social conscience.
The second essay was ‘The Audacity of Truth: A call for white responsibility.’ It was the shorter of two essays asking White America not to dismiss racism as overcome or an excuse used by minorities but, acknowledge this dark part of American history, speak out against it, and recognize any events that appear to resemble a negative racial stereotype. Essentially, racism cannot be abolished by one race. It is a relationship based solution where both parties have to agree to change and improve.
Over all I thought the book was informative but did not provide a lot of supporting evidence. My perspective was broadened and it reminds me not to pretend that favoritism or racism no longer exists. This book succeeded in expanding my social conscience.
August 11, 2009
I've been so frustrated with all the talk about how we're now in a "post-racial" era. This little volume puts to words what I've been feeling about that, and in a much better way than I ever could. It packs so much into such a little book, that I can only skim the surface here.
Wise provides excellent analysis of where we've been and where we are with regard to racism in the U.S. He focuses on a concept of "enlightened exceptionalism," in which white people will accept people of color if they are viewed as exceptional (i.e., whites view them as exceptions) and they don't make white people "feel bad" about racism. In our supposedly "post-racial" society, people who remind us that racism still exists on a massive scale are seen as party-pooping liars (my words). Wise reminds us that racism hasn't disappeared, it's just "become more sophisticated."
One of my favorite sections: "Whites must learn to listen to (and believe) what people of color say about racism, especially in their own lives... And not just those persons of color who reassure us of how wonderful our nation is, or who make us feel good, as is the case, apparently, with Obama, but black and brown folks who have no desire to soft-pedal the truth for whatever purposes, personal or political." Read it!
Wise provides excellent analysis of where we've been and where we are with regard to racism in the U.S. He focuses on a concept of "enlightened exceptionalism," in which white people will accept people of color if they are viewed as exceptional (i.e., whites view them as exceptions) and they don't make white people "feel bad" about racism. In our supposedly "post-racial" society, people who remind us that racism still exists on a massive scale are seen as party-pooping liars (my words). Wise reminds us that racism hasn't disappeared, it's just "become more sophisticated."
One of my favorite sections: "Whites must learn to listen to (and believe) what people of color say about racism, especially in their own lives... And not just those persons of color who reassure us of how wonderful our nation is, or who make us feel good, as is the case, apparently, with Obama, but black and brown folks who have no desire to soft-pedal the truth for whatever purposes, personal or political." Read it!
July 22, 2014
Interesting read. A touch repetitive. Did not always follow how he reached his conclusions. I think some of his conclusions lacked support. There were some weak, straw man assumptions. However, I also think he is absolutely correct in his observations and opinions. This book was written quickly after Obama's election in 2008 and it shows. There is a lot of meat here for a good, meaningful book on the subject, however, this book is a bit light.
May 14, 2018
The book is about ten years old and thus dated on some matters (written in 2009). The book falls out in two chapters, the first on white denial and the second on white responsibility. The story Wise tells is disheartening at many levels. On the one hand, no one escapes Wise's criticism or condemnation, whether white folks or President Obama. No one seems engaged enough, active enough, attempting enough to satisfy Wise's righteous indignation or imperative. The alarmism - going to all the highest and most hurtful examples and indices to the point of nearly expounding a white conspiracy theory - makes Wise's criteria an impossible standard. Even the author's chapter on white responsibility, where he brings out suggestions for remediating the situation is a mixed bag, some useful, others impracticable. On the other hand, the author does expose the numerous ways we delude ourselves, and socially/economically harm others. Overall it was an okay read; but there's got to be a better way to explain the circumstances and map out the resolution than by high-brow, self-righteous remonstrations.
March 31, 2019
Fantastic Book! It echoed many of things I was thinking and the frustrations I had during the political season. I I encourage everyone to read this (liberals, conservatives, progressives, traditionalists, white, people of color, etc.)
Tim Wise constructs two concise and forceful 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.
This is a great analysis of the 2008 election season and the white supremacy and white denial that played as a central prevailing discourse during this time. Even if you are not familiar with Wise's other works, READ THIS! If you are a White person, especially READ THIS! If you are a person of color, READ THIS! This should have been an ongoing discussion throughout the Obama presidency and it is important for everyone to critically engage these issues that impact all of us. Wise's book provides a discourse that not only challenges whiteness and racism, its also fosters this dialogue in which we can all place ourselves in to enable change. It is nice to actually see white people doing this work.
Between Barack and a Hard Place is an accurate, timely, much-needed scathing analysis of the current state of racism in the United States. As many Americans are being lulled into believing that racism has been eradicated by the election of the 44th president of the United States, Barack Obama.
Through use of many contemporary and historical examples, Wise illustrates how the dominant narrative of racial equality being achieved with this election is being crafted and perpetuated, and what it might mean for racism in our society.
Tim Wise constructs two concise and forceful 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.
This is a great analysis of the 2008 election season and the white supremacy and white denial that played as a central prevailing discourse during this time. Even if you are not familiar with Wise's other works, READ THIS! If you are a White person, especially READ THIS! If you are a person of color, READ THIS! This should have been an ongoing discussion throughout the Obama presidency and it is important for everyone to critically engage these issues that impact all of us. Wise's book provides a discourse that not only challenges whiteness and racism, its also fosters this dialogue in which we can all place ourselves in to enable change. It is nice to actually see white people doing this work.
Between Barack and a Hard Place is an accurate, timely, much-needed scathing analysis of the current state of racism in the United States. As many Americans are being lulled into believing that racism has been eradicated by the election of the 44th president of the United States, Barack Obama.
Through use of many contemporary and historical examples, Wise illustrates how the dominant narrative of racial equality being achieved with this election is being crafted and perpetuated, and what it might mean for racism in our society.
July 25, 2010
Tim Wise "gets it". He not only recognizes there are more than one point of view of the United States, but that those points of view create several different realities of life in the United States of America. These different realities are parallel universes and all is not well in all of them. Barack Obama's election to the highest office in the nation does not signify the end of racism and its associated ills in the United States, but rather may be used by some to postpone facing and slaying the dragons of bias and preference that are still alive and well. He addresses the issues covered in the media and as the late radio commentator Paul Harvey used to say, he tells "the rest of the story. He brings to light some of the stories about the hurricane Katrina disaster that no mainstream media dared to touch - present day racists shooting at African Americans for fun and he reveals some of their hateful internet postings bragging about their murderous deeds. He calls it like it is.
March 28, 2009
Another great piece from Tim Wise. For anyone who thought we were entering "a post-racial era" with Obama's presidential victory, or celebrated the idea that the man had "transcended race," this book is essential reading to explore the troubling thought process behind those inaccurate assertions. Systemic racism is not eradicated by the election of one black man to the US presidency - it is merely one of many signs of progress that we should celebrate with caution, lest Obama become a yardstick by which all people of color come to be judged. At 150 pages, this is a quick but important read for all white Americans.
October 28, 2009
Wise strikes a good balance between arguing for the progress that was made by the Obama campaign and by his election and arguing that one of the main reasons he was elected was not because we live in so-called postracial America but because the majority of Americans have moved beyond racism 1.0 to racism 2.0. He clearly describes the classic "But I don't think of you as black" phenomenon that so many well-intentioned but cluess white people think if not say. Smart analysis and a powerful call to white progressives to fight racism and educate other white people about the work that still needs to be done.
May 31, 2010
It was very informative. Being a white American and growing up in towns where you see about five black people a month I am not at all familiar with racial issues. It helped to understand it from a perspective i hadn't heard of. It was provoking and like Wise said "However unsettling such provocation may prove to be, let us remember that provocation is often what is needed in order to shake the complacency from the minds of the masses, not that anyone appreciates being shaken in such a manner."(141) I would def. suggest it.
May 7, 2016
I knew this was going to be a quick read when I picked it up since it was a relatively small book and only about 120 pgs. long. However, for how small a book it is, every single page is packed to the brim with data, facts, and figures to support Wise's eloquent rebuttal of widely-held racist beliefs and sheds some much needed light on the truth about our racist nation. That's not an opinion. It's a fact that large percentages of the country aren't aware of or deliberately hide from. Racism has been part of our nation from it's inception and is one of the few American legacies that we continue to inherit to this day.
For me, the sad part about this book was that it was written at the start of the Obama presidency and was rife with possible predictions about how the nation would fare with a black president. And sadly, in every single opportunity where Wise saw huge potential for the advancement of the nation in this area, what wound up happening was the worst of his predictions came to pass. So that as I read it, I could almost hear the joy and the hope in his words that Obama's presidency would provide the catalyst for true growth. And every single time, even as he stated the worst possible outcomes for the nation, he stated them dismissively, because he was so convinced that this was truly a momentous occasion full of potential. Because I read this book in the last year of Obama's two terms as president, I can see all the potential that's been squandered in the wake of that moment. So it's kinda sad on a different level, because here this man was, looking forward at the horizon where a black president was even possible, and he was cautiously optimistic about what this could do to ameliorate a longstanding tear in our nation's fabric. However, I'm reading it at the end of Obama's presidency, where all of the open questions about what it would mean for the nation and it's history of racism have been answered, and unfortunately, Wise's worst predictions all came true. That instead of capitalizing on the moment, most people went back to sleep, convinced that racism had been solved. That things have actually gotten worse for PoC, namely black and brown people but Asian Americans still face wage discrimination and less opportunities for advancement. That people did in fact begin to limit black people and hold them up to an Obama standard of excellence, dismissing all who didn't live up to his benchmark, while simultaneously questioning everything he says or does because they don't really believe in his legitimacy as leader of the US. That the disparities between the races have increased as a result. That there are more and more crimes committed against these marginalized communities and the injustices only add up. The rift wasn't ameliorated. There wasn't real mending. For a lot of liberal voters, voting for Obama succeeded in the only thing that mattered: shelving the uncomfortable conversation of racism and white privilege under the guise of supporting one least threatening.
So that at the end of the book, in the second essay, where he talks about his colleague who always said, "Well, you better have a back-up plan," you could tell that from Wise's perspective, he was really hoping we'd moved past needing one. But his friend was right. "You better have a back-up plan" was a sage warning and the need for it came to fruition. I watched all the hope of true growth against racism get squandered over the last 8 years, and in many cases, things have gotten worse. The bar set by Obama simultaneously allows people to feel comfortable in dismissing black and brown people and punishes the "good blacks" who do ascend to "respectability". It's a sickness.....a sickness that is this country's oldest addiction. And it doesn't seem to have any indication of abating soon. And because of that, the nation continues to suffer, evenmoreso now because so many people thought that Obama's presidency was the cheap panacea to the difficult work of truly examining racism and white privilege -- so while large percentages think the problem was "fixed", it merely proliferated. It changed shape, something Wise refers to as Racism 2.0, but it's still here. It's still insidious. It's still cruel and callous and a grave injustice that not only robs PoC of opportunities to advance, but actually steals billions of dollars from us in lost revenue and wealth due to housing discrimination, educational discrimination, hiring discrimination, etc. All of which are ignored because Obama became president, and people are more comfortable using this individual presidency to bludgeon others than recognize just how much work needs to be done to fix this problem.
The ending section, where Wise was advising white people on the steps that need to be taken to move forward, was sad to read. Besides reading the litany of government medical and chemical experimentation on Black and Brown communities (and I actually want a more comprehensive book to read on the subject now because I didn't know how bad some of it was and I'm pretty sure Wise was just scratching the surface with his summation), reading the real-life accounts was touching, poignant, disheartening. Partially because I was able to empathize with the pain of my people, and partially because I was unfortunately able to see so much of myself in the accounts. It is an important section on valuing and really listening to different perspectives in order to hear what's being said.
But no one wants to listen.
And so that's where we are. This was written at the start of the Obama presidency and much to the chagrin of this one reader, it appears as if the worst predictions for the nation came to pass. I don't know where we go from here, Tim Wise. We failed. We failed spectacularly. And we continue to fail, only this time, we require being coddled in that failure while more and more unarmed black people are being murdered by the police and more studies come out about hiring discrimination and more stories about virtual genocide in cities like Flint, MI come to light. And I don't necessarily know what to do about that because how do you reach people whose entire identity benefits from the shaky foundation of racial superiority? How do you reach people who need to dehumanize you to justify their existences? How do you break through to people for whom ignoring racism or staying silent and complicit in the face of racism only stands to benefit them? We are a nation of cowards, and that's why racism will continue, even as a nation reacts more viciously to the brand "racist" than any actual racism they turn their head at and whistle to forget about.
We are a nation of cowards, Tim Wise. We'll never get better until that stops being the truth. I wish I could afford to send out this book as a stocking stuffer or required reading for people who want to interact with me -- but I've been facing extreme job discrimination where I live so the idea of being able to afford anything above survival is daunting at best, and almost impossible at worst. And let me tell you, living in Portland, the liberal mecca of the PNW, I can tell you that there are plenty of Racism 2.0 liberals here, and they're "tired" of being reminded that racism is still here and that we are still being victimized by it. And if that's the attitude in one of the most self-proclaimed liberal cities in the country, I can assure you that Racism is here to stay. Mostly because it benefits far too many people and coddles them in their complacency to remain quiet.
As I said, we are a nation of cowards. Cowards and bullies.
For me, the sad part about this book was that it was written at the start of the Obama presidency and was rife with possible predictions about how the nation would fare with a black president. And sadly, in every single opportunity where Wise saw huge potential for the advancement of the nation in this area, what wound up happening was the worst of his predictions came to pass. So that as I read it, I could almost hear the joy and the hope in his words that Obama's presidency would provide the catalyst for true growth. And every single time, even as he stated the worst possible outcomes for the nation, he stated them dismissively, because he was so convinced that this was truly a momentous occasion full of potential. Because I read this book in the last year of Obama's two terms as president, I can see all the potential that's been squandered in the wake of that moment. So it's kinda sad on a different level, because here this man was, looking forward at the horizon where a black president was even possible, and he was cautiously optimistic about what this could do to ameliorate a longstanding tear in our nation's fabric. However, I'm reading it at the end of Obama's presidency, where all of the open questions about what it would mean for the nation and it's history of racism have been answered, and unfortunately, Wise's worst predictions all came true. That instead of capitalizing on the moment, most people went back to sleep, convinced that racism had been solved. That things have actually gotten worse for PoC, namely black and brown people but Asian Americans still face wage discrimination and less opportunities for advancement. That people did in fact begin to limit black people and hold them up to an Obama standard of excellence, dismissing all who didn't live up to his benchmark, while simultaneously questioning everything he says or does because they don't really believe in his legitimacy as leader of the US. That the disparities between the races have increased as a result. That there are more and more crimes committed against these marginalized communities and the injustices only add up. The rift wasn't ameliorated. There wasn't real mending. For a lot of liberal voters, voting for Obama succeeded in the only thing that mattered: shelving the uncomfortable conversation of racism and white privilege under the guise of supporting one least threatening.
So that at the end of the book, in the second essay, where he talks about his colleague who always said, "Well, you better have a back-up plan," you could tell that from Wise's perspective, he was really hoping we'd moved past needing one. But his friend was right. "You better have a back-up plan" was a sage warning and the need for it came to fruition. I watched all the hope of true growth against racism get squandered over the last 8 years, and in many cases, things have gotten worse. The bar set by Obama simultaneously allows people to feel comfortable in dismissing black and brown people and punishes the "good blacks" who do ascend to "respectability". It's a sickness.....a sickness that is this country's oldest addiction. And it doesn't seem to have any indication of abating soon. And because of that, the nation continues to suffer, evenmoreso now because so many people thought that Obama's presidency was the cheap panacea to the difficult work of truly examining racism and white privilege -- so while large percentages think the problem was "fixed", it merely proliferated. It changed shape, something Wise refers to as Racism 2.0, but it's still here. It's still insidious. It's still cruel and callous and a grave injustice that not only robs PoC of opportunities to advance, but actually steals billions of dollars from us in lost revenue and wealth due to housing discrimination, educational discrimination, hiring discrimination, etc. All of which are ignored because Obama became president, and people are more comfortable using this individual presidency to bludgeon others than recognize just how much work needs to be done to fix this problem.
The ending section, where Wise was advising white people on the steps that need to be taken to move forward, was sad to read. Besides reading the litany of government medical and chemical experimentation on Black and Brown communities (and I actually want a more comprehensive book to read on the subject now because I didn't know how bad some of it was and I'm pretty sure Wise was just scratching the surface with his summation), reading the real-life accounts was touching, poignant, disheartening. Partially because I was able to empathize with the pain of my people, and partially because I was unfortunately able to see so much of myself in the accounts. It is an important section on valuing and really listening to different perspectives in order to hear what's being said.
But no one wants to listen.
And so that's where we are. This was written at the start of the Obama presidency and much to the chagrin of this one reader, it appears as if the worst predictions for the nation came to pass. I don't know where we go from here, Tim Wise. We failed. We failed spectacularly. And we continue to fail, only this time, we require being coddled in that failure while more and more unarmed black people are being murdered by the police and more studies come out about hiring discrimination and more stories about virtual genocide in cities like Flint, MI come to light. And I don't necessarily know what to do about that because how do you reach people whose entire identity benefits from the shaky foundation of racial superiority? How do you reach people who need to dehumanize you to justify their existences? How do you break through to people for whom ignoring racism or staying silent and complicit in the face of racism only stands to benefit them? We are a nation of cowards, and that's why racism will continue, even as a nation reacts more viciously to the brand "racist" than any actual racism they turn their head at and whistle to forget about.
We are a nation of cowards, Tim Wise. We'll never get better until that stops being the truth. I wish I could afford to send out this book as a stocking stuffer or required reading for people who want to interact with me -- but I've been facing extreme job discrimination where I live so the idea of being able to afford anything above survival is daunting at best, and almost impossible at worst. And let me tell you, living in Portland, the liberal mecca of the PNW, I can tell you that there are plenty of Racism 2.0 liberals here, and they're "tired" of being reminded that racism is still here and that we are still being victimized by it. And if that's the attitude in one of the most self-proclaimed liberal cities in the country, I can assure you that Racism is here to stay. Mostly because it benefits far too many people and coddles them in their complacency to remain quiet.
As I said, we are a nation of cowards. Cowards and bullies.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
February 13, 2018
This was an absolutely phenomenal read. I think this should be shared throughout schools, especially in the month of February.
Wise does a great job of showing the contradictions (knowingly & most likely unknowingly) President Barack Obama created just by being the President.
It illustrated just how complicated it is to be a person of color in the USA especially when one of us succeeds.
Just because so and so made it to be a pro athlete, successful politician, movie star, etc. doesn’t mean all of us have the same road. Too often people fail to see this because they’re incapable of seeing life from the viewpoint of a minority & are clueless as to how difficult it is for us to make it.
I think the real goods in the book are in part 2. Tim Wise pointed out a lot of influential named and government secrets that I didn’t know existed.
It’s great to see someone in Tim Wise use his education and position to advocate for minorities in American and point out several points of why we don’t have it like some white people in America.
Wise does a great job of showing the contradictions (knowingly & most likely unknowingly) President Barack Obama created just by being the President.
It illustrated just how complicated it is to be a person of color in the USA especially when one of us succeeds.
Just because so and so made it to be a pro athlete, successful politician, movie star, etc. doesn’t mean all of us have the same road. Too often people fail to see this because they’re incapable of seeing life from the viewpoint of a minority & are clueless as to how difficult it is for us to make it.
I think the real goods in the book are in part 2. Tim Wise pointed out a lot of influential named and government secrets that I didn’t know existed.
It’s great to see someone in Tim Wise use his education and position to advocate for minorities in American and point out several points of why we don’t have it like some white people in America.
January 23, 2021
The author acknowledged the traumas and discomfort associated with the word uses of "race" and all the relevant "-isms." I found this act beneficial to connect with readers from the author’s, who is status quo standpoint (white, upper-middle-class, well-educated man).
The first essay was difficult to follow because ideas are intertwined. The book is about the Obama presidential campaign in the racism context, so the first essay offers critics about that campaign. He is black, so he knows how being black feels like and what it takes to navigate life, but it doesn't mean all the responsibilities are on his shoulders. Reading Obama's campaign strategies motivates me to read on white fragility to understand why Obama and his staff had to "make whites feel unthreatened."
The second essay, which is easier to read, explained this responsibility/obligation by stating that it takes everyone from the color spectrum to tackle racism. I had expected more elaboration on how white folks can do better, in addition to understand and accept what folks of color feel, think, and overall where folks of color come from.
It would be great to see a comprehensive scale for presidency evaluation with relevant information on the presidents' background and how backgrounds affect their priorities and shape their agendas.
The first essay was difficult to follow because ideas are intertwined. The book is about the Obama presidential campaign in the racism context, so the first essay offers critics about that campaign. He is black, so he knows how being black feels like and what it takes to navigate life, but it doesn't mean all the responsibilities are on his shoulders. Reading Obama's campaign strategies motivates me to read on white fragility to understand why Obama and his staff had to "make whites feel unthreatened."
The second essay, which is easier to read, explained this responsibility/obligation by stating that it takes everyone from the color spectrum to tackle racism. I had expected more elaboration on how white folks can do better, in addition to understand and accept what folks of color feel, think, and overall where folks of color come from.
It would be great to see a comprehensive scale for presidency evaluation with relevant information on the presidents' background and how backgrounds affect their priorities and shape their agendas.
February 12, 2018
Tim Wise is a clear and powerful writer and while this book is written at a particular moment--at the beginning of Obama's first term--it is just as power to read it after the end of Obama's presidency as it asks essential questions like: What effect, if any, has the election of a black president had for the black community in terms of ending the historic oppression embodied in US institutions?' Wise acknowledges the historic moment of the election while remaining critical and avoiding the trap of empty democratic praise. The text is filled with essential data for evaluating our current moment and is an easy reference of slightly dated though still relevant studies when looking quantifiable data on how white supremacy is still very much alive and essential to US institutions despite who the president was/is.
January 10, 2024
Started reading this and turned it into a skim. Some of the info/stats were dated, particularly given the very racially charged events of the last few years.
And there was much that was still very much on point. The realities of race in America haven't changed in essentials in the last 15 years.
I felt particularly drawn to the second essay. The responsibility of white people - of every white person - to address racism and white privilege remains as necessary today as it was then. The need for white people to believe black people about their experiences and to keep listening to the indignities faced by generation after generation, is still necessary. The willingness to reckon and grapple with the many disturbing aspects of our history still needs to come.
And there was much that was still very much on point. The realities of race in America haven't changed in essentials in the last 15 years.
I felt particularly drawn to the second essay. The responsibility of white people - of every white person - to address racism and white privilege remains as necessary today as it was then. The need for white people to believe black people about their experiences and to keep listening to the indignities faced by generation after generation, is still necessary. The willingness to reckon and grapple with the many disturbing aspects of our history still needs to come.
June 8, 2017
Tim Wise's work here seems less radical in an era where the post-race interpretations of Barack Obama's presidency have largely been discredited, but in light of this, Wise's call for white responsibility to stand against less apparent forms of racism (what he calls Racism 2.0) still rings true in our current age where we have been able to identify a resurgence of more "traditional" forms of Racism.
July 27, 2018
Split into two essays, Between Barack and a Hard Place looks at racism in the Obama era and how Obama's candidacy and election was not the national cure-all for racism. A little dated now, but especially recommended for "woke white folks" who need a little more waking.
April 15, 2019
Tim Wise is always spot on. He doesn't deal out too much fluff, he gets straight to the point. And this being a short book, you see that more clearly. I've read "White like me" and that is a wonderful, eye-opening book.
November 21, 2017
Ain't nothing changed. Racism; from individual to individual, legislatively, culturally (from law enforcement, banks, schools etc.) to of course the media.
April 3, 2021
Prophetic in spots, cliched in others.
March 24, 2013
Wise is a wonderful thinker and a decent writer. He truly challenges me to address how to be an ally and to confront modern America as it is for folks of color and how it is for white people like me. How DIFFERENT it is.
This is a quick two essays. I think he makes a critical error a couple of times in terms of feminism and women's experiences. He supposes that Clinton in victory would not have been used to signal the end of sexism the way Obama has been (mis)used to signal the end if racism. I think that is a big leap and premise I can't get behind. He also asserts that white folks don't have to know how people view them or constantly check their behavior against proscribed norms (pg. 143) -- I think this is both true and salient for his point, but not true and salient for white women.
He also misses an opportunity - I think due to brevity- to really distinguish the difference between "meritocracy" as an implementation of white power and privilege and the radical struggle he calls for "to stand up to and fight back against the injustices imposed upon" us.
I think for me the racism 1.0 and 2.0 analogy is weak but understandable. In a way, it's racism getting better at itself - more invasive - it's Lady Macbeth's serpent under a lily pad. And so it is too kind to act like it is something of omission. Racism is a very willful commission of systems and individuals to perpetuate a world of have and have-nots based on race and prejudice. And the haves - white people - enforce it everyday. Wise knows this and says it often. But maybe in this book I think he is too gentle?
He also gives Obama too little credit. Even as he says we can not put all this weight on him too signal the end of racism, he does not account for the credit due to him. He is cursory in giving Obama credit - even as he commends the network of youth and of people of color. Does Wise think this is of no account of Obama himself and the world he would like to create? Does Wise think Obama complacent because he is tactical and imprisoned by an electoral system he maneuvers well within? Is this Huxtabalism so devoid of utility? While Huxtable is just another modern continuation of a long line of references - DuBois' the talented 10th, Malcolm X's house slave - is Wise making that all Obama is? I think he strips Obama of his agency and complexity. His realness and his real work - even in 2008 when this went to press.
This is a lot of criticism for what I think is an articulate argument as to a state of what racism looks like in America today and what having a black president absolutely DOESN'T indicate about it.
This is a quick two essays. I think he makes a critical error a couple of times in terms of feminism and women's experiences. He supposes that Clinton in victory would not have been used to signal the end of sexism the way Obama has been (mis)used to signal the end if racism. I think that is a big leap and premise I can't get behind. He also asserts that white folks don't have to know how people view them or constantly check their behavior against proscribed norms (pg. 143) -- I think this is both true and salient for his point, but not true and salient for white women.
He also misses an opportunity - I think due to brevity- to really distinguish the difference between "meritocracy" as an implementation of white power and privilege and the radical struggle he calls for "to stand up to and fight back against the injustices imposed upon" us.
I think for me the racism 1.0 and 2.0 analogy is weak but understandable. In a way, it's racism getting better at itself - more invasive - it's Lady Macbeth's serpent under a lily pad. And so it is too kind to act like it is something of omission. Racism is a very willful commission of systems and individuals to perpetuate a world of have and have-nots based on race and prejudice. And the haves - white people - enforce it everyday. Wise knows this and says it often. But maybe in this book I think he is too gentle?
He also gives Obama too little credit. Even as he says we can not put all this weight on him too signal the end of racism, he does not account for the credit due to him. He is cursory in giving Obama credit - even as he commends the network of youth and of people of color. Does Wise think this is of no account of Obama himself and the world he would like to create? Does Wise think Obama complacent because he is tactical and imprisoned by an electoral system he maneuvers well within? Is this Huxtabalism so devoid of utility? While Huxtable is just another modern continuation of a long line of references - DuBois' the talented 10th, Malcolm X's house slave - is Wise making that all Obama is? I think he strips Obama of his agency and complexity. His realness and his real work - even in 2008 when this went to press.
This is a lot of criticism for what I think is an articulate argument as to a state of what racism looks like in America today and what having a black president absolutely DOESN'T indicate about it.
April 28, 2016
White denial about racism in America - serious white denial - is the theme of this book. Outlining white people's lack of true understanding of the obstacles that black Americans still face on a daily basis, these two essays put to rest any thoughts we may have that since Obama's election in 2008 we are living in a post-racial world. Clearly, as Wise demonstrates, we are far from true equality in America in spite of Obama's stunning victory. The narrative leads whites out of their comfort zone and into a new realm of reality where racism is alive and well.
The book, written in 2009, is well-documented and urges us to see that while Obama's election in 2008 was a milestone in race relations, it may have fostered a new, more subtle form of racism which Wise calls "enlightened exceptionalism, which allows whites to carve out exceptions - perhaps even large ones - for certain folks, but continue to both harbor substantial racial biases towards most persons of color and deny equal access and privilege to the black and brown community." Furthermore, perhaps prophetically, Wise states that Obama's election may have in fact inflamed the prejudice of some of those who never wanted to see him as president.
One can only hope that in the seven years since Obama first took office, things have improved. And yet, that's just the sort of denial Wise is talking about. This is an important book. Read it.
The book, written in 2009, is well-documented and urges us to see that while Obama's election in 2008 was a milestone in race relations, it may have fostered a new, more subtle form of racism which Wise calls "enlightened exceptionalism, which allows whites to carve out exceptions - perhaps even large ones - for certain folks, but continue to both harbor substantial racial biases towards most persons of color and deny equal access and privilege to the black and brown community." Furthermore, perhaps prophetically, Wise states that Obama's election may have in fact inflamed the prejudice of some of those who never wanted to see him as president.
One can only hope that in the seven years since Obama first took office, things have improved. And yet, that's just the sort of denial Wise is talking about. This is an important book. Read it.
December 14, 2014
This is the second book by Tim Wise that I have read. I liked his "white like me" book much better, however, the format of this book is very accessible - it's short and smart. It is presented in two chapters/essays on the effects of electing Obama. The reason I find Tim Wise valuable is that he is white and has a unique access to the minds of white people, as he accurately states, whites don't like to listen or believe angry minority voices. Interestingly, this book can also be valuable to minorities as well. There is no question that as minorities we simply KNOW how we experience life as a minority and by the same logic, it is interesting to read a white person talking about the white experience, why wouldn't he know better? Don't get me wrong, Wise is never sympathetic toward whites, but, if we as minorities better understand why and how white people think, we can better address their needs and our own.
April 20, 2009
fresh off the heals of the 10th annual white privilege conference in memphis a couple weeks ago, i just picked up tim wise's latest, an assessment of what obama's election does, and more pressingly, does not tell us about race and racism in america. still in the early pages, this text'll be familiar to anyone who's heard tim speak in the last six months (certainly if you peeped his keynote at the aforementioned conference), where he warns of a sleeker, more polished, 'enlightened exceptionalism'-style of racism (racism 2.0, as he terms it) now coming to the fore in the u.s. a critical counter-narrative to all this 'post-racial' jargon gettin' thrown around since even before barack took office...
May 13, 2012
After reading Wise's White Like Me, I was unsure that I wanted to read another of his books, but I am glad that I did. This book is the combination of two essays on race in America, particularly related to the 2008 election of our first person of color to the office of the President.
This was a good read, and quick and easy. I leave you with one quote to ponder:
"Confrontin racism is white folks' responsibility because even though we, in the present, are not to blame for the system we have inherited, the fact is, we have inherited it nonetheless, and continue to benefit, consciously or not, from the entrenched privileges that are the legacy of that system."
This was a good read, and quick and easy. I leave you with one quote to ponder:
"Confrontin racism is white folks' responsibility because even though we, in the present, are not to blame for the system we have inherited, the fact is, we have inherited it nonetheless, and continue to benefit, consciously or not, from the entrenched privileges that are the legacy of that system."
October 4, 2009
Tim Wise is a leading proponent/educator regarding white privilege and understanding that whites have a key role in next steps toward understanding the role race plays in ALL our lives--not just for African Americans or other people of color. This short text came out of speeches that he gave during the last election, leading up to the historic election of the first person of color, Barack Obama, to become President. His texts often read like speeches, pedantic, and this is no exception. But his central thesis is one I am ready to embrace.
November 19, 2009
Tim Wise repeats much of his message of white privilege from previous works but adds some very timely and relevant material to the mix. Wise reiterates the prevalence of institutionalized racism, Racism 2.0 - and calls upon others to recognize their privilege within the system. I've used exerts of this page in teaching Cultural Diversity to undergraduates. Students deconstruct Wise's claims and discuss the implications of white privilege in a so-called 'post-racial' era. Wise does add interesting points related racism in the response after hurricane Katrina and the 2008 presidential election,
April 2, 2010
This is a powerful book. It is small and short. I highly recommend it. Tim Wise lays out racism 2.0. Racism 2.0 is the current oppressor of minorities. It is not often not blatant; it rides on the privilege of the dominant group (i.e. Whites).
I was introduced to this (as well as issues of sexism and classism) in Soc 101, but this was a great follow up.
P.S. I watched a ten minute video of Wise on youtube. He's a great rhetor. Check him out.
I was introduced to this (as well as issues of sexism and classism) in Soc 101, but this was a great follow up.
P.S. I watched a ten minute video of Wise on youtube. He's a great rhetor. Check him out.
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