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Dispatches from the Race War
Essays on racial flashpoints, white denial, violence, and the manipulation of fear in America today.
"Drawing on events from the killing of Trayvon Martin to the Black Lives Matter protests last summer, Wise calls to account his fellow white citizens and exhorts them to combat racist power structures." (The New York Times)
“What Tim Wise has brilliantly done is to challenge white folks' truth to see that they have a responsibility to do more than sit back and watch, but to recognize their own role in co-creating a fair, inclusive, truly democratic society.” (Michelle Alexander, author of The New Jim Crow)
"Tim Wise's new book gives us the tools we need to reach people whose understanding of our country is white instead of right. And without pissing them off!" (James W. Loewen, author, Lies My Teacher Told Me)
"Tim Wise's latest is more urgent than ever. " (Heather Ann Thompson, Pulitzer Prize-winning author of Blood in the Water: The Attica Prison Uprising of 1971 and Its Legacy)
"A white social justice advocate clearly shows how racism is America's core crisis. A trenchant assessment of our nation's ills." (Kirkus Reviews, starred review)
"[Dispatches from the Race War] is a bracing call to action in a moment of social unrest." (Publishers Weekly)
"Dispatches from the Race War exhorts white Americans to join the struggle for a fairer society." (Chapter 16)
In this collection of essays, renowned social-justice advocate Tim Wise confronts racism in contemporary America. Seen through the lens of major flashpoints during the Obama and Trump years, Dispatches from the Race War faces the consequences of white supremacy in all its forms. This includes a discussion of the bigoted undertones of the Tea Party's backlash, the killing of Trayvon Martin, current-day anti-immigrant hysteria, the rise of openly avowed white nationalism, the violent policing of African Americans, and more.
Wise devotes a substantial portion of the book to explore the racial ramifications of COVID-19 and the widespread protests that followed the police murder of George Floyd.
Concise, accessible chapters, most written in first-person, offer an excellent source for those engaged in the anti-racism struggle. Tim Wise's proactive approach asks White allies to contend with - and take responsibility for - their own role in perpetuating racism against Blacks and people of color.
Dispatches from the Race War reminds us that the story of our country is the history of racial conflict and that our future may depend on how - or if - we can resolve it. “To accept racism is quintessentially American,” writes Wise, “to rebel against it is human. Be human.”
"Drawing on events from the killing of Trayvon Martin to the Black Lives Matter protests last summer, Wise calls to account his fellow white citizens and exhorts them to combat racist power structures." (The New York Times)
“What Tim Wise has brilliantly done is to challenge white folks' truth to see that they have a responsibility to do more than sit back and watch, but to recognize their own role in co-creating a fair, inclusive, truly democratic society.” (Michelle Alexander, author of The New Jim Crow)
"Tim Wise's new book gives us the tools we need to reach people whose understanding of our country is white instead of right. And without pissing them off!" (James W. Loewen, author, Lies My Teacher Told Me)
"Tim Wise's latest is more urgent than ever. " (Heather Ann Thompson, Pulitzer Prize-winning author of Blood in the Water: The Attica Prison Uprising of 1971 and Its Legacy)
"A white social justice advocate clearly shows how racism is America's core crisis. A trenchant assessment of our nation's ills." (Kirkus Reviews, starred review)
"[Dispatches from the Race War] is a bracing call to action in a moment of social unrest." (Publishers Weekly)
"Dispatches from the Race War exhorts white Americans to join the struggle for a fairer society." (Chapter 16)
In this collection of essays, renowned social-justice advocate Tim Wise confronts racism in contemporary America. Seen through the lens of major flashpoints during the Obama and Trump years, Dispatches from the Race War faces the consequences of white supremacy in all its forms. This includes a discussion of the bigoted undertones of the Tea Party's backlash, the killing of Trayvon Martin, current-day anti-immigrant hysteria, the rise of openly avowed white nationalism, the violent policing of African Americans, and more.
Wise devotes a substantial portion of the book to explore the racial ramifications of COVID-19 and the widespread protests that followed the police murder of George Floyd.
Concise, accessible chapters, most written in first-person, offer an excellent source for those engaged in the anti-racism struggle. Tim Wise's proactive approach asks White allies to contend with - and take responsibility for - their own role in perpetuating racism against Blacks and people of color.
Dispatches from the Race War reminds us that the story of our country is the history of racial conflict and that our future may depend on how - or if - we can resolve it. “To accept racism is quintessentially American,” writes Wise, “to rebel against it is human. Be human.”
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Published April 13, 2021
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About the author
Tim Wise
22 books504 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 - 8 of 8 reviews
March 3, 2021
For those familiar or even well-versed in the work of Tim Wise, this collection of essays from the last year or so - and ending before the results of Nov. 2020 election and the 1/6/21 radical right wing domestic terror attack on the Capitol - Dispatches from the Race War is a superb checklist for you to see what essays of his you’ve missed over the last year. For those barely familiar with Wise, this book is your perfect primer/intro into the mind of the United State’s greater anti-racism educators/speakers/writers.
Wise’s style; his abrasive eloquence, his compassionate intellect are on display with every essay within. He is the human white American needs to hear and needs to allow the justified condemnation and criticism to come from. Wise’s final essay in the book is perfect in understanding the message he’s sent out from the beginning. It includes a message he personally received from Bishop Desmond Tutu - “you do not do the things you do because others will necessarily join you in the doing of them, nor because they will ultimately prove successful. You do the things you do because the things you are doing are right.”
Wake up white American (myself included) and acknowledge Tim Wise’s message in this superb collection of essays.
Wise’s style; his abrasive eloquence, his compassionate intellect are on display with every essay within. He is the human white American needs to hear and needs to allow the justified condemnation and criticism to come from. Wise’s final essay in the book is perfect in understanding the message he’s sent out from the beginning. It includes a message he personally received from Bishop Desmond Tutu - “you do not do the things you do because others will necessarily join you in the doing of them, nor because they will ultimately prove successful. You do the things you do because the things you are doing are right.”
Wake up white American (myself included) and acknowledge Tim Wise’s message in this superb collection of essays.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
June 9, 2021
Really enjoyed reading topical essays without having to look at a computer screen. He writes very clearly about issues that many people would tell you were complicated. His writing style is very unfussy. He draws in historical points and references of other peoples' writing and work in a way that I appreciated. I particularly enjoyed the essays in the end section, writing about the role of hope, mistakes he's made in his approach and people asking for solutions. The business of talking about how to talk to other people about race is done well. Best book? No idea. Worth reading? Totally.
September 29, 2021
Smart, well written essays! This book should be used in high school classes so that our country can grow the knowledge necessary to make our country a better place to live for everyone! I highly recommend it. You don't have to read it straight through just pick it up, read a bit and think, or talk to someone else, about it.
March 26, 2022
This is a book of stand-alone essays, woven together. It is very good, though I do not feel like I really learned much that was new. Tim has many important messages, but in this case, he was "preaching to the choir." I read this as part of a racial justice discussion group.
March 29, 2021
Some 5s, some 2s, some annoying bits of repetition. It's a compilation. Wise makes some important historical observations and connections and usually presents his arguments clearly.
April 16, 2021
Libs get the racial justice merit badge if they read this.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lTdFX...
Robin Deangelo stuff is annoying for sure and another corporate snare to get employees fired but deplorables are deplorable for a reason.
https://youtu.be/OiXnVtA45Yw
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lTdFX...
Robin Deangelo stuff is annoying for sure and another corporate snare to get employees fired but deplorables are deplorable for a reason.
https://youtu.be/OiXnVtA45Yw
August 14, 2021
i like
November 15, 2022
Rages against injustice with outrage and humor. The pages turned. Gave me the warm feeling of recognition. No solutions other than “don’t elect racists” which seems a good place to start.
Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews