Tim Wise

Tim Wise
File:IMG 4453-3.jpg Wise in 2011
Born	Timothy Jacob Wise (1968-10-04) October 4, 1968 Nashville, Tennessee, U.S.
Nationality	American
Education	B.A., Political Science
Alma mater	Tulane University
Occupation	Anti-racism activist, writer
Spouse(s)	Kristy Cason (1998–present)
Children	2 daughters, Ashton & Rachel
Parent(s)	Michael Julius Wise LuCinda Anne (McLean) Wise
Website	timwise.org

Timothy Jacob "Tim" Wise (born October 4, 1968 in Nashville, Tennessee) is a far-left Jewish-American activist and writer. Since 1995, he has given speeches at over 600 college campuses across the U.S. A very prominent Jewish supremacist, he has trained teachers, corporate employees, non-profit organizations and law enforcement officers in methods for addressing and dismantling alleged white racism in their institutions.

Early life and education

Wise was born in Nashville, Tennessee, to Michael Julius Wise and LuCinda Anne (née McLean) Wise. His paternal grandfather was Jewish (of Russian origin), while the rest of his ancestry is northern European, including some Scottish. Wise has said that when he was about 12 years old his synagogue was allegedly attacked by white supremacists. Wise attended public schools in Nashville, graduating from Hillsboro High School in 1986. In high school he was student body vice-president and a member of one of the top high school debate teams in the United States. Wise attended college at Tulane University in New Orleans and received his B.A. there, with a major in Political Science and a minor in Latin American Studies. While a student, he was a leader in the campus anti-apartheid movement, which sought to force Tulane to divest from companies still doing business with the government of South Africa. His anti-apartheid activism was first brought to national attention in 1988, when South African Archbishop Desmond Tutu announced he would turn down an offer of an honorary degree from Tulane after Wise's group informed him of the school's ongoing investments there.

Career

1990s

After graduating in 1990, Wise started his work as an anti-racism activist after receiving training from the New Orleans-based People's Institute for Survival and Beyond. Wise began his anti-racism work first as a youth coordinator, and then associate director, of the Louisiana Coalition Against Racism and Nazism, the largest of the various organizations founded for the purpose of defeating political candidate, David Duke, when Duke ran for U.S. Senate and Governor of Louisiana in 1990 and 1991, respectively.

After his work campaigning against David Duke, Wise worked for a number of community-based organizations and political groups in Baton Rouge and New Orleans, including the Louisiana Coalition for Tax Justice, the Louisiana Injured Worker's Union and Agenda for Children, where he worked as a policy analyst and community organizer in New Orleans public housing.

In 1995, Wise began lecturing around the country on the issues of racism, criticizing white privilege (his own, included) and proposing his solutions. The following year, he returned to his hometown Nashville, and he continued his work around the US, gaining a national reputation for his work in defense of affirmative action.

2000s

From 1999 to 2003, Wise served as an advisor to the Fisk University Race Relations Institute. Wise received the 2002 National Youth Advocacy Coalition's Social Justice Impact Award. He has appeared on numerous radio and television broadcasts, including The Montel Williams Show, Donahue, Paula Zahn NOW, MSNBC Live, and ABC's 20/20, arguing the case for affirmative action and to discuss the issue of white privilege and racism in America.

Wise argues that racism in the United States is institutionalized due to past overt racism (and its ongoing effects) along with current-day discrimination. Although he concedes that personal, overt bias is less common than in the past (or at least less openly articulated), Wise argues that existing institutions continue to foster and perpetuate white privilege, and that subtle, impersonal, and even ostensibly race-neutral policies contribute to racism and racial inequality today.

2010s

In multi-racial societies such as the U.S., Wise argues that all people (white or people of color) will have internalized various elements of racist thinking. However just because society has been conditioned this way does not mean that society is committed to racist thinking. Wise argues that members of society can challenge this conditioning and be taught to believe in equality.

In 2010, Utne Reader magazine listed Wise as one of the "25 Visionaries Who Are Changing Your World."

In 2013, Wise posted a rant on his Facebook page describing the hate mail and death threats he receives, and addressing the people who troll his site. Many commenters criticized the rant as reflecting white privilege, and questioned his role in the discussion of race in the United States. One commenter found Wise's remarks demeaning to anti-racist work done by people of color. Two others compared Wise to Hugo Schwyzer, who was famous in feminist circles but later exposed for misogynistic attitudes. Wise posted a response on Facebook saying in part, "I won't try and defend the tone of most of my remarks. It was inappropriate. Period. [...] I fell into the same kind of vitriolic and sometimes personal attack mode that had gotten me angry in the first place. I shouldn't have. I will strive to do better."

Wise starred in a 2013 documentary entitled White Like Me.

Personal life

After living in New Orleans for ten years, Wise relocated to his native Nashville in 1996. In 1998, he married Kristy Cason. Together they have two daughters, Ashton (b. 2001) and Rachel (b. 2003). Wise has referred to himself as Jewish and as an anti-Zionist Jew but does not practice Judaism.

Written works

• White Like Me: Reflections on Race From a Privileged Son (Soft Skull Press, 2004)
• Affirmative Action: Racial Preference in Black and White (Routledge, 2005)
• Speaking Treason Fluently: Anti-Racist Reflections From an Angry White Male (Soft Skull Press, 2008)
• Between Barack and a Hard Place: Racism and White Denial in the Age of Obama (City Lights Publishers, 2009) ISBN 978-0-87286-500-6.
• Colorblind: The Rise of Post-Racial Politics and the Retreat from Racial Equity (City Lights Publishers, 2010) ISBN 978-0-87286-508-2.
• Dear White America: Letter to a New Minority (City Lights Publishers, 2012) ISBN 978-0-87286-521-1.
• Culture of Cruelty (City Lights Publishers, 2013) ISBN 978-0-87286-633-1.
• Under the Affluence: Shaming the Poor, Praising the Rich and Sacrificing the Future of America (City Lights Publishers, 2015) ISBN 978-0-87286-693-5.

Video releases

In addition to books and essays Wise has produced a DVD titled On White Privilege: Racism, White Denial & the Costs of Inequality and a double-CD entitled The Audacity of Truth: Racism and White Denial in the Age of Obama.

See also

• White People

External links

• Official website
• Tim Wise at the Internet Movie Database