Tim Wise Quotes

34 quotes in 753 categories

• Ignorance of how we are shaped racially is the first sign of privilege. In other words. It is a privilege to ignore the consequences of…
• People never hurt others in moments of personal strength and bravery, when they are feeling good about themselves, when they are strong and confident. If…
• There won’t be any more white folks around who think the 1950s were the good old days, because there won’t be any more white folks…
• You can't organize people if you don't love them. And however hard it can be to love the racist you come in contact with; doing…
• People of color have to do this work as a mater of everyday survival. And so long as they have to, who am I to…
• The denial of racism is a form of racism itself.
• As a writer, there are times when you have something to say, and yet no particular 'hook' upon which to hang the missive you are…
• It's hard to say when or if we will actually arrive at that place called 'post-racial', or, better yet, post-racism.
• Being asked to describe what 'post-racial' means is a bit like being asked to describe a leprechaun, cold fusion or unicorns: we know what is…
• The power of resistance is to set an example: not necessarily to change the person with whom you disagree, but to empower the one who…
• What whites have rarely had to think about—because being the dominant group, we are so used to having our will done, with a little effort…
• After all, acknowledging unfairness then calls decent people forth to correct those injustices. And since most persons are at their core, decent folks, the need…
• So, in "Melting Pot" the children (about a third of whom were kids of color) sang the line, "America was the new world and Europe…
• And in "Elbow Room" the cast sings the glories of westward expansion in the United States, which involved the murder of native peoples and the…
• Stuff Happens.’ That’s the G-rated version. That’s a bumper sticker that only a straight white upper middle class male could have made. Because anyone who…
• When I got to college, the fake ID thing wasn't that important, since pretty much everyone could get away with drinking in New Orleans. But…
• And let's just be honest, there is no such place called 'justice,' if by that we envision a finish line, or a point at which…
• Hardly any aspect of my life, from where I had lived to my education to my employment history to my friendships, had been free from…
• Standing still is never an option so long as inequities remain embedded in the very fabric of the culture.
• Sadly, if President Obama is willing to ignore the pain of race-based discrimination and injustice so as to make whites comfortable - and this, after…

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