Scan barcode
ralphiereads76's review against another edition
4.0
Some great reflections here for me, and a lot of deep analysis of systemic racism as well as pointers for activism work as a white person. I will remember what he said about burnout in the final chapter, and not expecting success in antiracism work. The work itself is worthy, regardless of results. White folx expect everything we touch to turn to gold, if we just try hard enough (leading to burnout when we don't see problems fixed). I'm glad to learn from this. Highly recommend the audiobook, though there were a few times I wished I had the print version so I could save the quotes more easily!
joshgroven's review against another edition
challenging
emotional
funny
hopeful
informative
medium-paced
3.75
audaciaray's review against another edition
3.0
Wise's book is interesting and useful as an introduction for white people to encourage thinking about race and privilege. That's a good thing, for sure - but it's a safe and white-mediated approach to thinking about race. For real and challenging stuff on race, you should actually be reading writers who are people of color. Case in point: each chapter opens with a relevant quote from James Baldwin's writings - and I recommend that you prioritize reading and listening to Baldwin instead of Wise.
I'm keeping this review short because you really should read this Womanist Musings piece about the limitations of Tim Wise: http://www.womanist-musings.com/2010/11/limitations-of-tim-wise.html
I'm keeping this review short because you really should read this Womanist Musings piece about the limitations of Tim Wise: http://www.womanist-musings.com/2010/11/limitations-of-tim-wise.html
margyly's review against another edition
4.0
For whites who don't understand whit privilege
Wise made me understand (more, anyway) the pervasiveness of white privilege and how I have benefited from it. I skimmed some of the autobiographical material in the middle. - Margy
Wise made me understand (more, anyway) the pervasiveness of white privilege and how I have benefited from it. I skimmed some of the autobiographical material in the middle. - Margy
jsisco's review against another edition
3.0
It's anecdotal in nature, but there are so many parts of this book that I wish translated better. His effort is incredible but there are parts where I fear he falls into the traps he advocates against throughout the entire text.
lgpiper's review against another edition
5.0
Off and on, I've been exposed to the concepts of white racism or white privilege. That is, people try to teach me about it, and I do try to learn, although I fear that I'm a dull and slow student. This all began many years ago when I met a man named Horace Seldon while jogging around Lake Quannapowitt in the next town over from us. Horace, an ordained UCC pastor, has dedicated his life to the cause of educating his fellow white people regarding the special privileges we have by dint of our skin color. More recently, we had a study group in town over the book written by a local author, two towns over in the other direction, Debby Irving. Her book, Waking Up White: And Finding Myself in the Story of Race. In between, I've been trying to understand racial issues by reading African American authors like Walter Mosley and Ta-Nehisi Coates. My friend, Michael, recommended this book, and I cued it up.
This book is ever so much better than Ms. Irving's. For one thing, it provides a much better introduction for beginners to read about and to begin to understand the subtle issues of racism. I think part of this is that Mr. Wise grew up in modest circumstances, so his white privilege wasn't augmented by an additional layer of country-club privilege. I'm not sure Ms. Irving understood that augmented privilege she had. So, some of her arguments fell flat because those of us not born to the country club could see that some of the advantages she was experiencing weren't about whiteness so much as being born with a silver spoon in her mouth. Of course, being able to be part of the country-club set is also very much about being white, unless you might be O.J. Simpson.
Anyway, much of the advantage our skin color (or perhaps lack of it) provides us has to do with expectations and opportunities. We white folks, don't have anyone look at us strangely like perhaps we're not qualified, before we even open our mouths. Rather, we're assumed qualified until we prove we're not. This is not the case with people of color, who must find ways to prove their worthiness before they are deemed qualified. We white folks never have to worry that politicians will structure voting rights so that we are disadvantaged with respect to people of color. Not so people of color. Within a week or so after the Roberts Supreme Court overturned the voting rights act, people in some states, like North Carolina and Texas were falling all over themselves to find insidious ways to deny voting rights to people of color. Yes, a few poor whites got caught in the cross fire, so to speak, but the bills were specifically designed primarily to deny the vote to people of color. Some of us white folks complain about affirmative action plans which guarantee a few seats for people of color in our universities, but don't even blink at the white affirmative action going on with "legacy admissions", which overwhelmingly accrue to white folks.
And so, the beat goes on. The first step to mitigating the problem of racism is to recognize it. This book is a good beginning. The solution to racism isn't just to pretend it's gone the way the Klu Klux Clan (which a recent Presidential candidate has helped regain traction in our society), but to recognize when we are obtaining privileges other people are not, and to get us to work to level the playing field for all.
This book is ever so much better than Ms. Irving's. For one thing, it provides a much better introduction for beginners to read about and to begin to understand the subtle issues of racism. I think part of this is that Mr. Wise grew up in modest circumstances, so his white privilege wasn't augmented by an additional layer of country-club privilege. I'm not sure Ms. Irving understood that augmented privilege she had. So, some of her arguments fell flat because those of us not born to the country club could see that some of the advantages she was experiencing weren't about whiteness so much as being born with a silver spoon in her mouth. Of course, being able to be part of the country-club set is also very much about being white, unless you might be O.J. Simpson.
Anyway, much of the advantage our skin color (or perhaps lack of it) provides us has to do with expectations and opportunities. We white folks, don't have anyone look at us strangely like perhaps we're not qualified, before we even open our mouths. Rather, we're assumed qualified until we prove we're not. This is not the case with people of color, who must find ways to prove their worthiness before they are deemed qualified. We white folks never have to worry that politicians will structure voting rights so that we are disadvantaged with respect to people of color. Not so people of color. Within a week or so after the Roberts Supreme Court overturned the voting rights act, people in some states, like North Carolina and Texas were falling all over themselves to find insidious ways to deny voting rights to people of color. Yes, a few poor whites got caught in the cross fire, so to speak, but the bills were specifically designed primarily to deny the vote to people of color. Some of us white folks complain about affirmative action plans which guarantee a few seats for people of color in our universities, but don't even blink at the white affirmative action going on with "legacy admissions", which overwhelmingly accrue to white folks.
And so, the beat goes on. The first step to mitigating the problem of racism is to recognize it. This book is a good beginning. The solution to racism isn't just to pretend it's gone the way the Klu Klux Clan (which a recent Presidential candidate has helped regain traction in our society), but to recognize when we are obtaining privileges other people are not, and to get us to work to level the playing field for all.
emjay24's review against another edition
4.0
I finished this book back in February, but forgot to write the review. This was a book club selection at work. Tim Wise is an activist. He's white, and he's written this book on white privilege - a bit of an autobiography/memoir, and also about the issues themselves. I couldn't bring myself to like Wise, I wouldn't be friends with him or work with him in real life, but overall, what he writes about is informative and thought-provoking. I might give it a 3 1/2, rounded up to a four. I recommend it.
davidgilani's review against another edition
3.0
Really interesting idea for a book about race. From a white person's perspective fighting for various anti-racism causes and organisations. I did like the overall approach that Wise had for this book in terms of highlighting that allyship is not nearly as affective as coalition building. If you do something FOR someone else, then it's never sustainable. If you do it for yourself (because living in an anti-racist world is better for all of us) then you will never give up. Overall though, I didn't find myself getting a huge amount out of the book. The structure was somewhat lacking and it just didn't grip me like I was hoping it would.