Tim Wise: White on White

Last night, around 130 people squeezed into Cathedral Hall to hear visiting author and anti-racism activist, Tim Wise.

Billed as a “white on white” forum, the audience was predominantly white-skinned – and predominantly white-haired too.

Tim’s talk lasted for only an hour. It was followed by two hours of questions and discussion, which would probably have gone on all night if it had been allowed to.

Before I met him, I had the impression that Tim was someone who believes that whites are the biggest obstacle to resolving racial issues. I thought that perhaps he was out to blame white people and make us feel bad about ourselves. After listening to him speak, I no longer believe that to be the case.

The key points of his talk were as follows:

• Don’t ask what it means to be black - whites can never properly understand anyway. When a black person tells us we don’t understand, don’t take that as a slight or an insult, just recognise it as a fact. However, show a willingness to try to understand. Whites should not concern themselves with what blacks need to do to tackle racism or what blacks think of us – that’s a conversation for the black community and is outside our control.
• Ask yourself what it means to be white. Being white is to benefit from certain presumptions of honesty, competence, legitimacy and belonging that are not afforded to blacks. Use that knowledge to infer what whites should be doing to tackle racism.
• Recognise that as a white person you have the luxury of being able to succeed or fail as an individual, whereas black success or failure is often made a racial issue. Successful whites will rarely be hailed as a credit to white people; whites that fail will rarely have their failure ascribed to their whiteness. Yet often when a black fails, it is cited as proof of the validity of certain negative stereotypes. (Is this why some suggest that if Bermuda becomes independent it may get its very own Robert Mugabe?) Similarly, society often draws attention to the achievements of successful blacks because of their blackness (think of Tiger Woods or Colin Powell).
• Understand that as a white person you rarely wonder whether any criticism directed at you is because of the colour of your skin, whereas for many black people this is always in the back of their mind. Whether it’s Oprah Winfrey being refused admission to Hermes in Paris or Alex Scott receiving an obnoxious email from Tony Brannon, ask yourself why blacks instinctively question whether something is genuine or racial? While it’s fine to criticise the Premier’s response, it’s just as important to understand the context in which it was made. This is something that whites find difficult to do, because they have never had to regard criticism with the same suspicion. The only way for whites to ensure that their criticism of blacks is judged on merit alone is for them to make certain that their other actions clearly show where they are coming from. It may be regrettable that whites have to prove themselves in this way, but that’s just something we have to deal with.
• Understand that racial inequality is often perpetuated not by active negative discrimination, but by subconscious preferences that can cause us to favour people who look like we do. We all have a tendency to accentuate the positive characteristics of those who remind us of ourselves while accentuating the negative characteristics of those who do not. In this way, even those who are not bigots can end up making bigoted decisions. We may poke fun at George Bush because of his difficulties with the English language, yet we put this down to him being from Texas, or else we consider it a sign that he’s just a regular guy. But how would we regard the same failing if the President was black?
• Recognise that notions of the superiority of whites have been internalised – by both whites and blacks. Tim told a story of how he boarded a flight one day to discover that both his pilots were black. His immediate reaction was, "Oh my God, can these guys fly this thing?" He knew that this reaction didn’t come from either his upbringing or his intellect, both of which told him it was false. Yet still, the notion had somehow become embedded in his subconscious. He said that he has observed similar reactions in black people who have discovered, for example, that they were to be treated by a black doctor. The only way to deal with these subconscious biases is to recognise them when they surface, then confront them.
• Recognise that being an ally to blacks means letting go of your own sense of surety, listening to what blacks say and being prepared to believe them. While on an individual level, blacks may indeed perceive racism where there is none, as a group we must respect them enough to believe that they do not. Being an ally means following the lead of people of colour and allowing them to set the agenda. Motivation is also critical: you shouldn’t do this because you want to “save” black people, or because you want black people to like you, but because you’re as angry about the damage that privilege and racism has done to whites as blacks are about what it has done to them.
• Affirmative action is necessary but it’s not about giving preference to someone solely because they are black. Tim likened the search for opportunity to a race where one runner is shackled. Halfway through the race, the shackles are taken off. Is that enough to give both competitors an equal opportunity to win? Affirmative action is about going out of your way to find suitably qualified blacks – not promoting them at the expense of more-qualified whites. As one audience member remarked, the whiteness of expats is sometimes defended on the basis that they are hired from majority white countries such as the US, UK or Canada. One way of increasing the number of blacks in the expat workforce might be for those companies to start recruiting from the Caribbean too.
• Blacks and whites approach racism from different angles. Whites tend to view race relations – their interpersonal relationships with others – as important. In contrast, blacks consider the way they are treated by institutions – the outcomes and structures that are perpetuating inequality – to be a bigger problem. Hence whites who get on well with blacks on a daily basis may not consider racism to be a big deal, whereas those blacks do because they do not see the personal relationships as the crux of the problem.
• Racism is both an ideology and a system. While you may not be ideologically racist, in that you may not hold racist views, you may still be benefiting from systems which continue to perpetuate inequality.
• Expectations of change often get ahead of reality. This can lead to frustration at black governments by both blacks and whites, as well as a backlash from those governments. (It seems this is true not only in Bermuda, but at the local level in the US too.) Nevertheless, recognise that progress will not just happen with the passing of time, but that it requires individuals to stand up and make change happen.

One audience member asked whether whites should go out of their way to develop black friends. Tim suggested that although you should give yourself the opportunity to get to know black people, you shouldn’t do this in a way that’s phoney or artificial. He encouraged whites to participate deeply in black-organised events, rather than at just a superficial level, and be willing to go outside their comfort zones to do so.

Nick Duffy asked whether the language used to describe blacks and whites was appropriate in a multi-racial society. Tim said that while those with multi-racial backgrounds should define themselves in whatever way they see fit, they should also recognise that they have no control over how they are perceived by others. They are likely to find themselves considered members of the opposite group by both blacks and whites.

At around 9.30pm, one audience member became visibly frustrated. “This is all sugar coating,” he shouted. “Let’s get a forum going!”. He questioned why he should have sympathy for black businessmen when there was “no evidence that any of them” plough the money they make back into their businesses, preferring to buy flashy BMWs instead. This prompted some murmurings of agreement but also hostility from several people. Tina Nash asked who he was to say what blacks should be spending their money on. Another pointed out that blacks lived under a system that put them down and denied them a vote for centuries. “Not for the last 40 years!” he countered. “You can’t overturn 400 years of history in 40 years,” retorted someone else.

Tim Wise is giving another talk at 8pm this evening (Wednesday) at St. Paul’s Centennial Hall on the corner of Court and Victoria Streets. All are encouraged to attend. As last night’s talk was directed at whites, it will be interesting to hear what Tim says and how the discussion differs when there are more blacks present.

» A full transcript of Tim's talk is available here.

Comments

[SmokingGun on 20.10.05 at 12:01]

Ethiops, I re-read the line and I can see how you might have taken it another way. By all means I am strong believer in discovering history as it truly was and giving credit where it is deserved. It's how I live my life.

Your response and comments actually makes me think there could be more done accross the board. 100 years a go a book was printed and that book became the basis for many many people's education. But today we live in amazing times and as technology provides faster and greater learning hopefully these things will change and a truer picture will be presented.