White Like Me - Wise

This assignment pulls from the lecture by, Tim Wise, the author of White Like Me: Reflections on Race from a Privileged Son, and offers a deeply personal take on whiteness, white privilege, and racism in America. Wise explains how white privilege damages not only people of color, but white people as well, in the process providing an accessible, and powerful, introduction to the social construction of racial identities. 

In furthering the discussion on race and privilege, you have several choices and several means of submission. 

First, select on of the topic of choice and watch the Wise lecture

Next, conduct research pursuant to the specifications in the question.

Third, either provide a written, oral (video), or PowerPoint of your responses to the choice selected as identified below.

1. Watch a political debate on television or the Internet. It may be either a debate for political office or a panel discussion on a news network like CNN, Fox, or MSNBC. As you watch, think about Wise’s analysis of how race shapes public discourse in ways we often don’t even notice, and record your impressions. Be sure to respond to each of the following: Who is debating? What is the debate about? Do any of the debaters mention race? If so, what were their arguments? If not, do you believe race should have been considered during the debate? Why or why not? What arguments would Wise suggest about race in this country? 

2.  Research the history of the War on Drugs, examining how race has – or has not – factored into its execution. Consider these questions as you frame your argument: Do you think the war on drugs has disproportionately targeted African-Americans and other racial minorities? Do you think it has disproportionately targeted white people? Or do you think it has been pretty much color blind? Beyond its execution, do you think the War on Drugs has shaped perceptions of race in the United States over the years? Be sure to cite Wise’s lecture, in addition to your own sources, to lend support to your arguments and illustrate your key point

3.  Research one of the following U.S. legislative policies: the Indian Removal Action, the Homestead Act, Jim Crow laws, the Wagner Act, the Social Security Act of 1935, the Housing and Urban Development Act. Then discuss how this policy may have given advantages to white people. If you think your chosen policy was enacted and enforced without any racial bias whatsoever, then explain how and why – specifically – the arguments Tim Wise presents are not relevant in any way to this specific policy. Either way, after analyzing the racial dynamics inherent in these policies, talk about whether you believe traces of this policy still exist today.

4.  Review the facts about the American healthcare system presented in Michael Moore’s documentary Sicko: http://www.mediaed.org/Handouts/Sicko_Facts.pdf

Think about these facts in relation to Tim Wise’s observations about how race often factors into policy issues, and explore whether or not you think race and white privilege are relevant to debates about healthcare in America. Be sure to look beyond Wise’s lecture and the Sicko factsheet as you build support for your perspective

 YouTube URL: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oV-EDWzJuzk