Between Barack and a Hard Place: Racism and White Denial in the Age of Obama |  | Author: Tim Wise
Publisher: City Lights Publishers
Category: Book
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Rating:  12 reviews
Media: Paperback
Pages: 120
Number Of Items: 1
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Dimensions (in): 6.9 x 4.9 x 0.4
ISBN: 0872865002
Dewey Decimal Number: 305.800973
EAN: 9780872865006
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| • | ISBN13: 9780872865006 | | • | Condition: NEW | | • | Notes: Brand New from Publisher. No Remainder Mark. |
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Product Description
Race is, and always has been, an explosive issue in the United States. In this timely new book, Tim Wise explores how Barack Obama’s emergence as a political force is taking the race debate to new levels. According to Wise, for many white people, Obama’s rise signifies the end of racism as a pervasive social force; they point to Obama not only as a validation of the American ideology that anyone can make it if they work hard, but also as an example of how institutional barriers against people of color have all but vanished. But is this true? And does a reinforced white belief in color-blind meritocracy potentially make it harder to address ongoing institutional racism? After all, in housing, employment, the justice system, and education, the evidence is clear: white privilege and discrimination against people of color are still operative and actively thwarting opportunities, despite the success of individuals like Obama. Is black success making it harder for whites to see the problem of racism, thereby further straining race relations, or will it challenge anti-black stereotypes to such an extent that racism will diminish and race relations improve? Will blacks in power continue to be seen as an “exception” in white eyes? Is Obama “acceptable” because he seems “different from most blacks,” who are still viewed too often as the dangerous and inferior “other”? Tim Wise is among the most prominent antiracist writers and activists in the US and has appeared on ABC's 20/20 and MSNBC Live. His previous books include Speaking Treason Fluently and White Like Me.
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Showing reviews 1-5 of 12
 A very penetrating book February 15, 2009
Chris (Washington state, USA)
41 out of 50 found this review helpful
Mr. Wise's several internet essays after the great triumph of hope (Obama's election) last November left me a little worried about him. He seemed a little too caught up in the irrational exuberance of the period as he denounced left wing gadflies who were, in his opinion, spoiling the joy of the moment by continuing to denounce Obama as a pro-corporate militarist front. But in spite of the understandable celebration of having the first black president, there is the inescapable fact that Obama's policies, stripped of the veneer of pretty rhetoric, are hardly different than his Democratic presidential predecessors. In his short time in office, while doing a few small good things, he has already shown his commitment to the fundamentals of the military industrial complex and the re-empowerment of Wall Street speculators. I'm glad that Mr. Wise, as this book demonstrates, has managed to retain a level head regarding Obama, in spite of those post-election essays.
Quoting sources like academic studies and Department of Justice reports, Wise shows that racism is still a serious problem in this society. Black and brown people are 25 percent of the drug users in this country but make up 90 percent of those in prison for drug possession. White people are 70 percent of the drug users yet are only ten percent of the persons in prison for such a crime. A 2001 report from the Department of Justice found that black women were 9 times more likely than white women to be stopped at airports and searched for contraband but white women were 2 times more likely than black women to actually have drugs on them. More blacks than whites are pulled over by police on suspicion of having contraband but white people are actually more likely to have contraband in these incidents. Studies show that at least a third of businesses have discriminated in hiring based on race. A National Opinion research survey in the early 90's found that 50 to 60 percent of whites were willing to admit to holding the view that blacks are generally lazier, more prone to violence, etc. than whites. In a September 2008 AP poll, 60 percent of likely Democratic voters admitted to having negative views about blacks in general but still planned to vote for Obama. A big stereotype that polling among whites has revealed is that whites associate blacks with welfare dependency, even though, as Wise notes, 5 of 6 blacks have never received welfare. Wise notes that a Wall Street Journal article in 1995 showed that around 70 percent of whites with bad credit could still get a mortgage but only 16 percent of blacks with bad credit could do so. As for Hurricane Katrina reconstruction, Wise notes how federal government policies have caused a veritable ethnic cleansing of blacks from New Orleans. Wise also recounts the horrendous incidents in the Algiers Point neighborhood of New Orleans during Katrina.
Wise is very worried that while Obama's election signifies some good things, it also could serve to make fighting racism even harder. Obama's election could serve to reinforce white racism. White people already have pointed to Obama's election as proof that if black folks would just work hard and stop complaining, they can rise to the pinnacle of this society just like Oprah, Michael Jordan, Tiger Woods, etc. One of my favorite statements that Wise makes in this book (as in his previous book) relates to the argument that Obama's election proves racism is not a serious problem in this country. To make such a claim, according to Wise, is like arguing that because Benazir Bhutto was one of the leading political figures in Pakistan, that proves that sexism and violence against women is not a serious problem in that country.
I'm particularly glad that Wise puts something in this book about the right wing talking point that the current financial crises has been caused by the Community Redevelopment Act(CRA) forcing banks to lend money to financially troubled people of color. In reality, a large majority of sub-prime loans were made by the big mortgage houses, which were not covered by the CRA. Loans made under the CRA actually have a significantly less default rate than regular loans. Wise notes that studies have shown that black people have not uncommonly been directed into sub-prime mortgages even when they qualify for a prime loan. Greedy bankers brought down this financial system by deliberately starting speculative bubbles not because ACORN and the federal government terrorized them into making bad loans. As for ACORN, Wise dispels the notion that they encouraged reckless lending. In his endnotes, Wise also notes the fake scare about ACORN trying to engage in voting fraud.
Wise does not believe that, in many ways, Obama's victory represents a very significant step in the battle against racism. Obama, after all, rarely addressed the issue of white supremacy and so he made white folks feel comfortable just as Bill Cosby's sitcom made white folks comfortable. Obama has wholeheartedly embraced the pre-dominant white narrative about the heroic and more or less virtuous character of American history.
Wise argues that to make significant progress between the races, white people are going to have to no longer dismiss black people who tell stories of the way racism has affected their life. They must understand why a lot of black people were not disturbed by Jeremiah Wright's false claim that white people created the AIDS virus to use against black people. After all, it has been well documented over the years where black people have been used in medical experiments against their will, for example injected with plutonium and cancer cells. Our own CIA, as the Senate Church Committee revealed in the 1970's, conduced "medical experiments" under the MK Ultra program, including, in the early 50's, releasing yellow fever and whooping cough mosquitoes in black populated areas of Miami and Savannah, Georgia.
Not About Blame August 12, 2009
Lhea J. Love (Detroit, MI)
10 out of 14 found this review helpful
I am thoroughly convinced that we have reached a point in American history where racism can only be addressed and, eventually, abolished though the conscious action of White America. Just as women who speak against sexism are labeled weak and accused of whining; blacks who speak against racism are destined to be accused of 'playing the race card'.
Tim Wise constructs two pithy arguments pertaining the "Call for White Responsibility". First, Wise discusses the denial of racism in the current age. Second, Wise discusses the need for white Americans to confront, attack and reverse the impact of white privilege.
People of all races must be wary of the concept of "transcending Blackness". This is the tendency to accept a select segment of the Black population because the defy the current stigmatism of negative stereotypes. Wise examines this phenomenon in detail.
Second, people of all races must admit that the vast majority of white Americans currently living are not to blame for current systems of racism which are in place. However, Wise is calling for Caucasians to acknowledge any benefits that they may receive from the inherited system and work towards truly equalizing the American experience through the abolition of racism.
If I could suggest that every American read a selection of Tim Wise before they attend an American University, I would. Perhaps the world would be a different place.
Between Barack and a Hard Place -- Wise Does it Again February 1, 2009
Matthew Johnson
15 out of 22 found this review helpful
Between Barack and a Hard Place is an accurate, timely, much-needed scathing analysis of the current state of racism in the United States. As many Americans are being lulled into believing that racism has been eradicated by the election of the 44th president of the United States, Barack Obama.
Through use of many contemporary and historical examples, Wise illustrates how the dominant narrative of racial equality being achieved with this election is being crafted and perpetuated, and what it might mean for racism in our society.
Anyone who believes in fighting for social justice and equality needs to read this book. It's a pointed read at only 150 pages, but it's incredibly thorough and concise.
Understanding the reality of racism in America January 31, 2009
Michael P. Rabbitt
8 out of 16 found this review helpful
This book is a gripping "must read" for understanding the truth about racism in America. Tim Wise clearly and accurately articulates why America is not post-racial, despite the election of the first black President in U.S. history.
He offers an excellent perspective on the 2008 presidential election campaign, the Rev. Wright controversy, New Orleans in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina, and much more on America's long and sordid history of racial oppression and injustice. Wise connects us with the real world experiences of African Americans, while integrating indisputable facts and data, including the overwhelming evidence of existing racial disparities in education, employment, housing, health care, wealth, and the criminal justice system.
Wise's paradigm of Racism 1.0 and the modern version - Racism 2.0 - is brilliant. The author finishes with a strong call for white responsibility to oppose and eradicate racism, in partnership with people of color.
Michael Rabbitt
Chicago, IL
Great follow-up to Wise's previous books (White Like Me) February 1, 2009
Dhiraj Chand (Salt Lake City, UT)
4 out of 10 found this review helpful
Fantastic Book! It echoed many of things I was thinking and the frustrations I had during the political season. I am making this book the book club selection for our University's Social Justice Book Club. I encourage everyone to read this (liberals, conservatives, progressives, traditionalists, white, people of color, etc.)
This is a great analysis of the 2008 election season and the white supremacy and white denial that played as a central prevailing discourse during this time. Even if you are not familiar with Wise's other works, READ THIS! If you are a White person, especially READ THIS! If you are a person of color, READ THIS! This will be an ongoing discussion throughout the Obama presidency and it is important for everyone to critically engage these issues that impact all of us. Wise's book provides a discourse that not only challenges whiteness and racism, its also fosters this dialogue in which we can all place ourselves in to enable change. It is nice to actually see white people doing this work (people of color are way ahead of the game.) Keep it up Tim!
Showing reviews 1-5 of 12
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