Colorblind: The Rise of Post-Racial Politics and the Retreat from Racial Equity (City Lights Open Media) - Softcover

Wise, Tim

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0872865088 ISBN 13: 9780872865082

Publisher: City Lights Publishers, 2010

Synopsis

How "colorblindness" in policy and personal practice perpetuate racial inequity in the United States today.

Following the civil rights movement, race relations in the United States entered a new era. Legal gains were interpreted by some as ensuring equal treatment for all and that "colorblind" policies and programs would be the best way forward. Since then, many voices have called for an end to affirmative action and other color-conscious policies and programs, and even for a retreat from public discussion of racism itself.

Bolstered by the election of Barack Obama, proponents of colorblindness argue that the obstacles faced by blacks and people of color in the United States can no longer be attributed to racism but instead result from economic forces. Thus, they contend, programs meant to uplift working-class and poor people are the best means for overcoming any racial inequalities that might still persist. In Colorblind, Tim Wise refutes these assertions and advocates that the best way forward is to become more, not less, conscious of race and its impact on equal opportunity.

Focusing on disparities in employment, housing, education and healthcare, Wise argues that racism is indeed still an acute problem in the United States today, and that colorblind policies actually worsen the problem of racial injustice. Colorblind presents a timely and provocative look at contemporary racism and offers fresh ideas on what can be done to achieve true social justice and economic equality.

"It's a great book. I highly, highly, highly recommend it."—Tavis Smiley

"I finally finished Tim Wise's Colorblind and found it a right-on, straight-ahead piece of work. This guy hits all the targets, it's really quite remarkable…That's two of his that I've read [the first being Between Barack] and they are both works of crystal truth…"—Mumia Abu-Jamal

"Tim Wise's Colorblind is a powerful and urgently needed book. One of our best and most courageous public voices on racial inequality, Wise tackles head on the resurgence and absurdity of post-racial liberalism in a world still largely structured by deep racial disparity and structural inequality. He shows us with passion and sharp, insightful, accessible analysis how this imagined world of post racial framing and policy can't take us where we want to go—it actually stymies our progress toward racial unity and equality."—Tricia Rose, Brown University

"With Colorblind, Tim Wise offers a gutsy call to arms. Rather than play nice and reiterate the fiction of black racial transcendence, Wise takes the gloves off: He insists white Americans themselves must be at the forefront of the policy shifts necessary to correct our nation's racial imbalances in crime, health, wealth, education and more. A piercing, passionate and illuminating critique of the post-racial moment."—Bakari Kitwana

"Tim Wise's Colorblind brilliantly challenges the idea that the election of Obama has ushered in a post-racial era. In clear, engaging, and accessible prose, Wise explains that ignoring problems does not make them go away, that race-bound problems require race-conscious remedies. Perhaps most important, Colorblind proposes practical solutions to our problems and promotes new ways of thinking that encourage us to both recognize differences and to transcend them." —George Lipsitz

About this title

About the Author

Tim Wise is among the most prominent anti-racist writers and activists in the U.S., and has been called, 'One of the most brilliant, articulate and courageous critics of white privilege in the nation," by best-selling author and professor Michael Eric Dyson, of Georgetown University. Wise has spoken in all 50 states, on over 1000 college campuses, and has spoken to community groups around the nation. He is the author of seven books and has contributed essays to twenty-five additional volumes.

Reviews

In his follow-up to Between Barack and a Hard Place, Wise continues to explore his provocative contention that Obama's commitment to transcending racism has made it "more difficult than ever to address ongoing racial bias" in America. By refusing to openly confront racism, Wise argues, the President has ceded the ground to conservatives, allowing them to "manipulate racial angers unmolested and unchecked." While many progressives are disappointed that Obama has, in their view, capitulated to corporate interests and not forged his own New Deal, Wise makes the opposite charge. He believes that Obama is in fact too eager to follow FDR's lead in subordinating racial issues to the fight against poverty. Obama's endorsement of New Deal measures like social security, FHA home loan programs, and the G.I. Bill downplays the extent to which these programs were and continue to be "intensely racialized." Wise also contends that the pervasiveness of racism has a subconscious effect on Americans that can only be altered by forcing the issue into the open.
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Edition details

• Publisher: City Lights Publishers
• Publication date: 2010
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 0872865088
• ISBN 13: 9780872865082
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 216