Tim Wise's Blog, page 35

Remembering James Baldwin – Pic and Videos

Having spent the better part of the past few days reading the newly released collection of James Baldwin's previously uncollected essays, I was moved to seek out what little video exists on the web that can attest to his brilliance, both as a writer/artist, and commentator on race. Sadly, there is not much. The documentary on his life, The Price of the Ticket, is not available to individuals, and is not on the web anywhere, except for a 4:30 second clip, which is here.

In the meantime though, ...

"What Me Racist?" Beck-a-Palooza Ralliers "Explain" Diversity and Race…

Definitely worth watching: White folks denying racial bias and trying to prove their racial liberality is always good for a laugh…

Your House is on Ground Zero (and Quite Without Permission)

In all the rancor over whether or not one group of Muslims should be allowed to build a cultural center and worship space near the site of the 9/11 attacks — which were committed by a separate and totally unrelated group of Muslims — there is one thing above all else that no one appears anxious to point out: namely, that for any white Christian to say "Ground Zero" is off limits to anyone is possibly the most deliciously and yet grotesquely ironic thing ever suggested.

After all, there is...

What was that about "defiling sacred ground?" An indigenous take on the "Ground Zero Mosque" controversy…

Oh hell yes…powerful piece from Simon Moya-Smith at Indian Country Today about the "Ground Zero Mosque" controversy and the way in which Christians have never minded defiling indigenous sites of importance. Check it out. And I'll have an essay coming out tomorrow that touches on some of these same themes, but especially about New York…Here are the first few graphs, and then go read the full piece…

"So the controversy – for the moment – is over the mosque slated to be built near the site of...

Glad to know there was no racial message in the minds of Glenn Beck's followers this week…

Here's a picture of a guy at Glenn Beck's Rally last week, which we're told had nothing to do with race or anything really except "faith…"

Which raises the obvious questions:

Hey jackass:

1. What does this have to do with the rally you were attending?

2. What does this have to do with anything?

3. Why can't you spell Mauritania?

Clearly the answer to question 3 is easy: for the same reason he probably spells America "Amurka"

But as for questions 1 and 2, well, that's a bit more complicated. I'd...

"Gee, You're So Inarticulate" – On the (non) Burden of Being White…

Painful to watch, but necessary: this is evidence of the clearly low standard that white folks set for ourselves when it comes to elected office. No person of color could be this damned incapable of stringing words together and get elected to anything. But for us? No problem…In Brewer's case, for someone who is so inept at the English language, she has some nerve sweating Latino migrant labor from Mexico, that's for sure…Bottom line: The real sign of white supremacy's demise will be when...

Social Science Roundup: Links for 9/2/10

Several good items today:

First, an excerpt of what looks like it could be her best book yet: Bright-Sided by Barbara Ehrenreich, in which the author critically examines the uniquely American tendency to elevate "positive thinking" to the level of both a coping strategy and social movement. Lots of good insight here.

Then, a piece that is both informative and sobering about how African American faculty deal with stress in the college classroom, which is here:

From: Exploring How African...

Social Science Roundup: Scholarship on Katrina, Five Years Later

Today's social science roundup comes from my friends at Racism Review, and particularly Jessie Daniels, who put together a great post today on the various scholarship on Katrina, race and racism, five years later. Check out the post as there is lots of fantastic material here.

Social Science Roundup: Research on Race and Gender Bias

Every now and then I'll be posting links to new academic research/studies related to race, racism, discrimination, etc. Whenever possible I'll try to link to stories about these studies that don't require you to get some kind of crazy paid subscription to an academic site. This is the first installment of this feature, and includes some links to pieces that came out a while ago, but are worth checking out in case you haven't seen them before. Thanks to the great blog Restructure! for these...

Conservative Character Actors and the Co-Optation of Martin Luther King Jr.

Exclusive to AOL News

It has been said that even the Devil can quote scripture for his purposes. So too, apparently, can conservatives quote Martin Luther King Jr. for theirs. To wit, Glenn Beck, who has perfected the craft of cribbing from Dr. King, thereby debasing the majestic prose of the latter, and distorting King's intentions to a point that would have been unrecognizable to him.

And so, after his weekend rally, which coincided with the anniversary of the 1963 March on Washington, Beck e...