Tim Wise’s book White Like Me provides a picture of what it is like to be white in America. A main topic covered in White Like Me is white privilege. On pages 24 and 25 Wise illustrates what white privilege is and shares his opinion regarding how to address white privilege in society today. Wise’s plan for addressing white privilege is one not of guilt, but of responsibility, a difference Wise highlights. The concept of feeling guilty for white privilege lacks reason because white privilege is something built up through generations and its existence is not of any one person’s fault.
Guilt would just be detrimental to the possibility of making progress in this field. Responsibility, on the other hand, is a perfectly logical action to take when faced with the reality that is whit privilege. Taking Responsibility for white privilege means acknowledging the problem and not saying it is your fault that it exists but that it is your responsibility, as it is everyone’s, to end it. Ta-Nehisi Coates, a journalist who writes for The Atlantic, extrapolates on Wise’s thesis nicely in his articles “The Black Family in the Age of Mass Incarceration” and “The Case for Reparations”. Coates’ article “The Black Family in the Age of Mass Incarceration” opens with the story of a man named Daniel Moynihan. Moynihan, born to a broken family in the great depression era, entered politics and developed to become an important political figure in the labor department during the 1960’s.
The principal belief of Moynihan was that unemployment was destructive to the potential social mobility of the poor, a lynchpin of the American dream. Once the civil rights movement gained momentum, Moynihan gained interest on how his theory affects black families specifical. .improve the quality of life in the neighborhood.America today has many difficult choices to make in regards to race relations and any incorrect choice could lead to very difficult circumstances racially. Both Wise and Coates are aware of this fact and that is much of the reason they have dedicated their lives to writing in their respective fields.
However, the most difficult problem facing America in the field of race relations may not be the most obvious. The most difficult problem facing a racial America is education. The people of America are not educated about the history of race in this nation and until they are race relations will have much difficulty improving. That being said, if the people of America were to become educate about the history of race in this nation it is possible to make great leaps of progress regarding race relation in this country of ours.
