In short, and let us be clear on it: race is not a card. It determines whom the dealer is, and who gets dealt.
Tim WiseRead
You can't organize people if you don't love them. And however hard it can be to love the racist you come in contact with; doing so is the first obligation of a white antiracist.
Interpretation
What this quote means
Loving others, even those who hold opposing views, is essential for effective organization and change.
In this quote, Tim Wise emphasizes the importance of love and empathy in fostering effective social movements and organizing. He argues that to challenge racism and promote equality, one must first cultivate love and understanding, even towards those who harbor prejudiced beliefs. This obligation is particularly pressing for those who identify as white antiracists, as it underscores the need to confront one's own biases while extending compassion to others.
Themes
LoveRacismAntiracismEmpathyObligationOrganization
In practice
Example use cases
In a seminar about racial justice, one might quote this to emphasize the need for understanding in activism.
More from Tim Wise
All quotes →There are lots of research, of course, saying that a vast majority of us have been exposed to racial biases and stereotypes and, to some extent, we've internalized them, because that's so ubiquitous. That's why I'm so bored with the conversation about who's a racist and who's not.
Tim WiseRead
The power of resistance is to set an example: not necessarily to change the person with whom you disagree, but to empower the one who is watching and whose growth is not yet completed, whose path is not at all clear, whose direction is still very much up in the proverbial air.
Tim WiseRead
People of color have to do this work as a mater of everyday survival. And so long as they have to, who am I to act as if I have a choice in the matter? Especially when my future and that of my children in large part depends on the eradication of racism? There is no choice.
Tim WiseRead
For people of color - especially African Americans - the idea that racist cops might frame members of their community is no abstract notion, let alone an exercise in irrational conspiracy theorizing. Rather, it speaks to a social reality about which blacks are acutely aware.
Tim WiseRead
Our failure as a society to properly acknowledge and confront the psychological, social, and political effects of white privilege has perpetuated racial inequality and race-based political resentments.
Tim WiseRead
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