Connections

"Between Barack and a hard place" - Tim Wise

 Brown vs. Board of Education

 This was the beginning of a new life for ex-slaves, they just wanted a life that guaranteed happiness and a better future. Brown vs. Board of education happened because the states thought that it was constitutional to have blacks and whites separated. They were not only separated in buildings, but they blacks schools were farther away than white schools, they weren't well equipped as were white schools. The teaching was way better in white schools, and was more a constant strive for while black schools were left in the dust. States saw this to be constitutional without a reason of a doubt.
The supreme court declared schools being divided unconstitutional on May 5, 1954 and this was accomplished by very devoted lawyers, community activists, students and parents. 

Seeing the videos of the interview, Tim Wise says that he believes "Racism 1.0" is over but we all have to watch out for "Racism 2.0". Tim Wise also talks a lot about how yeah we have a black president, but every black person shouldn't have to come as hard as Obama did to get recognized. That blacks should be recognized either way, just as if a white man was dumb he would still get recognized for what hes done even if hes not as smart.

Connections to readings:

• Johnson: "the luxury of obliviousness" .. Wise and Johnson agree on this because as much as they both would like white people to realize that they do have the upper hand in every situation, and that they should acknowledge this elephant that is in the room. Wise is stating that as black man Obama had to go hard to be elected as president to prove himself worthy of being part of the "culture of power".
• Delpit: "unknowingly having power" the example above blends in with Delpit also, because Delpit believes that the people who have power are usually so oblivious to its existence, and the people who don't have power see that these oblivious people have all the power to fix what they can't.
• Kozol: "using a band-aid to fix a broken leg" .. I believe they're similar because Kozol believes that more should be done rather than the tenants from Mott Haven complaining about the incinerator  he wants white people who have the power to acknowledge the problem and change it. Wise is saying that just because we have a black president doesn't change the fact that racism is automatically over, but that people should speak on the issues and not expect every black person to have to prove themselves as much as President Obama had to. Because that shouldn't determine if you respect a person, you should respect them before knowing if they're as intelligent as Obama.

What is the relationship between the historical issues you see in the website on Brown v. Board of Education and the contemporary issues of race that Bob Herbert and Tim Wise raise here?

The relationship I see is racism. Both issues consist of racism, and Tim Wise feels that the issues of Brown v. Board of Education still exist. Maybe not the whole segregated school thing, but it might as well be that way. Because in a white school there's way more resources than an urban school. Wise feels as though, that racism is still an issue within society, even after so many people have fought to stop it. We have a black president, and of course that's a step forward but that doesn't mean that racism is gone. People should address the elephant in the room, and stop under mining blacks, because they're just as smart as white people. It's not as if there aren't some white dumb people, so blacks shouldn't get fingers pointed at them for having some people who make them look back. A person's view on a racial group shouldn't be based on your view on one person of that racial group. Or you shouldn't expect every black person to have to be as successful as president Obama to receive your respect.

Talking Point: What other way do you think racism still exist today?