White Like Me

White Like Me

Adult nonfiction
"As a white man, born and raised in a society that has always
bestowed on me advantages that it has just as deliberately withheld
from people of color, I am not expected to think the way I do. I am
not expected to speak against and agitate in opposition to racism and
institutionalized white supremacy...historically white folks have made
something of a pastime out of ignoring racism or at least refusing to
call it out as a social problem to be remedied."
Tim Wise, quoted above, not only saw fit to call prejudice and
privilege out as a big time problem, but made it his vocation. He
studied it on the micro and macro levels, picking apart the strands of
his family heritage and his upbringing as well as researching the
larger picture. In White Like Me he weaves both strands together into
a spell binding narrative.
Wise tells readers a number of candid stories in which his
whiteness let him live a life that included book authorship instead of
jail time or worse. In high school he went to parties in white homes
in white neighborhoods that featured illicit drugs and underage
drinking. The police who sometimes dropped by (Could you keep the
noise down? The neighbors are complaining.) were very good at
ignoring the substance abuse going on.
"Had these house parties been in black neighborhoods they would
never have been allowed to go on at all, as large as they were, even
without a single illegal substance on the premises, and without a
single weapon in sight. But for whites, in white neighborhoods,
everything was different. Our illegality was looked at with a wink or
a nod."
Then there was the time Wise was lost in Idaho, driving through
a rural countryside to find the restaurant he was to meet his hosts
at. Luckily they called his cell phone and oriented him. If he'd
been driving without a cell phone he would have stopped at a farm
house to ask for directions.
"...I could have waltzed right up, even on a night as foggy as
that one, knocked on the door or rung the bell, smiled, and known that
when the door was opened there would be no reason to fear that my
presence would have prompted the owners to call the police or reach
for a gun."
Just like Wise, those of us who are white rock privilege, often
without even being aware of it. He schools us on what forms this
privilege takes, why we are so good at not recognizing it, why we need
to wake up already, and how we should join the fight to change
things. This book makes a significant contribution to the genre of
white privilege narratives.
On a purrrsonal note, Academic Showcase was awesome! Lots of people
asked me about my poster and were quite impressed with my
explanation. Dean Dana wants a photocopy of survey it was based on.
After Showcase we had the traditional Christmas party for members of
my program: good food, good conversation, and the much loved Yankee
swap. Thursday and Friday I worked my last shifts of the semester at
Wells. They were very light since most of our diners had already gone
home for the holidays. With Eugene at camp--no need to cook--I plan
to get my knee healed up all the way by writing with my knee elevated
on the sofa by the tree today and Sunday.
Good luck with all your holiday preparations!
A great big shout out goes out to all who were responsible for setting
up Academic Showcase and the Christmas party and to the best little
cat in the world who would have so loved our beautiful Christmas
tree. The holiday season was always sweet Joey's favorite time of the
year. I miss him so much more than words can ever express!
jules hathaway



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