Speaking Treason Fluently
Anti-Racist Reflections From an Angry White Male
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- $14.99
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- $14.99
Publisher Description
In this highly anticipated follow-up to White Like Me: Reflections on Race from a Privileged Son, activist Tim Wise examines the way in which institutional racism continues to shape the contours of daily life in the United States, and the ways in which white Americans reap enormous privileges from it.
The essays included in this collection span the last ten years of Wise’s writing and cover all the hottest racial topics of the past decade: affirmative action, Hurricane Katrina, racial tension in the wake of the Duke lacrosse scandal, white school shootings, racial profiling, phony racial unity in the wake of 9/11, and the political rise of Barack Obama. Wise’s commentaries make forceful yet accessible arguments that serve to counter both white denial and complacency—two of the main obstacles to creating a more racially equitable and just society. Speaking Treason Fluently is a superbly crafted collection of Wise’s best work, which reveals the ongoing salience of race in America today and demonstrates that racial privilege is not only a real and persistent problem, but one that ultimately threatens the health and well-being of the entire society.
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
In this absorbing compilation of essays, Wise (White Like Me: Reflections on Race from a Privileged Son), an anti-racist activist and writer, continues to plumb white privilege, racism and responsibility. The first grouping, "Challenging White Denial," ("White denial has been a hallmark of the nation's racial history") considers the mechanisms utilized by white people when dealing with the concept of racism: minimization, rationalization, defection, and competing victimization; the second, "Confronting White Privilege" reviews the historical and current exercise of white preferential treatment and assesses the costs to whites in contemporary American life ("detrimental in the long run to their economic, social, cultural, and community-related interests"). Wise's reflections are often stimulated by current headlines (e.g. Don Imus, Barry Bonds, Jeremiah Wright, the Duke Lacrosse case) and repetitions slip in; the essays are best read as they were written-in small doses. While those who disagree with White will probably avoid it, his bracing and bold arguments might inspire sympathetic readers to join his "fight for an end to racism and privilege, not merely as an act of altruism toward others, but for our own sakes too."
