the Inkwell | Campus Conversation: Tim Wise speaks on race the Inkwell While some consider this controversial, Wise has authored nine books on race and produced the crowd-funded 2013 documentary White Like Me, which explores privilege and racism through experiences in his family and community in Tennessee. |
Read more from the original source:
Campus Conversation: Tim Wise speaks on race - the Inkwell
The drama in D.C. brought plenty of reason to drive the civically-minded to drink this week, from the bought-and-paid confirmation of Betsy DeVos to Gestapo-like ICE round-ups to the attempted silencing of Senator Elizabeth Warren. (Yeah, Mitch, like that was gonna work. The thing about persistence is...well, youll figure it out.)
But some of the more pernicious acts of Congress dont make particularly sexy happy hour conversation. (Or unhappy hour, as it were.) One thats got me pouring an extra finger of bourbon in my highball as of late is the so-called Local Zoning Decisions Protection Act of 2017, which appears to protect nothing but the willful ignorance of those who would like to believe housing discrimination is a thing of the past.
Trotted out in January by Senators Mike Lee (R-UT) and Marco Rubio (R-FL) along with a House version by Arizona rep Paul Gosar, S.103 and H.R. 482 effectively call for the erasure of the Affirmatively Furthering Fair Housing Rule put forth by the Obama administration in 2015, basically bulldozing what was starting to look like the beginnings of a level playing field.
An update to the Fair Housing Act of 1968, the AFFH gives teeth to the section of the original FHA that mandates an active effort by the government to disrupt patterns of racial segregation and economic stagnation in local communities.
Thing is, no one has tried to enforce those requirements since 1970, back when then-Secretary of Housing and Urban Development (and Mitts daddy) George Romney tried to hassle President Richard Nixon into supporting suburban integration and was fired for his efforts.
The 2015 fair housing rule isnt just a stern reminder of Title VIII of the Civil Rights Act: It also provides a clear roadmap on how to implement integration by making available volumes of federally-collected demographic and GIS data for use by smaller municipalities, who in turn use that information to identify patterns of segregation and discrimination that contribute to intergenerational poverty and high crimeissues that ought to make Savannah perk its ears up.
This rule has been misconstrued as some kind of national zoning ordinance, which couldnt be further from the truth, says Wayne Dawson, the director of the Savannah-Chatham County Fair Housing Council.
What it does do is help determine the barriers to fair housing at the local level and eradicate them.
Rep. Gohar doesnt believe, or maybe just wont admit, that such injustices still exist, declaring in 2015 that this new Washington mandatehas nothing to do with race, as housing discrimination has been illegal for more than 40 years.
Um, all kinds of nefarious things are illegal, dude, but that doesnt stop them from happening, does it? As a matter of fact, housing discrimination is as easy to find as roaches or mold, which Ive been told by plenty of landlords dont exist either but have a look under the fridge:
Research conducted by HUD in 2012 showed that African American, Latino and Asian homeseekers were shown fewer options, quoted higher rents, asked more probing questions about their finances and were less likely to be offered loan advice than equally-qualified white counterparts.
In 2000, another HUD study found that black families in Atlanta were disproportionately victimized by predatory lending practices born from the subprime mortgage market, findings paralleled in other major U.S. cities.
Our local Fair Housing Council conducts its own mystery shopper tests and investigates reports of malfeasance, but the most valuable work is done with the data itself. The City of Savannah receives federal HUD funds for its Community Block Grant and other development, which requires regular fair housing assessments, the most recent currently in draft form at savannahafh.com. There arent any surprises there; neighborhoods with high concentrations of public housing are the poorest, and certain Section 8 apartment complexes are disproportionately skewered towards race. However, the specifics help pinpoint the work to be done.
Once you identify these areas, you can find the food deserts where people lack access to fresh food, where there are disparities in health because of substandard housing, where are there are barriers to transportation that make it hard for people to get to a job across town, explains Dawson. Then you can get down to the business of resolving them.
Relevant here is that such reports are driven heavily by that great AFFH toolkit introduced in 2015, totally wrenched by the language in H.R. 482 that says no Federal funds may be used to design, build, maintain, utilize, or provide access to a Federal database of geospatial information on community racial disparities or disparities in access to affordable housing.
In other words, lose the data, and communities are cut off from solutionswhile still receiving development grants from the government.
What will happen if they eliminate the use of that tool is an inefficient use of federal funding, continues Dawson.
Wasting taxpayer money doesnt seem to concern the bills supporters, and in spite of Gohars blinky-eyed denial this isnt about race, it will undoubtedly lead to more incidences of prejudice if there arent means to document them.
To defund those studies makes it impossible to know when that discrimination is happening, says noted anti-racism scholar Tim Wise, who calls the bill a horrible piece of legislation.
Wisenamed one of the Wokest White People in America by TheRoot.comwas in Savannah last week delivering a lecture for the Campus Conversations series at the soon-to-be-usurped Armstrong State University (a whole other ball of confusion!) The prolific author addressed the importance of staying abreast of the ways the current regime is rolling back protective measures against discrimination in every facet of American life.
They can say its about big government or saving money or whatever, but make no mistake: This is about attacking civil rights, admonished Wise to the crowd.
I know, with all the turmoil playing out in the political theater, its hard to get worked up about yet another thing (all those calls and letters, and they confirmed DeVos anyway, the shills.) And theres little doubt these bills will be embraced like adorable kittens by new HUD Secretary Ben Carson, who famously grew up in public housing yet opines that integrating subsidized housing into neighborhoods with better transportation options and less crime amounts to social engineering. As if segregation is something that happens all by itself!
Yet there seems something so devious in this squashing of information that helps small communities solve its biggest problems. Dawson reminds that the Fair Housing Act not only applies to race but also religion, sexual and gender identity and people with disabilities, and removing the ability to document discrimination doesnt mean the discrimination doesnt exist.
You can face the problem, or you can do away with the awareness of the problem so you dont have to face it all, he says Thats what this legislation does.
Im not alone in invoking sociologist W.E.B Du Bois, who wrote, We must study, we must investigate, we must attempt to solve injustice with the heart-quality of fairness and an earnest desire for the truth, despite its possible unpleasantness.
Fair housing studies might not be the hottest topic at the table, but if we dont fight for the truth with all our hearts can muster, we are looking at a deeply unfair and unpleasant future for us all.
cs
Go here to read the rest:
Fair housing's fearful fate? - Connect Savannah.com
Details Last Updated on February 10th, 2017 February 10th, 2017 Written by Alex Turley
National political figure Tim Wise came to ESUto present the university'sfirst Social Justice & Equity Lecture.
Wise, anantiracist activist and educator, has made a name for himself over the last 25 years by publishing seven books and lecturing across the continent. Wise took time to talk to KVOE about his lecture, which focused on the rapid change in political and cultural climate after Donald Trump became president.
Wise believes that addressing an underlying white resentment of electing the country's first black president, which was critical to the rise of Trump, will also bekey the attempts of any left-leaning political organizations in responding. Wise spoke specifically to the growing energized base of liberal grassroots activists that have been coming out in numbers to protest Donald Trump's presidency and his policies.
Wise pondered the question of the public education system and what needs to be in mind with the coming reforms.
Understanding the original purpose of the United States higher education system is critical in addressing the question of reform, Wise believes. Wise said education is not the great equalizer at current, it rather is structured to help elites stay powerful while keeping the working poor from climbing the ladder. This system is not new, Wise notes.
Originally posted here:
Antiracist activist Tim Wise appears at ESU - KVOE
Tim Wise, an anti-racism activist, author and one of The Roots 8 Wokest White People They Know, will visit campus today and speak in Albert Taylor Hall from 6 to 8 p.m.
I feel like students should go listen to Tim Wise because one, Donald Trump is our President, said Ceanna Trice, vice president of Black Student Union and junior organizational communication major. It just lets you know how much racism and sexism and all of these -isms are in America...Tim Wise is here to talk about that and bust open those conversations most people are afraid to talk about.
Even though Wise is a man of privilege, he knows whats wrong with the system, Trice said.
He knows how fucked up it truly is, Trice said. For you not to go listen to him, is basically you saying, I dont want to be educated. I dont want to know whats happening in America. I dont care because I have privilege and I dont care about no one else. So going to Tim Wise is educating yourself.
Students will also have an opportunity to meet with Wise in Visser 330 at 2 p.m. today.
Tim Wise is probably one of the greatest anti-racists and allies within the social justice movement, said Jason Brooks, assistant dean of students for diversity, equity and inclusion in the Office of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion. (He is) a champion for those within the working poor class, people of color, (and) those who are searching for equity within the system himself...He has been in the field of social justice, equity, diversity, and multiculturalism for years and hes probably one of the most vocal.
Wise is the first speaker in the newly founded Social Justice Lecture Series.
The idea of it (social justice) is to...tackle issues like poverty, injustice, racism and, in particular, there is a big distinction made between charity and social justice, said Michael Smith, chair of social sciences. The idea would be, for example, you have someone who is so poor they have no food. Charity is, lets get them some food. Social justice is, why does our society tolerate poverty to the extent that there are people amidst all this wealth that cannot afford to feed themselves? We need to change the structures.
Social justice is for everyone, Trice said.
He (Tim Wise) is very (aware), when it comes to social justice and education, I feel he is very aware, Trice said. Hes knowledgeable on issues that have to deal with diversity and inclusion. I feel like his way of professing that to students and elderly people is just beautiful. I gain something new even though we dont look the same on the outside, I feel like he helps me be a better me as well as helping other people become diverse in this diverse world.
See the rest here:
Woke White person visiting campus - The Bulletin
With self-deprecating humor and the flair of a favorite professor, Tim Wise spoke to about 150 members of Washburn Universitys faculty on Friday about bringing more equity into their classrooms.
Wise, of Nashville, Tenn., began his nearly two-hour presentation describing how he as a white, male student at Tulane University in the late 1980s experienced privilege. Those experiences, he said, got him thinking about his own white privilege and how he could start the conversations about race as a white person from the South.
My own white privilege allows me the flexibility to first of all, be in a lot of those rooms and have the opportunity to speak to mostly white audiences about the subject, Wise said. People of color dont get that opportunity that often and if they do get it, its a very short-lived opportunity because they get shut down or are certainly concerned that they will be.
Most of Wises presentation in Washburns Memorial Union touched on a variety of race and equality issues that academia should face, particularly stereotype vulnerability.
This phenomena extends to all institutions of higher learning and all institutions in general, he said. This has an effect on learning outcomes.
Stereotype vulnerability, Wise said, is essentially how a person performs in a domain where he or she believes there is a stigma attached to them, causing them to underperform because of the stress of the perceived stigma. He said the concept can have an impact on academic performance and graduation rates.
This is something educators need to know about, Wise said. Students of color are academically insecure.
When it comes to talking about race and equality in the classroom, Wise said students often feel they cant talk openly about the issues out of fear they will say something wrong.
We have to be up front, particularly when were teaching classes that touch on these really difficult topics, that this is not going to be easy and this is going to be awkward, he said. There will be times when I as the instructor, dont know how to push through the awkwardness and youre (the students) going to have to help us do that. That empowers the student. Discomfort is critical and its critical for you to model.
We have to be upfront that when we teach about these really difficult subjects, Wise continued. We all have a lens. We have to own our stuff and put it out there, then its not as frightening to have those conversations. That can be challenging in a time when truth is a movable thing.
Wise concluded his presentation by saying this is sort of a weird moment in this country to be an educator, maybe a weird moment to be alive. He said part of the instructors gig is to discern what are facts.
The purpose of an institution of higher learning is to search for truth, he said.
Terek Hawkins, a Washburn senior from St. Louis, majoring in education, said Wises remarks resonated with him as a black male college student.
I think what spoke to me in his conversation was the fact that when I do walk into a classroom and Im the only African-American student, especially in my education classes, that there is a perception, he said. I think it spoke to me that he said we all need to realize this perception and then talk about how to tackle it.
Washburn president Jerry Farley said having Wise speak to the faculty, students and the Topeka community Friday about difficult race and equality issues makes Washburn stronger as a whole and continue striving for diversity.
If were truly trying to be more diverse in our community, this is an opportunity to bring people in and get them excited about what we are doing, he said.
Danielle Dempsey-Swopes, director of Washburns Office of Diversity and Inclusion, said Wises appearances Friday are part of an ongoing effort to talk about race and equality.
Theres a lot of discourse that needs to happen about race and issues of social justice, she said. We can have that discourse civilly and productively and we can find common ground and we can find work for us all to do around these issues.
Contact reporter Angela Deines at (785) 295-1143 or follow her on Twitter @AngelaDeines.
More here:
Using humor, Wise tackles race as a white man from the South ... - Topeka Capital Journal