Tim Wise's Theory Of Racial Oppression In America

Tim Wise, a white antiracist essayist, has spoken about 600 times on racism since 1995. His talk “White Privilege, Racism, White Denial and the Cost of Inequality display his passion and intelligence on this issue. Among his hour-long talk Tim articulates one major theme that stems throughout all racism in America, the idea of social injustice that is embedded in our institutionalized just system though institutional oppression. Through this theory Tim Wise proves that there is a clear social injustice in America based on race through clear examples and lack of attention to the instances for which institutional oppression has been witnessed and documented, but never talked about. Institutional oppression by definition occurs when established

The methodology of this case was to see the acceptance of un-acceptance of racial bias in police officials in the eyes of the citizens and what factors led them to come to their conclusion. “The data included differential treatment of individuals and neighborhoods, police prejudice, and racial profiling”(1). The findings found the acceptance of the ‘racial profiling’ that often happens in police work is largely subject to “citizens own race, personal experience, and exposure to news media reporting on incidents of police misconduct”(1). Therefore, this research study proves the point that Tim Wise is making about institutionalized oppression, that the acceptance of racism is based off societal socialization on race. A white man who has never encountered a racial incident with an officer and watches news that often only reports on black crimes, is more likely to not see the racial bias, but rather that black people are inherently criminal. Whereas a black male who has first hand experienced this is likely to see the racial bias. In short, this bias through police officers is institutionalized through police practice, and the findings of their practice that is made known to the public through media

Tim states, “1 million black people are being killed due to violence, but it goes completely unnoticed because the media and news gives attention to white people instead”. Even relevant to the current election is the follow point he makes concerning this is that in campaigning, candidates never talk about health care, economic, or social problems pertaining to race on the spectrum they do for women and children or white people. This is because of what the media will and will not report or focus on. Yet again, another example of how deeply embedded institutionalized oppression is, that even the people we will vote for to run our country and the process they go through enables and allows social injustice pertaining to race. Then, as if one million black people dying weren’t startling enough, Tim explains that black people can die just solely due to their ‘blackness’. In this case it isn’t the actual color of their skin, but rather the injustice that is inherent because of it. The color of their skin dictates quality of healthcare, economic status, social status, and even in this case their quality of life. The American Journal of Public Health held a research study, which was published in 2004 in which the methodology of the study was to explain the excess mortality of African Americans in relation to effects of their race. According to this study