In Lee Hall on Tuesday night, Tim Wise visited Mississippi State University. Wise is an author and educator from Nashville, Tennessee. Wise is known for his outspokenness when addressing racism and oppression in America. According to his personal website, Wise is the author of seven books, including his highly-acclaimed memoir, White Like Me: Reflections on Race from a Privileged Son.
Wise is not a person who feels bad about making others uncomfortable when discussing race. Wise discussed issues that are not addressed in our everyday society. He stated that every generation has had the problem of failing to deal with racial issues in hopes that the next generation will solve the problem.
Whether a person views the talk Wise gave as good or bad, it happened. Wise posed several questions to the crowd. Did racism disappear when Barack Obama became President? Does electing a man of color eliminate racism? Does electing a woman into a top office eliminate sexism? Not discussing something does not make it disappear.
Wise spoke about how people are committed to remaining ignorant of American history and declared that we have a Governor who has committed a historic act of ignorance by signing House Bill 1523.
Wise’s talk was nothing short of educational, and uncomfortable, but it also could have come across as irritating, depending on who you ask. I’m sure every person in attendance on Tuesday left with a different outlook on racial relations. As a nation, if we do not commit ourselves to learning from our past, it could lead to our downfall in the near future.
I feel the Tim Wise talk was an important thing for MSU students to experience. MSU has done a great job of getting speakers from diverse backgrounds. I can safely say that we as college students are sometimes coddled too much. We feel uncomfortable when a speaker comes and challenges our views on life, but how are we to learn as a society if no one challenges our outlooks on life?
Since coming to MSU, I have attempted to keep an open mind when hearing people from different backgrounds speak on topics I’m not familiar with. College is a place where your views should be challenged. If you feel uncomfortable, then that means you’re getting the message. Whether you agree with Tim Wise or not, he created an opportunity for new racial dialogue between students. The opportunity for dialogue in itself is a step towards acceptance.
The mass exodus of students at the end of Wise’s speech was disheartening. I wanted the opportunity to hear other students’ points of view on Wise’s speech.
If we are truly the ‘People’s University’, why can’t we discuss race relations in a safe, moderated environment? With so many conflicting, political chalk writings happening around campus, I felt there should have been more student dialogue surrounding race on Tuesday night.
