Challenging the Culture of Cruelty: Understanding and Defeating Race and Class Inequity in America Video
In this speech, drawn from his newest book, Tim Wise examines the ways in which American politics and culture serve to rationalize inequalities on the basis of class and race. From the myth of "rugged individualism" to the racialized attacks on the nation's poor, American ideology has long served to explain away inequity as a natural outcome of differential talent, effort or cultural attributes. But as Wise shows in this presentation, to believe that the poor and unemployed are to blame for their own plight, or that the rich deserve their positions and wealth is to believe in a pernicious and destructive lie that threatens the very heart of democracy and true equal opportunity.
Presenter-
Tim Wise is among the most prominent anti-racist writers in the United States. He has spent the past 25 years speaking to audiences in all 50 states , on over 1000 college and high school campuses, at hundreds of professional and academic conferences, and to community groups across the country.
Wise is the author of seven books, including his latest, Under the Affluence: Shaming the Poor, Praising the Rich and Sacrificing the Future of America (City Lights Books). Other books include Dear White America: Letters to a New Minority (City Lights Books); his highly acclaimed memoir, White Like Me: Reflections on Race from a Privileged Son (recently updated and re-released by Soft Skull Press); and Colorblind: The Rise of Post-Racial Politics and the Retreat from Racial Equity.