Anti-racism Author, Activist Keynotes MLK Week
Tim Wise, an anti-racism activist, author and educator who has spoken at more than 400 college campuses throughout his career, will deliver the keynote address for Martin Luther King Jr. Week at Alma College.
“He embodies the idea that concepts of race in the United States are built around that invisible idea of white privilege, and that we are all, in the United States, inheritors of a troubled legacy,” says Laura von Wallmenich, assistant professor of English. “Racial equality and racial justice is a banner all peoples in this country can and should embrace.”
Tim Wise
Wise speaks at 8 p.m. Monday, Jan. 16 in the Remick Heritage Center. Admission is free and open to the public. No ticket is required.
His speech is titled “Color Blind: Barack Obama, Post-Racial Liberalism and the Retreat from Racial Equality.” He will discuss his opposition to racial “colorblindness,” arguing that we must acknowledge diversity in order to have social equality.
“Wise is thought-provoking and at times controversial, but in the same sense that civil rights leaders like Dr. King were controversial,” explains von Wallmenich. “Wise addresses root causes, and thus he can unsettle us. Wise speaks not to history, but to today, and that means that he argues that we are not ‘over’ race, not ‘beyond’ the period where we need to work on addressing the legacies of racial injustice that have shaped our present day.”
Wise received a Bachelor of Arts degree from Tulane University and had anti-racism training through the People’s Institute for Survival. He has published six books on race that range in topics from analyzing debates about Affirmative Action to understanding the nature of white privilege.
In addition to co-teaching master’s-level classes on racism, Wise trains government workers, teachers and media and corporate officials on ways to remove racism from their places of work.
He was awarded the National Youth Advocacy Coalition’s Social Justice Impact Award in 2002, along with the British Diversity Award in 2001 for his feature column about race and diversity issues.
Wise also will participate in a panel discussion at 4 p.m. Jan. 16 in the Dow Science Center Room L-1. Admission is free.
Jan. 15/Chaplain Carol Gregg speaks during the weekly Alma College Chapel service at 9 p.m. Sunday, Jan. 15 in the Dunning Memorial Chapel.
Jan. 16/The Interfaith Council invites the campus community to make a contribution to the Peace Wall in Hamilton Commons.
Jan. 16/Alma College Service Learning classes and United Health Professionals of Alma College (UHPAC) sponsor a campus blood drive and marrow registry from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday, Jan. 16 in the Stone Recreation Center Multipurpose Room. Call (989) 463-7971 to register or volunteer.
Jan. 16/Alma College faculty and Martin Luther King Jr. keynote speaker Tim Wise discuss “Are We ‘Post-Racial?’ during a panel discussion at 4 p.m. Monday, Jan. 16 in the Dow Science Center Room L-1 at Alma College.
Jan. 16/Prominent anti-racist author, activist and educator Tim Wise gives the Martin Luther King Jr. Week keynote address at Alma College at 8 p.m. Monday, Jan. 16 in the Remick Heritage Center. Admission is free and open to the public. No ticket is required.
Jan. 19/Students, faculty and staff are invited to join Students in Free Enterprise (SIFE) in serving at Community Café, where Sodexo provides meals through meal/point donations from students, faculty and staff. The meal is served from 4:45 to 7 p.m. Thursday, Jan. 19 at First Presbyterian Church in Alma.
Jan. 21/Alma College students assist with Special Olympics from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturday, Jan. 21 at Shepherd High school.
Jan. 21/Alma College students volunteer at Kids Night Out, a community-based event in which they watch movies, play games and go swimming with elementary age youth. Kids Night Out takes place at Alma High School from 6 to 9:45 p.m. Saturday, Jan. 21.
Posted: Sat, January 7th, 2012 at 3:10PM
