Tim Wise stresses problems with ‘colorblindness’ in Martin Luther King, Jr. Week keynote speech

Martin Luther King Jr. Week keynote speaker Tim Wise would rather Americans improve their color-consciousness instead of trying to ignore race.

Warriner Hall’s Plachta Auditorium was filled Tuesday evening with spectators gathered for Wise, who utilized sarcastic humor and passion to stress his points of post-racial inequity.

He included several points like what he believes is the country’s obliviousness to the issues of racism, sexism and economic issues that remain.

“In the march of Washington in 1963, two-thirds of white Americans said they were pushing for too much, too fast,” Wise said.

He then questioned the audience: “Are we avoiding racism because it makes us feel uncomfortable?”

The heart of the problem of post-racism exists from mainstream politicians, Wise said, who do not talk about racism or poverty.

“We’re so busy trying to engage in post-racial liberalism,”  he said.

He singled out people who claim to not be part of the problem for a few token shows of support.

“I voted for Obama,” Wise joked. “I have black friends, don’t blame me.”

Keisha Janney, assistant director of Minority Student Services, was active in organizing Wise’s visit to CMU.

“Mr. Wise is a very well-known speaker about anti-racism and issues around race,” she said.  “He is very engaging … we were looking for someone who would make an impact on the audience.”

Wise has given  anti-racism speeches for more than 20 years and was present at CMU in 1997.

“This day makes me nervous because I am never sure which Dr. King people come to remember,” Wise said.  “There is only one in truth, but several in public memory.”

Wise showcased statistics revealing Americans have a problem with racism, despite what people may think, he said. Job applications with “white-sounding” names were 50 percent more likely to be called for an interview than otherwise.

The main problem still is and always was embedded denial, Wise said.  “We can look back and recognize how bad it was, but in the `60s when white folks were asked if blacks were treated equal, two thirds said yes.”

In America, the first rule of racism is, you don’t talk about racism, Wise said, and the first step to true post-racial equality relies in being open to hearing the truth.

The gap can be bridged by engaging in local reform organizations, he said.

Wise asked the question: how do you maintain a society with racial inequity?

“We need to to be prepared to think about it,” he said.

Jeremy Plante, a Troy sophomore, attended the speech because he thought it seemed interesting, he said.

“He was a really good speaker,” Plante said. ” I agreed with the points he made that people tend to ignore.”

Detroit junior Roman Slappey, student staff assistant for Minority Student Services said Wise is a very inspirational speaker that gave great insight on King’s work.

“Wise feels a duty to carry on tradition and let people know what happened,” Slappey said.