Tim Wise facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Tim Wise
Wise in 2011
Born	Timothy Jacob Wise (1968-10-04) October 4, 1968 (age 56) Nashville, Tennessee, U.S.
Education	B.A., Political Science
Alma mater	Tulane University
Occupation	Anti-racism activist, writer
Children	2

Timothy Jacob Wise, born on October 4, 1968, is an American activist and writer. He focuses on the topic of race and works as a consultant. He gives talks and lectures to different groups about how to fight racism.

Tim Wise's Early Life and School

Tim Wise was born in Nashville, Tennessee. His family background is mostly northern European, and his grandfather was Jewish. Wise has shared that when he was about 12, his family's place of worship was attacked. This event was carried out by people who believed in white supremacist ideas, which means they thought white people were better than others.

He went to public schools in Nashville and finished high school in 1986. Later, he earned a degree from Tulane University in New Orleans. He studied political science and also learned about Latin America.

While in college, Wise was a leader in a movement against apartheid. Apartheid was a system in South Africa that kept people of different races separate and unequal. His group wanted Tulane University to stop doing business with companies that supported apartheid. In 1988, their efforts got national attention. A famous leader from South Africa, Archbishop Desmond Tutu, decided not to accept an award from Tulane. This happened after Wise's group told him about the university's investments in companies linked to apartheid.

Tim Wise's Work as an Activist

After college in 1990, Wise started working as an anti-racism activist. He learned from an organization in New Orleans. He first worked with a group that aimed to stop a political candidate named David Duke. Duke had racist views and was running for office in Louisiana.

After this, Wise worked with several community groups. In the late 1990s, he began giving talks across the country. He spoke about racism and also about something called "white privilege." This term means the advantages that white people often have in society just because of their race. He also supported affirmative action, which are policies designed to help groups that have faced discrimination.

From 1999 to 2003, Wise advised the Race Relations Institute at Fisk University. Wise believes that racism in the United States is built into many systems. He says this is because of racism from the past and how it still affects people today. Even though open racism might be less common now, he argues that existing systems can still lead to unfairness and inequality based on race. In 2013, Wise was featured in a documentary called White Like Me, which was based on his book with the same title.

Tim Wise's Family Life

After living in New Orleans for ten years, Wise moved back to his hometown of Nashville in 1996. He got married in 1998 and has two children. Wise considers himself Jewish because of his family background, but he does not practice Judaism as a religion.

Books by Tim Wise

• White Like Me: Reflections on Race From a Privileged Son (Soft Skull Press, 2004) ISBN: 978-1-59376-425-8
• Affirmative Action: Racial Preference in Black and White (Routledge, 2005) ISBN: 978-0-41595-049-7
• Speaking Treason Fluently: Anti-Racist Reflections From an Angry White Male (Soft Skull Press, 2008) ISBN: 978-1-59376-207-0
• Between Barack and a Hard Place: Racism and White Denial in the Age of Obama (City Lights Publishers, 2009) ISBN: 978-0-87286-500-6
• Colorblind: The Rise of Post-Racial Politics and the Retreat from Racial Equity (City Lights Publishers, 2010) ISBN: 978-0-87286-508-2
• Dear White America: Letter to a New Minority (City Lights Publishers, 2012) ISBN: 978-0-87286-521-1
• Under the Affluence: Shaming the Poor, Praising the Rich and Sacrificing the Future of America (City Lights Publishers, 2015) ISBN: 978-0-87286-693-5
• Dispatches from the Race War (City Lights Publishers, 2020) ISBN: 978-0-87286-809-0