Sunday, August 11, 2013

Tim Wise Tells CNN’s Don Lemon The 5 Things White People Should Do To Improve Race Relations

Mediaite ^ | August 11, 2013 | Tommy Christopher

On Saturday night, CNN’s Don Lemon delivered a response to the controversy surrounding his agreement with Fox News host Bill O’Reilly‘s diagnosis of the black community’s ills. In the spirit of equality, Lemon followed up that segment by hosting anti-racism educator Tim Wise, and his “Five Tips For White People to Improve Race Relations, or Improve Their Conditions.”
Wise’s advice to “white folks” is a true study in contrasts between what is expected of black people, and what is expected of white people even by anti-racism activists.
Lemon took considerable criticism for his own five point plan, which included:
1) Stop sagging your pants/dress appropriately.
2) Stop saying the n-word.
3) Stop having babies out of wedlock.
4) Stop littering.
5) Stay in school.
The criticisms of Lemon were varied, but one thing you can say about Don Lemon’s list: for what it’s worth, it was all about black people.
Strangely enough, Tim Wise’s list of things for white people to do was also all about black people:
1) Stop telling black people to get over slavery.
2) Believe black people when they say they’re being profiled.
3) Stop saying you have a black friend as a get out of racism free card
4) Confront the long legacy of white denial when it comes to racism.
5) Stop using statistics incorrectly to justify prejudice.

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