Those who missed Tim Wise on Monday or Tuesday missed a great deal.

During his evening speech on Feb. 24, "Beyond Diversity-Challenging Racism in an Age of Backlash," Wise spoke out about the need for "whites" to give "peoples of color" the respect and authority they deserve on the subject of racism.

Wise feels that this is an increasing problem of perception; that is, the perception by the majority that there is no problem of racism, while thousands of the minority groups can verify that there is a problem.

The director of the newly formed AWARE (Association for White Anti-Racism Education), Wise also pointed out why we must learn to understand cultures. The cost in productivity (minorities being passed over in favor of "whites," or being paid less) has cost the United States 240 billion dollars a year.

Wise serves as Senior Advisor to the Fisk University Race Relations Institute, in Nashville, and in the early 1990s, was Associate Director of the Louisiana Coalition Against Racism and Nazism, the group credited by many with the political defeat of neo-Nazi, David Duke. He is the recipient of the National Youth Advocacy Coalition's Social Justice Impact Award, in recognition of his contribution to the struggle for equality.

He now travels all over the country addressing these pressing issues.

If anyone doesn't believe Alaska has a very real racial problem they probably haven't heard of the "War on Drugs" targeting Latinos (who are less likely to be carrying drugs than a "white" male) or haven't gone out to eat and been harassed by "whites" for being around people with turbans. I have seen these problems in person.  It is a shame that the people who probably needed to hear Tim Wise's words the most were not there.

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