His friends were almost all black. He witnessed cross burning and hate crimes. As a white male, he now speaks out against the intolerance and bigotry that most white individuals have grown accustomed to. He said when deciding what to title his lecture, he didn't want to use words like diversity or multiculturalism because they have little meaning to most people. He went on to say that even though Matt Hale or the Ku Klux Klan might not like it, we live in a diverse, multicultural society.
Multiculturalism just is.
Though Hemken saw truth in what Wise was saying, not all white people feel that racism is a problem. Wise stated that only 6 percent of white people believe racism is still an issue, compared to 12 percent who believe Elvis is still alive. He said that only 12 percent of whites in the United States grew up having significant interaction with people of other cultures, while 55 percent of whites said they had no interaction at all. He went on to say that white students are not taught in schools about African-American historical figures. Students only learn about a handful of black authors and poets.