White Men Challenging Racism

White Men Challenging Racism

35 Personal Stories

  • Author: Thompson, Cooper; Schaeffer, Emmett; Brod, Harry; Loewen, James W.
  • Publisher: Duke University Press
  • ISBN: 9780822330844
  • eISBN Pdf: 9780822384847
  • Place of publication:  Durham , United States
  • Year of digital publication: 2003
  • Month: April
  • Pages: 392
  • DDC: 323/.092/3034
  • Language: English
White Men Challenging Racism is a collection of first-person narratives chronicling the compelling experiences of thirty-five white men whose efforts to combat racism and fight for social justice are central to their lives. Based on interviews conducted by Cooper Thompson, Emmett Schaefer, and Harry Brod, these engaging oral histories tell the stories of the men’s antiracist work. While these men discuss their accomplishments with pride, they also talk about their mistakes and regrets, their shortcomings and strategic blunders. A foreword by James W. Loewen, author of Lies My Teacher Told Me, provides historical context, describing antiracist efforts undertaken by white men in America during past centuries.

Ranging in age from twenty-six to eighty-six, the men whose stories are presented here include some of the elder statesmen of antiracism work as well as members of the newest generation of activists. They come from across the United States—from Denver, Nashville, and San Jose; rural North Carolina, Detroit, and Seattle. Some are straight; some are gay. A few—such as historian Herbert Aptheker, singer/songwriter Si Kahn, Stetson Kennedy (a Klan infiltrator in the 1940s), and Richard Lapchick (active in organizing the sports community against apartheid)—are relatively well known; most are not. Among them are academics, ministers, police officers, firefighters, teachers, journalists, union leaders, and full-time community organizers. They work with Latinos and African-, Asian-, and Native-Americans. Many ground their work in spiritual commitments. Their inspiring personal narratives—whether about researching right-wing groups, organizing Central American immigrants, or serving as pastor of an interracial congregation—connect these men with one another and with their allies in the fight against racism in the United States.

All authors’ royalties go directly to fund antiracist work. To read excerpts from the book, please visit http://www.whitemenchallengingracism.com/

  • Contents
  • Foreword by James W.Loewen
  • Preface
  • Acknowledgments
  • Introduction: Just Living
  • Movement Elders
    • Herbert Aptheker, 86, radical historian; San Jose, CA
    • Stetson Kennedy, 85, journalist and Klan infliltrator; Jacksonville, FL
    • Art Branscombe, 81, fought for a racially integrated neighborhood; Denver, CO
    • Horace Seldon, 77, coalition builder; Boston, MA
    • Pat Cusick, 70, community organizer; Boston, MA
    • Nat Yalowitz, 70, social worker and organizer; New York, NY
  • Grassroots Organizing
    • Jesse Wimberley, 43, organizes working-class white men; West End, NC
    • Jim Hansen, 42, executive director, United Vision for Idaho; Boise, ID
    • Chip Berlet, 52, researches right wing groups; Cambridge, MA
    • Joe Fahey, 44, union offcial and labor organizer; Watsonville, CA
    • Mike McMahon, 60, community organizer with Central American immigrants; Houston, TX
  • Art and Politics
    • David Attyah, 34, graphic artist and founder of THINK AGAIN; San Francisco, CA
    • Si Kahn, 57, singer/songwriter and executive director of Grassroots Leadership; Charlotte, NC
    • Steve Bailey, 43, executive director of Jump-Start Performance Company; San Antonio, TX
    • Tim Wise, 33, writer, lecturer, social critic, and activist; Nashville, TN
    • Billy Yalowitz, 42, community-based performance director and choreographer; Philadelphia, PA
  • Challenging the System from Within
    • John Allocca, 39, bilingual Spanish teacher; Boston, MA
    • Bill Johnston, 60, former Boston police officer; Emerald Island, NC
    • A.T. Miller, 43, teacher and director of multiculturalism at University of Michigan; Ann Arbor, MI
    • Ken Kimerling, 56, lawyer for Puerto Rican and Asian American civil rights; NewYork, NY
    • Monte Piliawsky, 57, teacher and historian; Detroit, MI
    • Lonnie Lusardo, 56, consultant and community organizer; Seattle, WA
    • Lee Formwalt, 51, historian and dean at a historically black college; Albany, GA
    • Nibs Stroupe, 55, minister of a multiracial congregation; Decatur, GA
  • Challenging the System from the Margins
    • John Cole Vodicka, 53, founder of the Prison and Jail Project; Americus, GA
    • Richard Lapchick, 56, advocate for racial and gender justice in sports and society; Orlando, FL
    • Chris Shuey, 46, environmental health specialist; Albuquerque, NM
    • Terry Kupers, 58, psychiatrist, prison activist, and author; Oakland, CA
    • Rick Whaley, 51, Native American treaty rights advocate; Milwaukee, WI
    • Jim Murphy, 54, firefighter and advocate for children’s rights in Southeast Asia; Boston, MA
  • The Next Generation
    • Sean Cahill, 38, researcher with the National Gay and Lesbian Task Force; New York, NY
    • Tobin Miller Shearer, 36, director of a Mennonite anti-racism initiative; Akron, PA
    • Jason Wallach, 32, grassroots coordinator for the Mexico Solidarity Network; Chicago, IL
    • Bill Vandenberg, 31, co–executive director of the Colorado Progressive Coalition; Denver, CO
    • Matt Reese, 26, community activist; Louisville, KY
  • Appendix
  • Endnotes
  • Suggestions for Further Reading
  • About the Authors

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