Full Description
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 / James W. Loewen xv
Preface xxxi
Acknowledgments xxxv
Introduction: Just Living 1
Movement Elders
Herbert Aptheker, 86, radical historian; San Jose, CA 17
Stetson Kennedy, 85, journalist and Klan infiltrator; Jacksonville, FL 27
Art Branscombe, 81, fought for a racially integrated neighborhood; Denver, CO 37
Horace Seldon, 77, coalition builder; Boston, MA 44
Pat Cusick, 70, community organizer; Boston, MA 51
Nat Yalowitz, 70, social worker and organizer; New York, NY 60
Grassroots Organizing
Jesse Wimberley, 43, organizes working-class white men; West End, NC 73
Jim Hansen, 42, executive director, United Vision for Idaho; Boise, ID 82
Chip Berlet, 52, researches right wing groups; Cambridge, MA 90
Joe Fahey, 44, union official and labor organizer; Watsonville, CA 99
Mike McMahon, 60, community organizer with Central American immigrants; Houston, TX 109
Art and Politics
David Attyah, 34, graphic artist and founder of Think Again; San Francisco, CA 121
Si Kahn, 57, singer/songwriter and executive director of Grassroots Leadership; Charlotte, NC 132
Steve Bailey, 43, executive director of Jump-Start Performance Company; San Antonio, TX 143
Tim Wise, 33, writer, lecturer, social critic, and activist; Nashville, TN 152
Billy Yalowitz, 42, community-based performance director and choreographer; Philadelphia, PA 164
Challenging the System from Within
John Allocca, 39, bilingual Spanish teacher; Boston, MA 175
Bill Johnston, 60, former Boston police officer; Emerald Isle, NC 185
A. T. Miller, 43, teacher and director of multiculturalism at University of Michigan; Ann Arbor, MI 194
Ken Kimerling, 56, lawyer for Puerto Rican and Asian American civil rights; New York, NY 203
Monte Piliawsky, 57, teacher and historian; Detroit, MI 212
Lonnie Lusardo, 56, consultant and community organizer; Seattle, WA 222
Lee Formwalt, 51, historian and dean at a historically black college; Albany, GA 228
Nibs Stroupe, 55, minister of a multiracial congregation; Decatur, GA 237
Challenging the System from the Margins
John Cole Vodicka, 53, founder of the Prison and Jail Project; Americus, GA 249
Richard Lapchick, 56, advocate for racial and gender justice in sports and society; Orlando FL 258
Chris Shuey, 46, environmental health specialist; Albuquerque, NM 265
Terry Kupers, 58, psychiatrist, prison activist, and author; Oakland, CA 272
Rick Whaley, 51, Native American treaty rights advocate; Milwaukee, WI 280
Jim Murphy, 54, firefighter and advocate for children's rights in Southeast Asia; Boston, MA 289
The Next Generation
Sean Cahill, 38, researcher with the National Gay and Lesbian Task Force; New York, NY
299
Tobin Miller Shearer, 36, director of a Mennonite anti-racism initiative; Akron, PA 305
Jason Wallach, 32, grassroots coordinator for the Mexico Solidarity Network; Chicago, IL 314
Bill Vandenberg, 31, co-executive director of the Colorado Progressive Coalition; Denver, CO 322
Matt Reese, 26, community activist; Louisville, KY 330
Appendix 339
Endnotes 343
Suggestions for Further Reading 351
About the Authors 355
