Antiracist Activism for Teachers and Students/White Activists/Nationally Known
Nationally known white anti-racists
editBarbara Beckwith (1937–present): Barbara Beckwith is a Jewish contemporary anti-racist activist who spreads her message of diversity and awareness through writing, activism, and teaching.
Barbara received her B.A. in English Literature from Wellesley and later completed her M. Ed, in Secondary Education at Tufts University. Beckwith began her life’s work by teaching English in public alternative schools in the Boston area before turning to English as a Second Language (ESL) educator. While teaching ESL as part of Boston’s WIN program, Beckwith became frustrated with administrators’ demeaning attitude towards adult learners, many of whom were people of color. In 1983 Beckwith received an M.S. in Print Journalism from Boston University and began writing articles speaking to the inequalities she saw between racial groups.
Through the ‘80’s and ‘90’s Beckwith wrote freelance for several prestigious publications including, The New York Times, Boston Globe and Harvard Educational Review, tackling issues of equal educational access and fair standardized testing. In 1989 she published a book, “Standing Up to the SAT (ARCO)”, which provides a critical look at the racial biases of the SAT. Her writing, which examines similar issues of racial hierarchy and under representation of minorities, is based largely from her own encounters with these themes. Her personal essays and articles have been included in a number of anthologies. Beckwith has also been a co-chair and member of the National Writers Union since the early 1980’s, pushing issues vital to writers of color.
In 2000, Beckwith took a 5-week adult ed course founded by Jennifer Yanco, and then became one of its co-facilitators. Since its inception this program has reached nearly 400 people ages 13–82. The workshops build off of participants’ personal experience and emphasize effective action and speaking up against racism that is systemic in the United States. With this workshop as an inspiration, Beckwith has begun compiling essays from ordinary people as part of her “White People Write About Growing Up White” project.
Aside from Beckwith’s anti-racist work, she also is an activist for other issues of equality and representation. Her work includes topics like LGBT and women’s’ rights. An avid squash player who made it to National’s at age 60, Beckwith also writes essays about her experiences as an older woman and the obstacles she has faced. Not one to back down from a challenge, Beckwith continues fighting for equal rights for many groups.
Linda Mornell is a well known community activist who has contributed to the tremendous positive growth of many inner city youth.
Linda founded Summer Search, a national program serving over 600 students around the Bay Area, Boston, Napa, Seattle, Philadelphia, Silicon Valley, and New York areas. Summer Search is designed to challenge and motivate high school students to realize their infinite potential by providing them the resources they need in order to succeed. Summer program opportunities include; wilderness expeditions, community service organizations, challenging academic programs, and home-stay in foreign countries. Students are asked to examine themselves deeply, take initiative in the path towards their own success, owning up to their mistakes and learning from them. Linda noticed that after returning from their life changing journeys, the students were overwhelmed with the difficulties in returning to a community of negativity that hindered their growth and success. In order to do more for her students, she recreated the mission of Summer Search to include year round mentoring for her students. The mentoring is centered around meaningful conversations that help the students challenge their community’s perceptions of them as well as their own. All of the students who have participated in this program have graduated from high school and 83% of them have gone on to college or are preparing to do so.
Before starting Summer Search, Linda worked as a counselor for families and adolescents, taking a special interest in teenagers and their development from 1972 to 1989. She was inspired to found Summer Search after observing positive changes in her own children after returning from demanding summer programs. She initially began working out of her home in an effort to raise donations for scholarships to send 14 high school students from low-income families and underprivileged communities in the San Francisco Bay Area on demanding summer programs all over the country.
Linda’s foundation looks for youth that possess three main qualities: resiliency, altruism and potential for leadership. She believes that if given the appropriate resources and tools, youth who are faced with tremendous hardships and responsibilities at an early age will succeed. She believes that the investment in these young people will ultimately give them the skills and confidence they need to bring about change in their communities and around the world. Linda has inspired hope and is responsible for giving many underprivileged youth the opportunity to see their potential and allowing them to reach it by providing them with the tools and resources they need.
References • Summer Search. Copyright © 1999-2005. Summer Searchwww.Summerserach.org • Zoominfo. Copyright © 2007. Zoom Information Inc. http://www.zoominfo.com/Search/PersonDetail.aspx?PersonID=44722386 • A Community of Nonprofit Organizations. Wainwright Bank & Trust Company. © 2001, 2000 Wainwright Bank & Trust Company. Site designed and developed by Blueplate Interactive Technologies, LLC http://www.communityroom.net/NPOBackground.asp?302 • CSB5. © MMVII, CBS Broadcasting Inc. http://cbs5.com/jeffersonawards/local_story_174190128.html
Paula S. Rothenberg is a nationally known Jewish anti-racism activist and feminist living in New Jersey.
Paula Rothenberg is currently a Professor at William Patterson University in Wayne, New Jersey where she teaches philosophy and women’s studies. In addition to her work as a Professor, Rothenbert is the Director of the New Jersey Project on Inclusive Scholarship, Curriculum, and Teaching; the only state-funded project in the nation whose mission is to reform curriculum by incorporating gender, race/ethnicity, class, culture, and sexualaity into college and university curriculum nationwide. Rothenberg received her undergraduate and graduate degree from New York University.
She is a prominent anti-racist activist in the United States, traveling and giving speeches throughout the country. Rothenberg has published several books relating to anti-racism. She has assembled essays of other anti-racist activists such as Tim Wise, Bell Hooks, and David Roediger, into compilations on topics such as racism, sexism, feminism, and classism. In all of her works, she writes a well organized introduction presenting her arguments and in the conclusion she calls for individuals to take action. She is a believer in individual action and its power to address racism and other forms of oppression (White, 2005). From challenging crude “jokes” to challenging decisions made by the local school board (Personal communication, November 24, 2006), the individual has the power to be an anti-racism activist in their own personal lives.
Books authored by Paula S. Rothenberg include: 2005: Beyond Borders: Thinking Critically about Global Issues 2004: White Privilege: Essential Readings on the Other Side of Racism 2004: Invisible Privilege: A Memoir about Race, Class, and Gender 2003: Race, Class and Gender in the United State, sixth edition 1996: Creating an Inclusive College Curriculum 1993: Feminist Frameworks, third edition Articles Articles written by Paula Rothenberg include: 2000: "Beyond the Food Court: Goals and Strategies for Teaching Multiculturalism” 2000: "Curriculum Transformation Movement” 1998: "Women Studies Then and Now” 1996: "Teaching U.S. History as Part of Diversity Studies” 1993: "The Inclusive Curriculum and Its Critics”
REFERENCES Rothenberg, Paula S. Race, Class, and Gender in the United States. New York: Worth Publishers, 2001. 5th ed. Rothenberg, Paula S. Racism and Sexism: An Integrated Study. New York: St. Martin’s Press, 1988. Rothenberg, Paula S. White Privilege: Essential Readings on the Other Side of Racism. New York: Worth Publishers, 2005. 2nd ed.
http://www.wpunj.edu/icip/njp/overview.html http://www.paularothenberg.com/
Rothenberg, Paula. "Re:Anti-Racism Activist." E-mail format. 24 November 2006
Tim Jacob Wise is a nationally recognized Jewish anti-racist writer and activist living in Nashville, Tennessee.
Wise is the Director of the Tennessee-based Association for White Anti-Racist Education (AWARE) (www.timwise.org). AWARE is an organization that works to educate white Americans about the social and economic impacts of racism within communities and institutions. The organization mission is “to educate white Americans about ongoing institutional racism in society; to raise awareness among whites to the harmful effects racism has on people of color and themselves; and to provide the tools for whites to support equity and justice” (www.unbrokencircle.org). In addition to his work with AWARE he currently speaks to numerous groups across the country conducting anti-racism training sessions and has spoken to over 400 colleges and universities. Wise received his B.A. in political science from Tulane University and was trained by The People’s Institute for Survival and Beyond in ways to dismantle racism and become an anti-racist. Wise has trained physicians and others in health related occupations on how to combat racial inequalities in healthcare as well as corporate, government, entertainment, military, and law officials. Wise has been called on for his expertise In Washington state and New York to serve as a consultant for the plaintiff attorney on federal discrimination cases (www.timwise.org).
In the early 1990’s, Wise worked at the Louisiana Coalition Against Racism and Nazism serving as the Associate Director and from 1999 to 2003, he served as an advisor to the Fisk University Race Relations Institute. In addition to his work, in 2001, Wise trained journalists to abolish racial bias in reporting at the Poynter Institute in St. Petersburg, Florida. He extended his teaching In 2005, and co-taught a graduate course on Racism at the Smith College School for Social Work in Northampton, Massachusetts and led a training program against racial privilege and bias at the Defense Equal(www.timwise.org).
Wise has written many works on anti-racism including two books titled, “White Like Me: Reflections on Race from a Privileged Son” and “Affirmative Actions: Racial Preference in Black and White”. Some of his more recent written essays include; “Passing the Buck and Missing the Point: Don Imus, White Denial, and Racism in America,” “A Particularly Cheap White Whine, Racism, Scholarship, and the Manufacturing of White Victimhood,” “Rationalizing the Irrational: Racism and the Fallacy of Personal Experience,” “The Oprah Effect: Black Success, White Denial and the Reality of Racism,” and “‘Erasing Katrina’: Historical Revisionism and the Denial of the Obvious”. His writing is accessible to many people as it has been published in popular, professional, and scholarly journals. Wise was the recipient of the 2001 British Diversity Award for best feature essay on race issues. Other awards include the National Youth Advocacy Coalition’s Social Justice Impact Award in 2002.
In addition to his written works, Wise has been a featured guest on many renowned radio and television programs (www.timwise.org). Tim Wise has contributed positively to the field of anti-racist education and is well known for his writing, lectures, training sessions, and appearances on television and radio shows. (www.timwise.org). Websites www.timewise.org www.unbrokencircle.org