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"With range, depth, and integrity, the narratives in this collection flesh out both the 'promise and the way of life' of white people who have taken on racism as central to their life work. "White Men Challenging Racism" is a valuable contradiction to the construct of 'angry white men' that has fueled racial backlash over the past twenty years."--Mab Segrest, author of "Memoirs of a Race Traitor"

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White men challenging racism

Duke University Press

Contents

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

Introduction

This is a book about the personal experiences of thirty-five white men who are trying to live a just life, sometimes successfully, sometimes not. To varying degrees, the white men in this book all think of what they do as simply what they must do, as if it is no longer a choice; they are just living their lives. And the task of challenging racism and other forms of oppression is integrated into their day-to-day existence in such a way that their lives are permeated with questions of justice, personally and politically. Challenging racism is, for these men, just living. This book is an attempt to provide some space for the reflections of a group of white men who we believe are living just lives in many different ways.

The narratives include incidents from and comments about complex and rich lives and reflections on antiracist activity. Some of the narratives speak about critical events that led to a life of activism; some of them speak about blind spots when it comes to racism or another form of oppression; some of them speak about offenses in relationships and mistakes in strategy; some of them speak about regrets of actions not taken. And there are expressions of pride in describing accomplishments and victories.

These narratives are like photographs. It is as if each of these white men were momentarily presenting himself to us and you. These narratives are not comprehensive life histories. The white men profiled in this book made decisions about what they wanted to reveal about themselves and what they didn't want to reveal. We encouraged them and sometimes challenged them to reveal more about their most favorite and least favorite sides of themselves.

Why Another Book about White Men?

Given the critical role that people of color have played in the lives of white men who challenge racism and given the fact that it is largely people of color (and to a lesser...