- Autobiography
- A Break in Family
- Childhood Years
- Judging People on My Experience
- At Home
- Parents, Home, Neighbors
- Early Lessons about Race/Ethnicity
- Early “Organizational” Life
- Church and Christian Contradictions
- Silent Prejudices
- Classes and Class
- College & the Beginning of the End of Innocence
- War without War
- A Lesson in Manipulative Power
- Decision for Ministry
- Preparing for Ministry
- Academic Major at Amherst
- Extra-Curricula Learning at Amherst – Enter Bill & Alice Wimer
- Unrecognized Introduction to Feminism
- Sylvia
- Andover Newton Theological School
- Church Pastorates
- Denominational Staff Ministry
- Wakefield
- From “Black Problem” to “White Problem”
- Stealth-Like Learnings: “Sexism”, “Racism” and Institutions
- Shifting Sands of Faith Demand Action
- Advancing “dis-ease”
- Changing View of the World
- The New Beginning
- Genesis of Community Change, Inc.
- The Early Years at CCI
- Boston’s Struggle for Equal Schools
- Attention to National Issues
- People Participating = Hope
- Enter: James Baldwin
- White Identity Challenged
- Urgency Requires Anti-Apartheid Action
- Suburban Operations Simulation
- Police Brutality
- Local Organizing and Seeking Ways to Combat Racism
- The Move to Boston
- “People”, “People”, “People”
- Moral Man and Immoral Society
- The “office” not an “OFFICE”
- Probing History Moves to the Center of Work
- Affirmative Action
- Little GIANTS
- Expanding the Work
- National Day of Mourning
- Chinatown and Beyond
- “People” not “leaders”
- 1492 Becomes 1992
- Harassment of Black Leaders
- Immigrant Action
- The Photography Collective
- Following (not very well!) Freire
- Enter Derrick Bell
- Using “Privilege to Subvert “Privilege”
- Becoming a Historian
- On the Trail Where Yesterday Inspires, Challenges Today
1990 was the first of our summer day-long outdoor Multi-cultural festivals, held for several years on the grounds of the Roxbury Community College. The theme for that first festival was, “This Land Is Our Land”. Community groups were invited to set up tables to distribute materials. A variety of foods were sold by a range of ethnic groups. Featured presenters included a Filipino Dance Troupe, Native American drummers, a Dorchester RAP group, Irish music, a gospel choir, Haitian Folk songs in Creole and French, and a Latina folk soloist. In the next years our festivals included a wide range of groups in the city, always with a political theme. This yearly event finally outgrew us, too big for our small staff, and superseded by an increasing number of community-centered festivals.
One result of the festivals was to convince us to find ways to use the good space and facilities at Roxbury Community College. Professor David Coleman and Ed Williams helped us sponsor a two-day “community arts forum” at the College. Anti-racist themes and activities engaged local artists and children in creating art; Ossie Davis spoke at a public gathering, and poet Ted Thomas led us all in a “re-dedication” of John Wilson’s marvelous sculpture which graces the campus. It is a moving statue of a black man reading to a child, and Ted wrote a beautiful poem about it.
The list of groups performing in that first festival reflects the recognition which had been growing for years, that our work must focus on racism as it has affected a wide range of ethnic/racial groups, in addition to black Americans.