Waking Giants: Event Archive

From monthly discussions to workshops digging into the hard topics to talks with some of today’s best authors, Waking Giants hosts important conversations that keep you connected to the good fight. Join us for an upcoming event or revisit our past discussions below.

jennifer harvey: raising white kids

Register now for this discussion with Jennifer Harvey, author of Raising White Kids: Bringing Up Children in a Racially Unjust America. This phenomenal book about raising the next generation of anti-racists should be required reading for all white families.

Bio:

The Rev. Dr. Jennifer Harvey is an award-winning author, educator and public speaker. Her work focuses on ethics and race, gender, sexuality, activism, spirituality and politics—with particular attention to how religion shows up in these dimensions of our shared social life. Her greatest passion and longtime work, however, persistently and pointedly return to racial justice and white anti-racism.

Jen publishes in numerous academic and public outlets. Her essay Are We Raising Racists? spent nearly a week on the New York Times “ten most read pieces” list. She has written for CNN, Huffington Post, Sojourners on-line, The Conversation and countless other venues.

Dr. Harvey’s most recent books Raising White Kids and Dear White Christians take a decidedly practical turn. They bring Jen’s experience as an anti-racist activist and educator to bear on conversations about how white communities can more deeply support racial justice work being led by communities of color. She is also the author of Whiteness and Morality: Pursuing Racial Justice through Reparations and Sovereignty and a co-editor of Disrupting White Supremacy: White People on What We Need To Do.

Dr. Harvey serves as professor of religion and Faculty Director of the Crew Scholars Program—an academic excellence and leadership development program for students of color—at Drake University. She graduated from Union Theological Seminary in the City of New York with a Phd in Christian Social Ethics in 2004 and a Master of Divinity degree in 1998 and is ordained in the American Baptist Churches (USA).

Kate schatz: rad american history a-z

Join us in conversation with Kate Schatz about her new book, Rad American History A-Z. On June 24th, 7-8pm CST, we will all meet virtually to discuss our shared history, celebrate those that came before us & discuss how much further we still have to go.

Bio:

Kate Schatz is the New York Times-bestselling author of Rad American Women A-Z and Rad Women Worldwide, as well as My Rad Life: A Journal and Rid of Me: A Story. She is the co-founder of Solidarity Sundays, a nationwide network of feminist activist groups. She’s a writer, organizer, public speaker, educator, and left-handed vegetarian Bay Area-born-and-bred feminist activist mama.

Kate’s books have gotten love from BUST, Elle, Publisher’s Weekly, BuzzFeed, MTV, Ms., Teen Vogue, Kirkus Reviews, GOOD, The New York Times, AFROPUNK, among others. She and her collaborator Miriam Klein Stahl have appeared on Mashable, MSNBC, and numerous public radio programs and podcasts, including Politically Reactive with Kamau Bell and Hari Kondabolu, KQED Forum, Minnesota Public Radio, and KPCC’s Take Two. As a public speaker, Kate has appeared at over 100 public schools and libraries, and has given keynotes and talks for a wide range of organizations, speaking about everything from her books to contemporary feminism to electoral politics and political change.

Peniel E. Joseph: The Sword and the Shield

This conversation will focus on the revolutionary lives of Malcolm X and Martin Luther King Jr. On Thursday, March 26, 1964, the United States Senate would decide the fate of the Civil Rights Act. That day, Malcolm X and Martin Luther King Jr. descended, separately, on the Senate building, serving as witnesses to an ongoing historical drama they had actively shaped in their respective roles as national political leaders and mobilizers. Malcolm, the sword, and Martin Luther King Jr., the shield, transformed the aesthetics of American democracy. These two metaphors reflect a new interpretation of Malcolm and Martin, in which a partnership is illuminated by examining the intricacy of their lives.

Bio:

In Fall 2015, Dr. Peniel E. Joseph joined the University of Texas at Austin as Founding Director of the Center for the Study of Race and Democracy. Prior to joining the UT faculty, Dr. Joseph was a professor at Tufts University in Medford, Massachusetts, where he also founded the school’s Center for the Study of Race and Democracy to promote engaged research and scholarship focused on the ways issues of race and democracy impact the lives of global citizens. Dr. Joseph’s career focus has been on what he describes as “Black Power Studies,” which encompasses interdisciplinary fields such as Africana studies, law and society, women’s and ethnic studies, and political science. He is a frequent national commentator on issues of race, democracy and civil rights, and has authored award-winning books Waiting ‘Til the Midnight Hour: A Narrative History of Black Power in America and Dark Days, Bright Nights: From Black Power to Barack Obama.

Kathy Valentine: all i ever wanted

Waking Giants has partnered with Kathy Valentine of The Go-Go’s fame for our first ever Book Club! On Wednesday, April 29th at 7 pm CST we will all meet virtually to discuss Kathy’s new book, All I Ever Wanted: A Rock ‘n’ Roll Memoir, including an author Q&A.

bio:

Kathy Valentine has been a working musician and songwriter for over 40 years, ever since she started her first band, at age 16, in her hometown of Austin. After moving to Los Angeles, Kathy joined a band that would go on to make music history: The Go-Go’s. In this group, Kathy wrote or co-wrote some of the band’s most renowned tunes, including the hits “Vacation” and “Head Over Heels.” She returned to Austin in 2006 and began finding new opportunities as a public speaker, spokesperson, producer, and mentor. In 2016 she signed with UT Press to write a memoir, and appeared in a major role in a feature film, “The Transcendents”. In the meantime, she still shows up at the gig with her guitar in the all-female rock band The Bluebonnets, who released a record in April 2017. Kathy’s greatest loves are her 15-year-old daughter Audrey, writing, music, and travel: she has visited over 20 countries around the world and hopes to visit 25 more in her lifetime. Her hobbies are reading, computer graphics, digital recording, social media, and politics.