Shining a Bright Light on Whiteness

Shining a Bright Light on Whiteness

by | Oct 18, 2019 | Blog

‘Waking Up White’ Author Invites White Audience Members to Look Inside By TED HARTZELL BENTON HARBOR, Mich.—You don’t get much whiter than Debby Irving. Her husband Bruce attests to this on the jacket of her book, “Waking Up White: And Finding Myself in the Story of...
Tips for How White People Can ‘Wake Up’

Tips for How White People Can ‘Wake Up’

by | Oct 17, 2019 | Blog

BENTON HARBOR, Mich.—There’s something that happened to Debby Irving a lot when she was signing copies of her book, “Waking Up White: And Finding Myself in the Story of Race,” after its publication in 2014. Invariably a white person would say to her: “You know, I...
‘Don’t Tell Me I’m Privileged!’ 

‘Don’t Tell Me I’m Privileged!’ 

by | Sep 25, 2019 | Blog, Debby Irving

How Some White People Respond to a Certain Term BENTON HARBOR, Mich.—The term “white privilege” is cropping up a lot recently. Racial justice educator Debby Irving said the term, inexact though it is, comes closest in her line of work to describe the different lives...
Lessons from a Black Man and a White Intruder

Lessons from a Black Man and a White Intruder

by | Apr 29, 2019 | Blog

Gentry with kids from the youth group at First Presbyterian Church of Benton Harbor on a visit to the monument at Silver Beach in St. Joseph, Mich. Finally, I’d get the chance to know Gentry better. As one of the youth leaders of our church at the time, Gentry told...