Rebecca Walker
Rebecca Walker | |
---|---|
Melvyn Leventhal | |
Website | http://www.rebeccawalker.com/ |
Rebecca Walker (born Rebecca Leventhal; November 17, 1969) is an American writer, feminist, and activist. Walker has been regarded as one of the prominent voices of Third Wave Feminism, and the coiner of the term "third wave", since publishing a 1992 article on feminism in Ms. magazine called "Becoming the Third Wave", in which she proclaimed: "I am the Third Wave."[1][2]
Walker's writing, teaching, and speeches focus on race, gender, politics, power, and culture.[3][4] In her activism work, she helped co-found the Third Wave Fund that morphed into the Third Wave Foundation, an organization that supports young women of color, queer, intersex, and trans individuals by providing tools and resources they need to be leaders in their communities through activism and philanthropy.[3]
Walker does extensive writing and speaking about gender, racial, economic, and social justice at universities around the United States and internationally.[5]
In 1994,
Early life and education
Born Rebecca Leventhal in 1969 in
When she was 15, she decided to change her surname from Leventhal to Walker, her mother's surname.
Activism
The Third Wave Fund
After graduating from Yale University, she and Shannon Liss (now Shannon Liss-Riordan) co-founded the Third Wave Fund, a non-profit organization aimed at encouraging young women to get involved in activism and leadership roles.[12] The organization's initial mission, based on Walker's article, was to "fill a void in young women's leadership and to mobilize young people to become more involved socially and politically in their communities."[13] In its first year, the organization initiated a campaign that registered more than 20,000 new voters across the United States. The organization now provides grants to individuals and projects that support young women. The fund was adapted as The Third Wave Foundation in 1997 and continues to support young activists. In the wake of the November 2016 presidential election in the United States, the organization received more than four times the normal number of requests for emergency grants.[14]
Teaching
Walker views teaching as a way to give people the strength to speak the truth, to change perspectives, and to empower people with the ability to change the world.[5] She lectures on writing memoirs, multi-generational feminism, diversity in the media, multi-racial identity, contemporary visual arts and emerging cultures.[5]
Speaking
Walker concentrates on speaking about multicultural identity (including her own), enlightened masculinity, and inter-generational and third-wave feminism at high schools, universities and conferences around the world. She has spoken at
Books and writing
Major works
Walker's first major work was the book To be Real: Telling the Truth and Changing the Face of Feminism (1996), which consisted of articles that she compiled and edited. The book reevaluated the feminist movement of the time. Reviewer Emilie Fale, an Assistant Professor of Communication at
In her memoir Black, White and Jewish: Autobiography of a Shifting Self (2000), Walker explores her early years in Mississippi as the child of parents who were active in the later years of the
Her 2007 memoir Baby Love: Choosing Motherhood After A Lifetime of Ambivalence explores her life with a stepson and biological son against a framework of feminism. Walker was criticized for her stigmatizing views on biological parenthood being superior to adoptive parenthood and adoptive parents boycotted her work.[19]
Walker was a contributing editor to
Her first novel, Adé: A Love Story, was published in 2013. It features a biracial college student, Farida, who falls in love with Adé, a black Kenyan man. The couple's plan to marry is interrupted when Farida gets malaria and the two must struggle through a civil war in Kenya. The novel was generally well received by critics and laypeople alike.[20]
Personal life
Walker identifies as
She has a son (b. 2004) with her former partner Choyin Rangdrol, a Buddhist teacher.[22][23][24]
Once estranged from her mother Alice Walker, she has reconciled with her, and the two have since appeared at literary events together.[25][26][27]
Bibliography
- To Be Real: Telling the Truth and Changing the Face of Feminism (1996) (editor)
- Black, White and Jewish: Autobiography of a Shifting Self(2000)
- What Makes A Man: 22 Writers Imagine The Future (2004) (editor)
- Baby Love: Choosing Motherhood After a Lifetime of Ambivalence (2007)
- One Big Happy Family: 18 Writers Talk About Polyamory, Open Adoption, Mixed Marriage, Househusbandry, Single Motherhood, and Other Realities of Truly Modern Love (2009) (editor)
- Black Cool: One Thousand Streams of Blackness (Soft Skull Press, February 2012) (editor)[28]
- Adé: A Love Story (2013), (novel)
Film
In the 1998 film
In March 2014, the film rights for her novel
Awards
- Women of Distinction Award from the American Association of University Women,[30]
- "Feminist of the Year" award from the Fund for the Feminist Majority,
- "Paz y Justicia" award from the Vanguard Public Foundation,
- "Intrepid Award" from the National Organization for Women,[31]
- "Champion of Choice" award from the California Abortion Rights Action League,
- "Women Who Could Be President Award" from the League of Women Voters.
Walker has also received an honorary Doctorate from the North Carolina School of the Arts.[32]
Walker is featured in
In 2016, she was selected as one of BBC's 100 Women.[34]
See also
References
- ^ "HeathenGrrl's Blog: Becoming the Third Wave by Rebecca Walker". February 28, 2007. Archived from the original on April 4, 2020. Retrieved December 6, 2011.
- ^ Walker, Rebecca (October 27, 2011). "Anita Hill Woke Us Up". HuffPost. Archived from the original on March 31, 2020. Retrieved April 19, 2017.
- ^ a b "About". rebeccawalker.com. Archived from the original on July 4, 2017. Retrieved April 19, 2017.
- from the original on April 20, 2017. Retrieved April 19, 2017.
- ^ a b c "Speaking". rebeccawalker.com. Archived from the original on July 20, 2017. Retrieved April 19, 2017.
- ^ Miller, Zeke J.; Lily Rothman (December 5, 2014). "What Happened to the 'Future Leaders' of the 1990s?". Time. Archived from the original on March 31, 2020. Retrieved August 17, 2015.
- ^ a b c d e "Full Biography". rebeccawalker.com. Archived from the original on November 20, 2017. Retrieved April 19, 2017.
- ^ Ross, Ross (April 8, 2007). "Rebecca Walker bringing message to Expo". Pensacola News Journal. Archived from the original on July 5, 2007. Retrieved April 8, 2007.
- ^ "Season's Greeting from All of Us at Urban". Blues Notes. Urban School Alumni Association. December 22, 2020. Retrieved July 11, 2022.
- ^ a b Rosenbloom, Stephanie (March 18, 2007). "Evolution of a Feminist Daughter". The New York Times. Archived from the original on February 14, 2017. Retrieved April 7, 2011.
- ISBN 9781573221696.
- ^ Bazeley, Alex (April 21, 2016). "Third-Wave Feminism". Washington Square News. Archived from the original on March 31, 2020. Retrieved August 2, 2019.
- ^ History Archived October 7, 2012, at the Wayback Machine, Third Wave Foundation. Retrieved May 7, 2012.
- ^ "Welcome to Third Wave Fund!". Third Wave Fund. Archived from the original on March 31, 2020. Retrieved April 20, 2017.
- ^ "Archived copy" (PDF). lsu.edu. Archived (PDF) from the original on July 21, 2016. Retrieved December 19, 2018.
{{cite web}}
: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link) - ^ "To Be Real". rebeccawalker.com. Archived from the original on March 27, 2017. Retrieved April 20, 2017.
- ^ Fisher, J. A. (May 16, 2013). "Today's Feminism: A Brief Look at Third-Wave Feminism". Being Feminist. Archived from the original on July 9, 2017. Retrieved April 20, 2017.
- ISBN 978-1-57322-169-6. Retrieved April 20, 2017.
- ^ 'Can I survive having a baby? Will I lose myself ... ?'. The Guardian. May 27, 2007. Retrieved February 24, 2024.
- ^ Schultz, Laurie. "Review: Adé: A Love Story". nyjournalofbooks.com. Archived from the original on April 20, 2017. Retrieved April 20, 2017.
- Salon, archivedfrom the original on February 4, 2011, retrieved April 7, 2011
- from the original on March 11, 2017. Retrieved April 20, 2017.
- ^ "A Conversation with Rebecca Walker » FLUX". FLUX. February 2, 2011. Retrieved June 17, 2021.
- ^ "It's a Different Family Life Than Your Mother's – The Changing Composition of Families". motherhoodinpointoffact.com.
- ^ "Rebecca Walker Explains Rift With Mother, Alice". NPR.org. NPR. Archived from the original on August 2, 2019. Retrieved August 2, 2019.
- ^ PhD, Nsenga K. Burton (August 1, 2019). "Alice Walker: Hometown Celebrates Literary Legend's 75th Birthday". BlackPressUSA. Archived from the original on August 2, 2019. Retrieved August 2, 2019.
- ^ Sneed, Shannon (July 18, 2019). "Alice Walker comes home". Eatonton Messenger. Archived from the original on August 2, 2019. Retrieved August 2, 2019.
- ^ Staff (December 12, 2011). "Black Cool: One Thousand Streams of Blackness. Edited by Rebecca Walker" Archived February 14, 2012, at the Wayback Machine, Publishers Weekly.
- ^ Kellogg, Carolyn (March 25, 2014). "Madonna to film Rebecca Walker's 'Ade: A Love Story'". Los Angeles Times. Archived from the original on April 25, 2014. Retrieved February 21, 2020.
- ^ Women of Distinction Program Archived June 15, 2012, at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved June 26, 2012.
- ^ NOW's First Annual Intrepid Awards Gala: Rebecca Walker Archived November 20, 2006, at the Wayback Machine. Now.org. Retrieved May 7, 2012.
- ^ Dorsky, Kait. "Guides: UNCSA History: Honorary Doctorates". library.uncsa.edu. Archived from the original on November 6, 2020. Retrieved April 10, 2020.
- The Advocate. June–July 2009. Archived from the originalon January 16, 2010. Retrieved April 7, 2011.
- ^ "BBC 100 Women 2016: Who is on the list?" Archived December 23, 2016, at the Wayback Machine, BBC News, November 21, 2016. Retrieved November 26, 2016.
External links
- "Becoming the Third Wave" by Rebecca Walker
- Curry, Ginette. "Toubab La!": Literary Representations of Mixed-race Characters in the African Diaspora, Newcastle, England: Cambridge Scholars Pub., 2007.
- Official site
- Official Myspace page
- Rebecca Walker at IMDb
- Third Wave Foundation
- Rebecca Walker, Excerpt: Black, White, and Jewish: Autobiography of a Shifting Self, The Multiracial Activist, December 1, 2000
- Book Forum article
- Editorial Work, Greater Good Magazine, Summer 2008