Virginia Spatz was feature reporter for We Act Radio's "Education Town Hall" program for several years and still maintains the program's website. Visit Education Town Hall for reports and program recordings.
Author: vspatz
Say This Name
DC Losses to Homicide. Mark every loss. Mourn. Organize. plus: Resources on Addressing Violence, with emphasis on Holistic Approaches and Gun Violence Prevention & People of Color
A Song Every Day
“Rabbi Akiva said: ‘Chant it every day, Chant it every day.'” (San 99b) What is piety? “A song every day, a song every day.” Every morning we begin with a prayer: “Make sweet, we beseech Thee, O Lord our God, the words of Thy Torah in our mouth.” There is a fountain in a sacred … Continue reading A Song Every Day
Living Text
Virginia's contemporary midrash (writing from within sacred text) appears in Living Text Journal and All the Women Followed Her: A Collection of Writing on Miriam the Prophet and the Women of Exodus. See also "A Song Every Day" ."
Notes for Whiteness History Month
A few thoughts on #Whiteness and its history in the United States.
Passing & Pure Individualism
While the 'passing' of the late nineteenth and early twentieth century has fallen out of favor, the passing of today takes the form of the assertion of 'pure' individualism, stripped of race and gender. But this notion of the individual is an ideological fiction, reflective of the image of male whiteness, and still situated in … Continue reading Passing & Pure Individualism
“Silence is a racial message”
"Silence is a racial message." Read "What White Children Need to Learn About Race" by Ali Michael and Eleonora Bartoli. Notes for #WhiteNESSHistoryMonth 4.7 Extending work of @CrazyPastor. Honoring vision of @PortlandCC Slideshow of Notes for Whiteness History Month
Demystifying Whiteness
"Historically, many White immigrants have been accused of marginalizing other White immigrants...demystifying the cultural complexity of people classified as White, and the hierarchy of groups created by racism, multicultural education will help White students understand their own history, as well as the fact that the current social discourses against diverse racial/ethnic groups are very similar … Continue reading Demystifying Whiteness
…walked off with the aggressor
“For the vast majority of white Americans, the past decade*—the first phase—had been a struggle to treat the Negro with a degree of decency, not equality. White America was ready to demand that the Negro should be spared the lash of brutality and coarse degradation, but it had never been truly committed to helping him … Continue reading …walked off with the aggressor
Virginia Avniel Spatz 