Melissa harris perry biography of albert

How my white mother shaped me into a black man

Melissa Harris-Perry
MSNBC
2013-08-13

Albert L. Butler, Radio Host
900 AM WURD, Philadelphia

I am an avid watcher of Melissa Harris-Perry, so I was not at all surprised–and was quite pleased–when host Melissa Harris-Perry tackled the subject of white mothers raising black boys in America in the wake of the George Zimmerman verdict. Prior to turning to her panel, the professor reminisced about her white mother offering a relevant (yet often overlooked) point that white mothers of black boys are confronted by the same realities as black mothers.

As the segment continued, I found myself nodding in agreement as the panel of mothers discussed how important it was to talk about race, discrimination, and culture with their black children. I know firsthand how important this is; I am the black son of a white mother, and my mom made sure she addressed those issues in various ways from my early childhood to my early adulthood. Even now, as I stretch across the 40-year-old threshold, we still discuss all of it. Her choices, in very large measure, empowered me to be the strong, confident black man that I am today…

Read the entire article here.

On February 26, Albert Woodfox, one of the two remaining imprisoned members of the Angola 3 received some potentially good news. For the third time, his conviction for the 1972 murder of an officer at Louisiana State Penitentiary was overturned and a federal judge ordered Woodfox's release after more than 40 years in solitary confinement.

Instead of letting the matter be settled in court, the Louisiana attorney general couldn't help himself from responding. In doing so, he showed why this case is about more than the murder of one man. It's about the inhumanity exhibited for more than 40 years.

That is why this week's letter is written to him.

Dear Louisiana Attorney General James "Buddy" Caldwell,It's me, Melissa.Let's be really clear--I am not here to try the case of Albert Woodfox.The question of his innocence is for the courts to decide. After the ruling, Amnesty International started an online petition urging that the ruling stand so that Woodfox could be retried or released, noting that, "Albert Woodfox has spent nearly 41 years in solitary confinement in conditions that are cruel, inhuman and degrading." And that "Woodfox and Wallace, two members of the "Angola 3," were sentenced to life imprisonment, although no physical evidence linked them to the crime and serious legal flaws came to light."Yet your response to their online petitions shows your long held bias. You said, "Thank you for your interest in the ambush, savage attack and brutal murder of Officer Brent Miller at Louisiana State Penitentiary (LSP) on April 17, 1972."Attorney General Caldwell, no one disputes the brutality of Brent Miller's murder. What's in dispute is your impartiality and whether justice was served. Let's not forget, the Angola 3, members of the Black Panther Party at the Louisiana State Penitentiary, were convicted of murder while trying to ex

Long before they became esteemed scholars who determine students’ futures and enlighten the world with their research, these professors were humble first-year students at Wake Forest. Like the rest of us, they might have gotten lost or been a little homesick on the Reynolda Campus, but they also discovered a passion for academics at a University famous for educating future teachers. After pursuing years of graduate school, these Deacons went on to get their Ph.D.s (or, in one case, M.D.) and secure tenure at learning institutions both big and small. We selected a few professors from around the country to reminisce, in their own words, about Wake Forest and their path to the academy.

Catherine Burroughs
(’80, double major English and theatre)

Position: Ruth and Albert Koch Professor of Humanities, Wells College; Visiting Professor of English, Cornell University

Postgraduate education: M.A. (1983) Connecticut College and Ph.D. (1988) Emory University

Areas of expertise and research: Since 1993, I’ve published four books, which have always had something to do with British Romanticism, women in theatre (1750-1850), and gender studies. Currently, I’m editing the biography of casting director Eddie Foy III, who cast shows from my childhood: “The Donna Reed Show,” “I Dream of Jeannie,” “Gidget,” “That Girl,” “Happy Days,” “M*A*S*H” and many others. The title is “Bring Me a Star I Don’t Know,” with a foreword by Jerry Lewis.

Wake Forest professors who inspired you: Dr. Ed Wilson, professor of Romanticism, was hugely influential on my career choice. Sitting in his courses on Romanticism and then “Blake, Yeats and Thomas” exposed me to the kind of professor I wanted to be. In theatre, Dr. (Harold) Tedford became my mentor, and I loved working with him on plays ranging from “Look Homeward, Angel” to “The Good Woman of Setzuan.” Others to mention: Teresa Radomski, Donald Wolfe, (the late) Elizabeth Phillips, Nancy Cotton, (

Inspired by Sunday's "Melissa Harris-Perry" discussion about black kids being raised by parents who aren't black, a Philadelphia radio host writes about how his white mother raised him with a strong cultural awareness.

I am an avid watcher of Melissa Harris-Perry, so I was not at all surprised–and was quite pleased–when host Melissa Harris-Perry tackled the subject ofwhite mothers raising black boys in America in the wake of the George Zimmerman verdict. Prior to turning to her panel, the professor reminisced about her white mother offering a relevant (yet often overlooked) point that white mothers of black boys are confronted by the same realities as black mothers.

As the segment continued, I found myself nodding in agreement as the panel of mothers discussed how important it was to talk about race, discrimination, and culture with their black children. I know firsthand how important this is; I am the black son of a white mother, and my mom made sure she addressed those issues in various ways from my early childhood to my early adulthood. Even now, as I stretch across the 40-year-old threshold, we still discuss all of it. Her choices, in very large measure, empowered me to be the strong, confident black man that I am today.

My dad was a Baptist city kid from Brooklyn, working as a civil rights activist and youth advocate when he met my mom, a Quaker girl from a tiny farming community in North Carolina getting a master’s degree in social work.

Now, make no mistake. Though my folks were divorced before I was five and my father was not a daily presence in my life, he was present until the day he died of leukemia just a few months after my 22nd birthday. My mother didn’t see her role so much as teaching me about being a black man, but more to undergird and to reinforce what my father provided.

And she started