Ralph Remington in conversation with Ted Russell
City Lights celebrates the publication of
Penetrating Whiteness: How White Supremacy Built America (Navigating The Landscape Of Racism, Sexism, And America’s Cultural Divide)
By Ralph Remington
Published by Books That Save Lives
At a time when America faces escalating racial tensions, the re-emergence of white nationalist movements, and growing threats to democracy, Ralph Remington’s Penetrating Whitenessis an urgently needed clarion call.
This powerful and timely collection of essays offers piercing insights into the realities of racism, sexism, homophobia, and the damaging legacy of Donald Trump’s divisive presidency. With Trump mounting another run for the White House in 2024 amid the fallout of the January 6th insurrection, the national atmosphere is tinged with volatility and civil war rhetoric. Into this powder keg moment steps Remington, one of America’s leading Black multi-sector voices on identity, social justice, and the path toward racial healing. His essays boldly confront the uncomfortable truths about the persisting toxicity of white supremacy and systemic discrimination.
Ralph Remington is a multidisciplinary artistic leader and community builder, theater director, essayist, actor, writer, and former American politician. Ralph was appointed by Mayor London Breed as Director of Cultural Affairs for the San Francisco Arts Commission and the City and County of San Francisco in January 2021. Ralph is the former Deputy Director for Arts and Culture for the City of Tempe, Arizona. He also had artistic responsibility for the Tempe Center for the Arts as artistic director. Remington is the former Western Regional Director/Assistant Executive Director of Actors’ Equity Association.] In 2010 he became the Director of Theater and Musical Theater for the National Endowment for the Arts. He currently resides in San Francisco, California.
Ted Russell is a nonprofit arts management consultant, strategist and facilitator. As a consultant, he focuses on arts advocacy, board training, planning, research, strategy and coaching. Previously, he served as Director of Arts Strategy & Ventures for the Kenneth Rainin Foundation, where he led the Foundation’s strategic direction for the arts. He also served as the Senior Program Officer for the Arts Program at the James Irvine Foundation from 2005 to 2016. In 2021, Ted was named a Nasher Haemisegger Fellow at SMU DataArts, the National Center for Arts Research, where he serves as an intellectual partner to SMU DataArts leadership on critical issues. He served as the board chair of Grantmakers in the Arts, a national association of over 350 private and public arts and culture funders, in 2020 and 2021. Best of all, Ted was named a Faces of Theatre Bay Area 40@40 Celebration Honoree.
Made possible by support from the City Lights Foundation