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In this engaging dialogue, we delve into the complex dimensions of power through a dynamic conversation. Joining us are esteemed guests, Dr. Judith Goldstein and Caroline James. Together, we embark on a journey to unravel the nuanced aspects of power, its historical underpinnings, and the art of shaping potential futures. Welcome to “A Conversation On Power, History & Creating Possible Futures.”

Guests:

Dr. Judith S. Goldstein received a Bachelor’s degree from Cornell University in 1962 with a concentration on European and American history. As a Woodrow Wilson Scholar at Columbia University, she received a Masters degree in European history and wrote her thesis on the “Mouvement Republicain Populaire and the Franco Vietnamese War, 1946-1954.” In 1972, Judith completed her doctoral studies at Columbia University after writing her dissertation on “The Politics of Ethnic Pressure: The American Jewish Committee Fight Against Immigration Restriction: 1906-1917.” This book was republished by Routledge in 2020 and was the beginning of a sustained concentration on immigration and diversity in America and Europe. She worked at Columbia University for 10 years focused on an oral history project on Ethnic Groups and American Foreign Policy. In the late 1980s, she started a book about the integration of Jewish immigrants in Maine. In 1992, William Morrow published Crossing Lines: Histories of Jews and Gentiles in Three Communities. In 2006, Rutgers University Press published Inventing Great Neck: Jewish Identity and American Dreams.

Judith worked as the Executive Director of Thanks To Scandinavia, started by the Danish pianist Victor Borge to acknowledge Scandinavians who resisted Nazism and protected Jews during the Second World War. In 1997, Judith founded Humanity in Action and has served as its Executive Director ever since. Programs have included fellowships and internships in Europe and the United States, annual publications, photography exhibitions, films, and conferences. Over 26 years the organization has engaged over 2,750 college and university students in its programs and raised over $31 million. Judith serves on the Board of the The Frances Perkins Foundation and the Somes Pond Center, and is a member of the Council on Foreign Relations. She sustains an abiding interest in conservation and landscape design and history, especially as it relates to Maine and Mt. Desert Island

Website: https://humanityinaction.org

Caroline James is the founder of WE The Sojourners, which offers multi-media content about human rights, social justice, and decolonization. Drawing on research and various creative methods, Caroline explores how issues of social justice and human rights shape our everyday lives. Her expertise is grounded in improving education at the institutional and systemic levels, especially concerning issues of inequality. Under “Resetting the Table,” a leading organization in the political bridge-building field, Caroline is formally trained to facilitate discussions of political and social issues. 

In 2014, for her unique take on educating for social justice and activism within the classroom, she was named a national winner of the” Sue Lehmann Excellence in Teaching Award.”  In 2021, She became one of 16 feminists globally recognized by The National Association of Women’s Studies. Additionally, in 2021 as a Senior “Humanity in Action Fellow,” she was also named an HIA Racial Equity Grant Awardee. Although primarily versed in the North American context, through several fellowships, Caroline has studied inequality in India, Nepal, France, and Poland.  An internationally recognized “Bill and Melinda Gates Cambridge” fellow, Caroline holds a Master’s in Education Philosophy from the University of Cambridge (England). 

Website: https://www.wethesojourners.org

Show Notes

I, Too

BY LANGSTON HUGHES

I, too, sing America.

I am the darker brother.

They send me to eat in the kitchen

When company comes,

But I laugh,

And eat well,

And grow strong.

Tomorrow,

I’ll be at the table

When company comes.

Nobody’ll dare

Say to me,

“Eat in the kitchen,”

Then.

Besides,

They’ll see how beautiful I am

And be ashamed—

I, too, am America.