Robin Washington
Encyclopedia
Robin Washington is an American
journalist
and filmmaker, born in Chicago
in 1956.
and Jewish, was born to an African American
father, Atlee Washington, and Jewish mother, Jean Birkenstein Washington.
of the Journey of Reconciliation, the first Freedom Ride
of whites and blacks traveling through the Upper South in 1947 to challenge segregation
in the wake of the United States Supreme Court's Irene Morgan
decision.
Washington previously produced the documentary
: Vermont
: The Whitest State in the Union, about African Americans in that state.
From 1996 to 2004 he worked at the Boston Herald
, where he wrote a consumer and transportation column and also covered the Roman Catholic Church sex abuse scandal, for which he made frequent appearances on national television news shows.
In 2004, he became editorial page editor of Minnesota
's Duluth News Tribune
and was promoted to editor in January 2010.
He is also a radio commentator for National Public Radio, and has been a writer
, editor
, and publisher for several publications.
and Rabbi
Capers C. Funnye Jr.
, of the Alliance of Black Jews
, which formed in 1995.
He is married to photojournalist Julia Cheng, and the father of Erin Washington, born in 1980.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
journalist
Journalist
A journalist collects and distributes news and other information. A journalist's work is referred to as journalism.A reporter is a type of journalist who researchs, writes, and reports on information to be presented in mass media, including print media , electronic media , and digital media A...
and filmmaker, born in Chicago
Chicago
Chicago is the largest city in the US state of Illinois. With nearly 2.7 million residents, it is the most populous city in the Midwestern United States and the third most populous in the US, after New York City and Los Angeles...
in 1956.
Early life
Washington, who is BlackBlack
Black is the color of objects that do not emit or reflect light in any part of the visible spectrum; they absorb all such frequencies of light...
and Jewish, was born to an African American
African American
African Americans are citizens or residents of the United States who have at least partial ancestry from any of the native populations of Sub-Saharan Africa and are the direct descendants of enslaved Africans within the boundaries of the present United States...
father, Atlee Washington, and Jewish mother, Jean Birkenstein Washington.
Career
His major work is the 1995 PBS documentary, You Don't Have to Ride Jim Crow!, which is a chronicleChronicle
Generally a chronicle is a historical account of facts and events ranged in chronological order, as in a time line. Typically, equal weight is given for historically important events and local events, the purpose being the recording of events that occurred, seen from the perspective of the...
of the Journey of Reconciliation, the first Freedom Ride
Freedom ride
Freedom Riders were civil rights activists who rode interstate buses into the segregated southern United States to test the United States Supreme Court decisions Boynton v. Virginia and Morgan v. Virginia...
of whites and blacks traveling through the Upper South in 1947 to challenge segregation
Racial segregation
Racial segregation is the separation of humans into racial groups in daily life. It may apply to activities such as eating in a restaurant, drinking from a water fountain, using a public toilet, attending school, going to the movies, or in the rental or purchase of a home...
in the wake of the United States Supreme Court's Irene Morgan
Irene Morgan
Irene Morgan , later known as Irene Morgan Kirkaldy, was an important predecessor to Rosa Parks in the successful fight to overturn segregation laws in the United States...
decision.
Washington previously produced the documentary
Documentary film
Documentary films constitute a broad category of nonfictional motion pictures intended to document some aspect of reality, primarily for the purposes of instruction or maintaining a historical record...
: Vermont
Vermont
Vermont is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States of America. The state ranks 43rd in land area, , and 45th in total area. Its population according to the 2010 census, 630,337, is the second smallest in the country, larger only than Wyoming. It is the only New England...
: The Whitest State in the Union, about African Americans in that state.
From 1996 to 2004 he worked at the Boston Herald
Boston Herald
The Boston Herald is a daily newspaper that serves Boston, Massachusetts, United States, and its surrounding area. It was started in 1846 and is one of the oldest daily newspapers in the United States...
, where he wrote a consumer and transportation column and also covered the Roman Catholic Church sex abuse scandal, for which he made frequent appearances on national television news shows.
In 2004, he became editorial page editor of Minnesota
Minnesota
Minnesota is a U.S. state located in the Midwestern United States. The twelfth largest state of the U.S., it is the twenty-first most populous, with 5.3 million residents. Minnesota was carved out of the eastern half of the Minnesota Territory and admitted to the Union as the thirty-second state...
's Duluth News Tribune
Duluth News Tribune
The Duluth News Tribune is a newspaper in Duluth, Minnesota. It is published by Forum Communications, which bought it in 2006 after The McClatchy Company acquired the News Tribunes previous owner, Knight Ridder.The present incarnation of the newspaper is the outcome of the merger and takeover of...
and was promoted to editor in January 2010.
He is also a radio commentator for National Public Radio, and has been a writer
Writer
A writer is a person who produces literature, such as novels, short stories, plays, screenplays, poetry, or other literary art. Skilled writers are able to use language to portray ideas and images....
, editor
Editing
Editing is the process of selecting and preparing written, visual, audible, and film media used to convey information through the processes of correction, condensation, organization, and other modifications performed with an intention of producing a correct, consistent, accurate, and complete...
, and publisher for several publications.
Miscellaneous
Washington is a cofounder, with Michelle Stein-EversMichelle Stein-Evers
Michelle Stein-Evers, born in Los Angeles, California, is a specialist in Iranian Studies, human rights, and immigration, now residing in Australia. She studied at the Universities of California, Tehran and Pennsylvania, specializing in political science and Iranian Area Studies. Her fields of...
and Rabbi
Rabbi
In Judaism, a rabbi is a teacher of Torah. This title derives from the Hebrew word רבי , meaning "My Master" , which is the way a student would address a master of Torah...
Capers C. Funnye Jr.
Capers C. Funnye Jr.
Capers C. Funnye Jr. is an African American who is the head rabbi of the mostly African-American 200 member Beth Shalom B’nai Zaken Ethiopian Hebrew Congregation of Chicago, Illinois, as assisted by Rabbis Avraham Ben Israel and Joshua V. Salter...
, of the Alliance of Black Jews
Alliance of Black Jews
The Alliance of Black Jews was an American organization that was started in Chicago, Illinois, in 1995 by a group of African American Jews. At the time, they estimated black Jews in the United States to number about 200,000, or about three percent of the American Jewish population...
, which formed in 1995.
He is married to photojournalist Julia Cheng, and the father of Erin Washington, born in 1980.