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 Whiteness is 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 currently the Director of Cultural Affairs for the San Francisco Arts Commission. He has extensive professional experience in arts administration and government, and has experience as a director, actor, essayist, playwright and screenwriter. He is the founding producing artistic director of Pillsbury House Theatre in Minneapolis where he is also a former City Council member.Prior to joining the City and County of San Francisco, he served as the Deputy Director for Arts and Culture for the City of Tempe, Arizona. In that role, he was responsible for Tempe Center for the Arts’ comprehensive performance and visual art programming, as well as overseeing public art, the Tempe History Museum, arts engagement and municipal arts granting. He previously served as the former Western Regional Director and Assistant Executive Director for Actors Equity Association in Los Angeles. Prior to that, he was Director of Theater and Musical Theater at the National Endowment for the Arts (NEA) under President Obama in Washington, D.C, where he was the first Black man ever appointed. In 2010, he received the NEA Chairman’s Distinguished Service Award. He holds a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree from Howard University. Ralph Remington currently resides in San Francisco, California.
Remington will be in conversation with Kristal Knight. With over a decade of political experience, Kristal has positioned herself as a premier political operative and commentator. She recently hosted a self-titled podcast with Newsweek discussing relevant political and cultural news and she actively provides commentary on Fox News, News Nation, MSNBC and other outlets. Currently she advises national brands on communication and political strategies. During the 2022 midterm elections she consulted with NAACP, Demos and Faith in Action providing political strategy and training. She served as the political director for Priorities USA during the 2020 cycle, then Biden’s then preferred super pac. As a seasoned campaign operative, Kristal has worked local, state and national elections to help elect progressive candidates across the country. Her most impactful work involved helping women in her home state run and get elected to office when she ran Emerge Tennessee. In 2019 she founded and currently chairs a voting rights non-profit, Organize Tennessee, which shows her commitment to democracy and her home state. She completed her master’s degree in International Public Policy from University College London (UCL) and graduated from Howard University with a BA in Journalism.