Micah M. White

Micah M. White
Micah White in Chicago, May 2015
Born 1982 (age 35–36)
Milwaukee, Wisconsin
Residence New York City, New York, US
Alma mater
Occupation Activist, author, public speaker
Known for Initiating Occupy Wall Street protests, popularizing the term "clicktivism,"
Notable work The End Of Protest: A New Playbook For Revolution
Website micahmwhite.com

Micah M. White is credited with being the co-creator, and the only American creator, of the idea for the Occupy Wall Street protests.[1][2] In December 2014, Esquire Magazine named White one of the most influential people under 35 years of age.[3] His first book, The End Of Protest: A New Playbook For Revolution, was published by Knopf Canada in 2016.

He is the former editor of Adbusters magazine.[4] He lives in New York, NY[5] and he is the founder of Activist Graduate School.[6] In 2018, White was awarded the Roddenberry Fellowship[7] and Voqal Fellowship. [8]

Biography

White "was born to a Caucasian mother and an African-American father".[2] In middle school, he reportedly refused to stand for the Pledge of Allegiance.[2] He attended Grand Blanc Community High School in Grand Blanc, Michigan. There he started a controversial student atheists club. As part of his experience he published an Op-Ed piece "Atheists Under Siege" in the July 21, 1999 issue of the New York Times. He was also interviewed on Politically Incorrect and received the 1999 Ruth Jokinen Memorial Student Activist Award from the Freedom From Religion Foundation.[9] He earned a B.A. at Swarthmore College[2] and an MA and Ph.D. at the European Graduate School.[5]

At the time of the Occupy Wall Street protests, White was working as a Senior Editor for Adbusters magazine with Occupy Wall Street co-founder Kalle Lasn.[2] As the Occupy Wall Street movement gained momentum, White served as the group's unofficial publicist and was not based in New York.[10] After a group of Occupy Wall Street activists sought to raise funds for the movement by selling posters, White, who had already left Adbusters, used the group's Twitter account to declare support for the sale.[11]

In December 2011, the San Francisco Chronicle called White one of the "most fascinating people in the Bay Area 2011".[12]

Political views

White is in favor of a transaction tax on international financial speculation, the reinstatement of the Glass–Steagall Act and revocation of corporate personhood.[13] He is against advertisement and consumerism.[14] He believes that "clicktivism", which denotes a form of internet-based activism and includes signing online petitions, is damaging to the possibility of political change.[15]

References

  1. ↑ Andrew Fleming, “Adbusters sparks Wall Street protest” Archived 2012-08-30 at WebCite, Vancouver Courier, September 27, 2011. Consulted on November 14, 2011.
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 Schwartz, Mattathias (2011-11-28). "Pre-Occupied. The origins and future of Occupy Wall Street". The New Yorker. Retrieved 2011-11-22.
  3. ↑ Junod, Tom (2014-12-18). "THE ESQUIRE REGISTER: 37 PEOPLE UNDER 35 WHO ARE RESHAPING THE WORLD". Esquire. Retrieved 2014-12-18.
  4. ↑ White, Micah (2013-06-24). "Letter to the People: The Principles of Our War". Occupy Wall Street. Retrieved 2013-08-07.
  5. 1 2 Micah White Biography on personal web site
  6. ↑ Activist Graduate School description on organization web site
  7. ↑ Roddenberry Fellowship announcement
  8. ↑ Voqal Fellowship announcement
  9. ↑ 1999 Recipient--Ruth Jokinen Memorial Student Activist Award acceptance speech by Micah White, Atheist Under Siege Starts Atheist Club, Freethought Today, November 6, 1999
  10. ↑ GRANT MUNROE (March 25, 2016). "Review: Micah White's The End of Protest is brimming with messianic confidence, yet fails to deliver". Globe and Mail. Retrieved April 25, 2016.
  11. ↑ Sarah Weber (December 12, 2011). "Occupy Wall Street feud goes public with Twitter hijacking". SF Gate: San Francisco Chronicle. Retrieved 14 December 2011.
  12. ↑ "Most fascinating people in the Bay Area 2011". SF Gate: San Francisco Chronicle. December 12, 2011. Retrieved 14 December 2011.
  13. ↑ Sira Lazar, “Occupy Wall Street: Interview With Micah White From Adbusters”, Huffington Post, October 7, 2011.
  14. ↑ Micah White's Thought Bubble, junkthought.org. Consulted on November 13, 2011.
  15. ↑ Micah White, Clicktivism is ruining leftist activism, The Guardian, 12 August 2010. Consulted on November 13, 2011. For instance: "In promoting the illusion that surfing the web can change the world, clicktivism is to activism as McDonalds is to a slow-cooked meal."
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