Robin Washington facts for kids

Robin Washington is an American journalist and filmmaker. He was born in Chicago in 1956. As a journalist and editor, he worked for newspapers in Boston and Duluth, Minnesota. He also worked for NPR, a public radio network. Robin Washington has made movies about the civil rights movement and the lives of African Americans in the United States.

In 1995, he helped start a group called the National Conference of Black Jews. This group was later named the Alliance of Black Jews. Its goal was to connect all African-American Jews, who belong to many different groups.

Early Life of Robin Washington

Robin Washington has a mixed-race background. His father, Atlee Washington, was African-American. His mother, Jean Birkenstein Washington, was Jewish and of European-American descent.

Robin Washington's Career

One of Robin Washington's most important works is a 1995 PBS documentary. It is called You Don't Have to Ride Jim Crow!. This film tells the story of the Journey of Reconciliation. This was the very first Freedom Ride. In 1947, white and Black people traveled together through the southern U.S. They wanted to challenge segregation. Segregation was a system that kept Black and white people separate. This ride happened after the United States Supreme Court ruled in 1946 that segregation on buses and trains traveling between states was against the law.

Before this, Washington also made a documentary called Vermont: The Whitest State in the Union. This film was about African Americans living in Vermont.

From 1993 to 1996, he was a managing editor for the Bay State Banner. This was an African-American newspaper in Boston. From 1996 to 2004, he worked at the Boston Herald newspaper. There, he wrote a column about shopping and transportation. He often talked about these topics on national TV news shows.

In 2004, Washington became the editor of the opinion pages for the Duluth News Tribune in Minnesota. In January 2010, he was promoted to editor of the entire newspaper. He left the paper in February 2014.

In April 2021, Robin Washington became a new Editor-at-Large for The Forward. This important role helps to share and highlight many different voices.

He also works as a radio commentator for National Public Radio. He has been a writer, editor, and publisher for several other publications too.

Other Work and Groups

Washington helped start the National Conference of Black Jews in 1995. He co-founded it with Michelle Stein-Evers and Rabbi Capers C. Funnye Jr..