Rebecca Walker Biography
Rebecca Walker is an American feminist, activist, and writer who was born Rebecca Leventhal on November 17, 1969. Since writing an essay titled “Becoming the Third Wave” in Ms. magazine in 1992, Walker has been recognized as one of the leading voices of Third Wave Feminism and the one who coined the phrase “third wave.” In the article, Walker mentioned, “I am the Third Wave.”
Rebecca Walker Age, Birthday
Walker is 54 years old, born November 17, 1969, in Jackson, Mississippi, the United States of America. She commemorates her birthday every year on 17 November as well.
Rebecca Walker Height: Measurements
Regarding Rebecca Walker, her height and body measurements are not commonly publicized in mainstream sources. However, she appears moderately tall with an average body weight.
Rebecca Walker Education
Walker was a student at San Francisco’s Urban School. She attended Yale University after high school, where she earned a cum laude degree in 1992. ALSO READ: Naomi Klein
Rebecca Walker Parents, Brothers & Sisters | Rebecca Walker Alice Walker | Family
Her parents are African-American novelist Alice Walker, whose works include The Color Purple, and Jewish American civil rights attorney Melvyn R. Leventhal. 1969 saw the birth of Rebecca Leventhal in Jackson, Mississippi. Her parents moved to Mississippi to work in the civil rights movement after getting married in New York.
Walker’s early years were divided every two years between her mother’s predominantly African-American upbringing in San Francisco and her father’s house in the predominantly Jewish Riverdale neighborhood of the Bronx in New York City following their divorce in 1976. Walker’s 2000 memoir Black, White, and Jewish: Autobiography of a Shifting Self describes her identity as Black, White, and Jewish.
Rebecca Walker Black, White and Jewish
Walker, whose parents were involved in the Civil Rights Movement in the later years, discusses her early years in Mississippi in her memoir Black, White, and Jewish: Autobiography of a Shifting Self, published in 2000. She also talks about growing up with two parents who lead busy lives, which she thinks contributed to their divorce.
Further, She talks about experiencing racial discrimination and the challenges of being mixed-race in a country where there are strong cultural barriers. She talks about coming to terms with her sexuality and her identity as a bisexual woman as well.
Rebecca Walker Partner| Personal Life
Walker describes herself as bisexual. She dated Meshell Ndegeocello, a neo-soul performer, and continued to assist with raising her kid even after their relationship ended.
She and her ex-partner, Buddhist instructor Choyin Rangdrol, had a son in 2004.
After first growing apart from her mother, Alice Walker, she made amends with her and the two have since shared appearances at literary gatherings.
Rebecca Walker Son
Rebecca Walker has a son named Tenzin, born in 2004. She has written about her experiences with motherhood and the challenges she faced balancing her career and personal life. In her book Baby Love: Choosing Motherhood After a Lifetime of Ambivalence, she reflects on the journey of becoming a mother and the emotional complexities that came with raising her son. Tenzin’s father is Glen, a Tibetan man who became a significant part of her life.
Her 2007 memoir Baby Love: Choosing Motherhood After A Lifetime of Ambivalence explores her life with a stepson and biological son against a framework of feminism. Adopted parents boycotted Walker’s work when she expressed stigmatizing opinions on biological parenthood being superior to adopted parenthood.
Rebecca Walker’s Net Worth
Rebecca Walker, the renowned feminist, activist, and writer, has an estimated net worth of $13 million as of 2024. She gained recognition for her pivotal work in Third Wave Feminism, particularly through her essay “Becoming the Third Wave.”
Rebecca Walker Feminism | Third Wave
She co-founded the Third Wave Fund, a nonprofit organization that encourages young women to engage in activism and leadership roles, with Shannon Liss (now Shannon Liss-Riordan) upon her graduation from Yale University. According to Walker’s article, the organization’s original goal was to “mobilize young people to become more involved socially and politically in their communities and to fill a void in young women’s leadership.”
The organization launched a campaign in its first year of operation that resulted in the registration of over 20,000 new voters nationwide. The charity now provides funds to individuals and projects that empower young women.
The fund continues to assist young activists even after it was renamed The Third Wave Foundation in 1997. Following the US presidential election in November 2016, the organization got around four times as many requests for emergency assistance as usual.
Rebecca Walker Becoming the Third Wave
Since writing an essay titled “Becoming the Third Wave” in Ms. magazine in 1992, Walker has been recognized as one of the leading voices of Third Wave Feminism and the person who first used the term “third wave.” In the article, Walker uttered, “I am the Third Wave.”
Rebecca Walker Books | Major Works
Walker’s first significant publication was the 1996 book To Be Real: Telling the Truth and Changing the Face of Feminism, which was an edited and compiled collection of her writings. The book examined the then-existing feminist movement.
Reviewer Emilie Fale, an assistant professor of communication at Ithaca College, said of it, “As they navigate the turbulent waters of gender roles, identity politics, and “power feminism,” the twenty-three contributors to To Be Real offer a variety of perspectives and experiences that challenge our stereotypes of feminist beliefs.”
This book, which is a compilation of “personal testimonies,” demonstrates how third-wave activists utilize personal accounts to discuss their encounters with gender and social inequality. Feminist authors like Naomi Wolf and Bell Hooks have contributed. Walker’s website states that gender studies courses all across the world have taught this book.
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Walker, whose parents were involved in the Civil Rights Movement in the later years, discusses her early years in Mississippi in her memoir Black, White, and Jewish: Autobiography of a Shifting Self, published in 2000. Additionally, she talks about growing up with two parents who lead busy lives, which she thinks contributed to their divorce.
Walker talks about experiencing racial discrimination and the challenges of being mixed-race in a country where there are strong cultural barriers. Moreover, she talks about coming to terms with her sexuality and her identity as a bisexual woman as well.
Her 2007 memoir Baby Love: Choosing Motherhood After A Lifetime of Ambivalence explores her life with a stepson and biological son against a framework of feminism. Adopted parents boycotted Walker’s work when she expressed stigmatizing opinions on biological parenthood being superior to adopted parenthood.
Walker spent many years as a contributing editor for Ms. magazine. Numerous magazines, including Harper’s, Essence, Interview, Glamour, Buddhadharma, Child, Mademoiselle, and Vibe, have published her writing. She has been featured in numerous magazines, including Esquire, Shambhala Sun, Chicago Times, New York Times, and MTV. Walker has conducted writing workshops at conferences across the world and in MFA programs. She is a private publishing consultant as well.
2013 saw the publication of her debut book, Adé: A Love Story. In it, a black Kenyan man named Adé and a mixed-race college student named Farida fall in love. When Farida contracts malaria and the two are forced to fight through a civil war in Kenya, their plans to get married are derailed. Both laypeople and critics regarded the book favorably overall.
Why did Rebecca Walker change her name?
She took the decision to adopt her mother’s last name, Walker, at the age of 15. She had previously gone by Leventhal.
Rebecca Walker changed her name to reflect both her personal identity and heritage. Born Rebecca Leventhal, she adopted her mother’s surname, “Walker,” to honor her mother, Alice Walker, the famous author of The Color Purple. This name change was also a symbol of her connection to her African American heritage, as her father, Mel Leventhal, is of Jewish descent. By adopting “Walker,” she sought to align with her mother’s legacy and assert her own identity as a feminist and activist.
Does Rebecca Walker have children?
She and her ex-partner, Buddhist instructor Choyin Rangdrol, had a son in 2004. She dated Meshell Ndegeocello, a neo-soul performer, and continued to assist with raising her kid even after their relationship ended.
Where does Rebecca Walker live now?
Rebecca Walker, the American feminist, activist, and writer, currently resides in Los Angeles, California. This information aligns with her involvement in various public initiatives and her established presence in cultural discourse.
Who is the famous Third Wave feminist?
Since writing an essay titled “Becoming the Third Wave” in Ms. magazine in 1992. Moreover, Walker has been recognized as one of the leading voices of Third-Wave Feminism. The person who first used the term “third wave.” In the article, Walker voiced, “I am the Third Wave.” SUGGESTED: Margie Ellisor