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William Upski Wimsatt

Goodreads Author

Born

in Chicago, IL, The United States

Genre

Politics

Member Since

September 2010

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William Wimsatt, also known as Billy or Upski, is a social entrepreneur, author, political activist, and former graffiti artist. Wimsatt is founder of the League of Young Voters, co-founder of Generational Alliance and the author or editor of six books.

Wimsatt was born in Chicago, attended the University of Chicago Laboratory Schools, received his High School diploma from Whitney M. Young Magnet High School, and dropped out of Oberlin College. His father is a philosophy of science professor at the University of Chicago (William C. Wimsatt). Wimsatt uses "Upski" as his middle name, but it is really the tag he used to write graffiti while growing up in Chicago.

Wimsatt's first book was Bomb The Suburbs (1994), a collection of essays celebratin William Wimsatt, also known as Billy or Upski, is a social entrepreneur, author, political activist, and former graffiti artist. Wimsatt is founder of the League of Young Voters, co-founder of Generational Alliance and the author or editor of six books.

Wimsatt was born in Chicago, attended the University of Chicago Laboratory Schools, received his High School diploma from Whitney M. Young Magnet High School, and dropped out of Oberlin College. His father is a philosophy of science professor at the University of Chicago (William C. Wimsatt). Wimsatt uses "Upski" as his middle name, but it is really the tag he used to write graffiti while growing up in Chicago.

Wimsatt's first book was Bomb The Suburbs (1994), a collection of essays celebrating urban life and critiquing the suburban mindset. The essay "We Use Words Like Mackadocious", previously printed in The Source (May 1993), celebrated and critiqued the wigger subculture. Wimsatt released No More Prisons (1999), referencing urbanism and the prison-industrial complex, in conjunction with an underground hip-hop album on Raptivism Records. Along with editing the books Another World is Possible (2001) and Future 500: Youth Organizing and Activism in the United States (2003), Wimsatt co-edited How To Get Stupid White Men Out Of Office (2004), a collection of stories from youth organizers around the world who won or swung elections. His latest book is Please Don't Bomb The Suburbs.

Wimsatt founded the League of Young Voters (2003) and co-founded the Generational Alliance (2005). As a philanthropic consultant, he coined the term "Cool Rich Kids" (1999) to refer to young progressive philanthropists associated with the organization Resource Generation. He has consulted for dozens of organizations including Rock The Vote, MoveOn.org, and Green For All. He is currently a Fellow at the Movement Strategy Center directing The Field 3.0 Project, a dialogue and documentation effort to drive innovation in field organizing. He also runs Vote Again 2010, to mobilize young voters in swing states. ...more

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William Upski Wimsatt’s books

Average rating: 3.84 · 2,013 ratings · 138 reviews · 5 distinct works • Similar authors

	Bomb the Suburbs: Graffiti, Race, Freight-Hopping and the Search for Hip Hop's Moral Center 3.89 avg rating — 1,199 ratings — published 1995 — 17 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	No More Prisons: Urban Life, Home-Schooling, Hip-Hop Leadership, the Cool Rich Kids Movement, a Hitchhiker's Guide to Community Organzing, and Why Philanthropy is the Greatest Art Form of the 21st Century! 3.78 avg rating — 658 ratings — published 1999 — 14 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Please Don't Bomb the Suburbs: A Midterm Report on My Generation and the Future of Our Super Movement 3.87 avg rating — 92 ratings — published 2010 — 6 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	How to Get Stupid White Men Out of Office: The Anti-Politics, Un-Boring Guide to Power by Adrienne Maree Brown (Editor), William Upski Wimsatt (Goodreads Author) (Editor), Bouapha Toommaly (Contributor) 3.58 avg rating — 64 ratings — published 2004 — 6 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	No More Prisons 0.00 avg rating — 0 ratings	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars

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Quotes by William Upski Wimsatt (?)

“There were no sex classes. No friendship classes. No classes on how to navigate a bureaucracy, build an organization, raise money, create a database, buy a house, love a child, spot a scam, talk someone out of suicide, or figure out what was important to me. Not knowing how to do these things is what messes people up in life, not whether they know algebra or can analyze literature.”
― William Upski Wimsatt

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“Read not for the facts but for the angles of thinking.”
― William Upski Wimsatt, Bomb the Suburbs: Graffiti, Race, Freight-Hopping and the Search for Hip Hop's Moral Center

tags: books

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