Denise Webb, 20, is a CoGenerate Senior Fellow. She’s a student at Berry College and a seasoned activist, working with organizations including United Way, Partnership for Southern Equity and The Sunrise Movement. She is the co-author of Why Aren’t We Doing This!...
Purpose Prize
The Latest from CoGenerate
What Young Leaders Want — And Don’t Want — From Older Allies
We know from our nationally representative study with NORC at the University of Chicago in 2022 that 76% of Gen Z and 70% of Millennial respondents wish they had more opportunities to work across generations for change. In a new report, What Young Leaders Want — And...
Two Oscar-winning Films Shine a Light on Intergenerational Connection
Despite the ongoing drumbeat of generational conflict (a hate story), right in front of us is evidence of a new narrative of cross-generational connection and collaboration (a love story). That love story was on full display at the Grammys, most visibly in the Tracy...
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William Raspberry (1935 – 2012)
Purpose Prize Fellow 2006
Empowering parents to be their children’s most effective teachers
Bill Raspberry climbed far from his roots in the small town of Okolona, Mississippi to become a Pulitzer Prize winning columnist for the Washington Post. He is also a professor at Duke University. Critical to his success, he says, were his parents, who emphasized the value of education, persistence, and high standards. He grew up on the campus of the all-black Okolona College. Raspberry has now returned to his Okolona roots to give kids there the same boost he had received. To address a high school drop-out rate of 58 percent, Raspberry, 71, created Baby Steps based on two beliefs: that parents are their children’s most effective teachers and that low-income parents, many of whom feel ill-equipped to teach their children, can be taught to better prepare their kids for success – through talking, reading, and by finding teachable moments every day. Baby Steps now focuses on empowering parents of children from birth to age five. Led by a local P.T.A president and a former teacher, the program serves 25 families. Parents meet weekly to learn teaching techniques and to work on educational projects such as baby mobiles and flash cards. Baby Steps, which initially operated from borrowed space in churches and day-care centers, recently acquired its own building.