On March 12, 2015, Leonard Zeskind conducted a workshop on the Tea Party movement, its manifestly false sense that they had been dispossessed of their control of the nation, and the racism that infects much of the movement. Zeskind then developed a seven-step program for stopping the Tea Party movement. About 100 people from all over the country participated in the workshop, filling up the room, sitting and standing along the walls after all the seats had been taken. Zeskind’s talk was very well-received. More than 1,500 people attended conference, with dozens of workshops over three days and periodic keynote talks.
Loretta Ross
On a different occasion, Loretta Ross, an IREHR advisory board member, received much applause and laughter during her keynote speech to the entire assembly on fighting white supremacy.
It should be noted that this conference on white privilege, which was in its 16th year, has received much negative attention and hate mail from conservatives and racists. This year, a writer for one of the ultra-conservative websites sneaked into Zeskind’s workshop and wrote about it. As a result, IREHR has received a number of hateful and threatening emails since the conference.
