ACTIVIST SPOTLIGHT: BRIAN NEWBERG

I am a retired Associate Professor and Theatre Director at Kent State University at Stark in Ohio. I was blessed to have a long and wonderful career in higher education and theatre spanning many years. I strongly believe in the importance of education and the arts to help shape our world in a progressive and caring manner. My political/social activism goes back to the 1960s, and the Civil Rights and anti-Vietnam War movements. 

This was later followed by involvement in various human rights movements and organizations, including helping refugees (i.e.- the Sanctuary Movement of the 1980s). My later embrace of theatre and teaching included working on theatre productions that included strong political/social themes. This included work as a theatre director, and I often selected plays and projects reflecting important topics. 

After retiring, I have maintained involvement in freelance volunteer work (elections, helping immigrants learn English) and organizations such as the Workers Circle, with whom I greatly value participating in the First Friday meetings. These meetings provide an important forum for current political discussions and a nice social environment where activists get to interact.

 I have included a few photos, including: a theatre "head shot," a nice thank you from the Human Rights Campaign, a group shot of local Democratic Party activists (including yours truly) in a past election campaign, and some of my wonderful former students who came to see me act in the play "Proof" at Kent State Stark after I had retired there. Seeing my former students moving on with their lives means a great deal to me.