I suspect well under 40 at the time, an “activist”, but won’t bother to look his age up. All kinds of action at the time. I don’t disagree with your assessment, if he wanted be dead back in the day it’s best we didn’t meat, maybe I shouldn’t have posted his poem. But His thought at the time, relevant to the topic. Hope he’s changed.
He converted to Judaism. He’s now a Jew-boy with a yarmulke on his head. That’s certainly evidence of change. I have to eat breakfast right now, but I think I might google him later. Thank you for posting that poem.
Wikipedia:
Born on January 27, 1939, in St. Louis, Missouri, Julius Lester is the son of Rev. W.D. Lester, a Methodist minister, and Julia (Smith) Lester. The family moved to Kansas City, Kansas in 1941, and to Nashville, Tennessee,in 1952. In 1960 he received his BA from Fisk University in Nashville, Tennessee with a major in English and minors in Art and Spanish.[2]
In 1961 he moved to New York City where he married Joan Steinau. They had two children, Jody Simone (1965) and Malcolm Coltrane (1967). The couple divorced in 1970. Malcolm Lester coaches lacrosse and teaches English at St. Albans School in Washington DC.[3]
So in 1968 he was 28 or 29.
.....
In 1982, Lester converted to Judaism. At the age of seven, he had learned that his maternal great-grandfather was a German Jew, Aldolph Altschul, who had lived in Pine Bluff, Arkansas, where, every summer, Lester visited his grandmother, one of Adolph’s daughters.[citation needed] Lester recounts the story of his spiritual odyssey to Judaism in his book Lovesong. From 1988 to 1991, he was one of the cantors for Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur services at Congregation B’nai Israel, in Northampton, Mass.[citation needed] In 1992 he became lay leader of Beth El Synagogue in St. Johnsbury, Vermont, until resigning in 2006.[citation needed]
[edit]Creative endeavors
This biographical section of an article needs additional citations for verification. Please help by adding reliable sources. Contentious material about living persons that is unsourced or poorly sourced must be removed immediately, especially if potentially libelous or harmful. (January 2011)
Since 1968 Lester has written 43 books: 8 nonfiction, 30 children’s books, one book of poetry and photographs (with David Gahr), and three adult novels. His very first book was an instructional book on how to play the 12-string guitar, co-authored with Pete Seeger. Among the awards his books have received are the Newbery Honor, Boston-Globe Horn Book Award, Coretta Scott King Award, National Book Award finalist, ALA Notable Book, National Jewish Book Award finalist, National Book Critics Circle Honor Book, and the New York Times Outstanding Book Award. His books have been translated into 10 languages.[citation needed]
So in 1982, 14 years after reading Hey, Jew Boy! on WBAI, when he converted, he was about 43. Quite an odd-issey.
Wikipedia:
Born on January 27, 1939, in St. Louis, Missouri, Julius Lester is the son of Rev. W.D. Lester, a Methodist minister, and Julia (Smith) Lester. The family moved to Kansas City, Kansas in 1941, and to Nashville, Tennessee,in 1952. In 1960 he received his BA from Fisk University in Nashville, Tennessee with a major in English and minors in Art and Spanish.[2]
In 1961 he moved to New York City where he married Joan Steinau. They had two children, Jody Simone (1965) and Malcolm Coltrane (1967). The couple divorced in 1970. Malcolm Lester coaches lacrosse and teaches English at St. Albans School in Washington DC.[3]
So in 1968 he was 28 or 29.
.....
In 1982, Lester converted to Judaism. At the age of seven, he had learned that his maternal great-grandfather was a German Jew, Aldolph Altschul, who had lived in Pine Bluff, Arkansas, where, every summer, Lester visited his grandmother, one of Adolph’s daughters.[citation needed] Lester recounts the story of his spiritual odyssey to Judaism in his book Lovesong. From 1988 to 1991, he was one of the cantors for Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur services at Congregation B’nai Israel, in Northampton, Mass.[citation needed] In 1992 he became lay leader of Beth El Synagogue in St. Johnsbury, Vermont, until resigning in 2006.[citation needed]
[edit]Creative endeavors
This biographical section of an article needs additional citations for verification. Please help by adding reliable sources. Contentious material about living persons that is unsourced or poorly sourced must be removed immediately, especially if potentially libelous or harmful. (January 2011)
Since 1968 Lester has written 43 books: 8 nonfiction, 30 children’s books, one book of poetry and photographs (with David Gahr), and three adult novels. His very first book was an instructional book on how to play the 12-string guitar, co-authored with Pete Seeger. Among the awards his books have received are the Newbery Honor, Boston-Globe Horn Book Award, Coretta Scott King Award, National Book Award finalist, ALA Notable Book, National Jewish Book Award finalist, National Book Critics Circle Honor Book, and the New York Times Outstanding Book Award. His books have been translated into 10 languages.[citation needed]
So in 1982, 14 years after reading Hey, Jew Boy! on WBAI, when he converted, he was about 43. Quite an odd-issey.