Social Justice Leadership in Action: The Case of Tony Stewart

Abstract

Reflecting on the 140th anniversary of the Fourteenth Amendment (ratified July, 1868), this qualitative case study described a response by educator-activist Tony Stewart to the Aryan Nations, a neo-Nazi hate group that attempted to intimidate Stewart’s community, Coeur d’ Alene, Idaho, between 1972-2000. Stewart galvanized community response using a social justice agenda. We interviewed Stewart and essential community members, and examined legal documents, articles, and documentaries. Findings indicated Stewart’s leadership of public education and response via an anti-racism task force reduced and then defeated the group’s viability. Educational practices included strategic planning and community outreach. The study revealed a social justice response to hate groups that educators and community leaders potentially can replicate in similar situations. This article was originally published in the Journal of Ethnographic and Qualitative Research, 3(4), pp. 205-217.

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