History and mission

Building on three decades of experience in the anti-racism field with dozens of organizations and institutions across the country, our trainings offer fresh, engaging, and timely resources for the demands of this challenging moment. Online tools can be done anywhere - in office or remotely.

As the racial justice events of 2020 unfolded, Dr. Tobin Miller Shearer was inundated with calls to provide training resources and consulting as groups began to take seriously the work of dismantling racism in their own institution. The BIPOC (Black, Indigenous, and People of Color) community around him has asked him to step up and offer guidance and training resources to support anti-racist change efforts in predominantly white institutions.

We are a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization as designated by the IRS.

In August 2020, our majority BIPOC board approved the following mission statement:

To provide anti-racism training and consultation to predominantly White institutions in both online and in person formats. At least fifty percent of all net funds raised will be donated to BIPOC (Black, Indigenous, and People of Color)-led anti-racism groups.

MEET OUR BOARD

  • Jill Hurst-Wahl

    EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR

    Jill is a consultant, business owner, educator, writer, speaker, professional librarian, and friend. She has been in integral part of the audit processes at Widerstand. Jill enjoys working with others and collaborating, especially when it leads to growth in a person or an organization. Jill focuses on recognizing what can hold an organization back, and how it relates to its staff and to the community it serves.

    For much more information on Jill's career, look at her CV.

  • Tobin Miller Shearer

    FOUNDER

    An award-winning teacher, widely published scholar, and skilled anti-racism trainer, Dr. Shearer is noted for the enthusiasm, depth of experience, and passion for the work of dismantling racism that he brings to all his training resources. He offers his clients deep knowledge, a sense of humor, and a commitment to excellence. Along with Regina Shands Stoltzfus, he is the co-founder of the Damascus Road anti-racism process.

    For more about his speaking, writing, and teaching see his CV.

  • MICHELLE ARMSTER

    BOARD MEMBER - CHAIR

    Michelle is the Executive Director for Mennonite Central Committee (MCC) Central States. Previously, Michelle worked for MCC for 12 years. During her employment, she was the director of Mennonite Conciliation Service (MCS) and co-director for the Office on Justice and Peacebuilding (OJP). In her positions, she provided resourcing, consulting, and training for churches, agencies, and communities on conflict transformation and restorative justice.

  • FELIPE HINOJOSA

    BOARD MEMBER - SECRETARY

    Felipe is an Associate Professor of History and Director of the Carlos H. Cantu Hispanic Education & Opportunity Endowment at Texas A&M University. He is the author of two books, Latino Mennonites: Civil Rights, Faith, and Evangelical Culture (John Hopkins University Press, 2014) and Apostles of Change: Latino Radical Politics, Church Occupations, and the Fight to Save the Barrio (University of Texas Press, 2021).

  • CHERYL MILLER SHEARER

    BOARD MEMBER - TREASURER

    Cheryl is a partner to Tobin and a mother to two sons. She has worked as a nurse for the past 23 years and brings more than thirty years’ worth of conversations, deliberations, and insight about the practical application of anti-racism.  She has lived in Louisiana, Pennsylvania, Illinois, and now Montana but will always call Iowa home.

The word “widerstand” - German for “resistance” - was chosen to honor our founder’s family history and to evoke the idea of a wider stand against racism, captured so beautifully in the logo developed by Liz Song Mandell. We also honor the anti-racist white caucus members who used the same name for our group in the late 1990s.