Wynne, W. E. (Bill): - Bill Wynne is retired and a white antiracist activist in the Rochester, New York, area. A first-time author of Understanding and Combating Racism: My Path from Oblivious American to Evolving Activist, the foundation of Wynne's experiential insights in this memoir is premised on the human networks and friendships he developed in his business career and then his subsequent work in the nonprofit sector for many years. This was further complemented through extensive decades-long engagement and leadership roles with many church and community organizations. Bill's social and racial justice activism is a lived example demonstrating the importance and power of diverse and meaningful relationships which is one of the key through lines of his memoir.Raised Catholic by second generation German and Irish parents and the oldest of six siblings, Bill had a full array of Catholic education from the Sisters of St. Joseph in elementary school, to the Jesuits in high school, and then the Franciscans in college. He eventually received his MBA at the more secular University of Rochester during his over thirty-year career in telecommunications. Before moving on to the nonprofit sector for ten years, he walked the 500-mile-long pilgrimage in northern Spain known as the Camino de Santiago. The physical, mental, and spiritual challenges he faced during this month-long trek were complicated by the timing ... departing ten days after "9/11" and returning shortly after the bombing of Afghanistan, the beginning of a twenty-year war.After retiring in 2014, Bill immediately began searching for ways to be more "hands-on' with social and racial justice activism as well as to broaden his knowledge about racism. He read countless books and led book reviews, attended scores of programs and conferences, and got educated on the disturbing racial history of this country that was not taught when he was growing up.The timing could not have been better given the tragic Mr. Michael Brown police killing in St. Louis that year, then the political transition from a Black to white President, the many resulting tragic impacts during that shift from the incident in Charlottesville, to the Mr. George Floyd murder, and the Capitol insurrection to name just three. With his knowledge deepened, Bill got more active by developing several racism awareness programs and antiracism advocacy. Eventually by mid-2020, the "call" for Bill to tell his story came at him in several ways and he was