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Kristina Rizga is an editor and publisher of the online Wiretap magazine. This essay is excerpted with permission from "Top 10 Youth Activism Victories in 2007."

Matthew Halpern is lucky enough to teach kindergarten. He left his former profession as a computer programmer and the hustle and bustle of the corporate world eight years ago to pursue his dream of teaching. Receiving his teaching certification through The University of Southern Maine’s alternative certification program ETEP, he then went on to earn his master’s in literacy education. His work in the classroom inspires his reflective writing.

Robert L. Reece is an assistant professor in the sociology department at the University of Texas at Austin, where his research revolves around the question "What is race?" as well as inquiries into the historical origins of racial inequality, colorism/skin tone stratification and racial fluidity. He received his PhD in sociology from Duke University, and he is from Leland, Mississippi, a small town in the heart of the Mississippi Delta.

Trevor Barton received his BA in English at UNC Chapel Hill and his MAT at Converse College. He teaches at an inner-city elementary school in Greenville, S.C.

Brandi Neal is a freelance writer based in Portland, Maine. She is the editor and co-founder of The Blue Room, a photography-driven documentary arts publication profiling life in Southern Maine.

Francesina R. Jackson has worked as an administrator in teacher education programs. She has served as an evaluator with the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Colleges.

Rebecca S. Bigler, Ph.D., is an associate professor of psychology at the University of Texas at Austin. Her research interests are social cognition in children, gender role development and racial stereotyping.

Matthew Swoveland is an educator at Roca, an organization that works with very high risk young people in Chelsea, Mass. He is passionate about education as a key element in the reintegration of young people after gang involvement and incarceration. He has taught everything from classical Greek tragedy to a history of cheese in the western world. Above all, he believes in the power of relationships to transform the ways we process information, build meaning, and relate with others.

Bob Blaisdell is a professor of English at City University of New York's Kingsborough Community College. He received his undergraduate degree and his Ph.D. in English from the University of California, Santa Barbara.