William DiFazio (April 7, 1947 - March 2020) was an American professor of sociology at St. John’s University and does research in work and technology, urban sociology, social theory. He is the author of several books and articles on domestic and global poverty, including his latest, '' Ordinary Poverty: A Little Food and Cold Storage''. He is also co-host and co-producer of the radio show, City Watch on

WBAI WBAI (99.5 FM) is a non-commercial, listener-supported radio station licensed to New York, New York. Its programming is a mixture of political news, talk and opinion from a left-leaning, liberal or progressive viewpoint, and eclectic music. ...

99.5 FM. He earned his PhD in Sociology at the CUNY Graduate Center in 1981.

Activism

DiFazio was involved in community activism for many decades. He participated in many groups and organizations during the American Civil Rights Movement in the 1960s including Students for a Democratic Society (SDS) and The

Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee The Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee (SNCC, often pronounced ) was the principal channel of student commitment in the United States to the civil rights movement during the 1960s. Emerging in 1960 from the student-led sit-ins at segrega ...

(SNCC). An active voice in the fight against hunger, he was on the board of directors for the Hunger Action Network of New York State since 2000 and was on the board of directors for the St. John's Bread and Life Soup Kitchen of

Brooklyn Brooklyn () is a borough of New York City, coextensive with Kings County, in the U.S. state of New York. Kings County is the most populous county in the State of New York, and the second-most densely populated county in the United States, be ...

from 1994 to 2008.

Honors and awards

In 2007, DiFazio's book, ''Ordinary Poverty'', was nominated for the Harry Chapin Media Award, which honors print and electronic media for outstanding coverage on hunger and poverty. He served as Chair Elect (2006–2007) and Chair (2007–2008) of the Marxist Section of the

American Sociological Association The American Sociological Association (ASA) is a non-profit organization dedicated to advancing the discipline and profession of sociology. Founded in December 1905 as the American Sociological Society at Johns Hopkins University by a group of fif ...

. In 2008, he received a Community Activist of the Year award from The People's Firehouse, Inc., a community-based, nonprofit organization in

Other activities

Along with his academic scholarship and authorship at

St. John's University St John's University may refer to: *St. John's University (New York City) **St. John's University School of Law **St. John's University (Italy) - Overseas Campus *College of Saint Benedict and Saint John's University, St. Joseph, Minnesota and Col ...

, DiFazio taught the texts of

Karl Marx Karl Heinrich Marx (; 5 May 1818 – 14 March 1883) was a German philosopher, economist, historian, sociologist, political theorist, journalist, critic of political economy, and socialist revolutionary. His best-known titles are the 1848 ...

at the

Brecht Forum The Brecht Forum was an independent Marxist educational and cultural center in Brooklyn, New York, named after German writer Bertolt Brecht. Throughout the years, the Forum offered a wide-ranging program of classes, public lectures and seminars, ...

in New York City. He was a co-producer and co-host of the show City Watch on local radio station

99.5 FM since March 2000. Along of a core group of intellectuals and local activists, he contributed to the journal ''Situations'', co-founded by

Stanley Aronowitz Stanley Aronowitz (January 6, 1933 – August 16, 2021) was a professor of sociology, cultural studies, and urban education at the CUNY Graduate Center. He was also a veteran political activist and cultural critic, an advocate for organized labo ...

. He is also a contributor and member of the Fifteenth Street Manifesto Group, which has created and circulated a ''Manifesto for a Left Turn'' which calls for a radical, political formation.http://manifesto15.org/ At the time of his death, he was researching and writing his book, ''Conversations in Diners: Ordinary People and the Crisis in Capitalism.''

Family life

DiFazio was originally from

and lives there with his wife, Susanna Heller, a painter. He has one daughter, Liegia DiFazio, a lawyer.

Works and Essays by William DiFazio

An excerpt of Chapter 1 in Ordinary Poverty: A Little Food and Cold Storage

References

External links

* ttp://vincenter.org/99/difazio.html/ The Vincentian Center: Is Poverty Permanent?
City Watch - WBAI
{{DEFAULTSORT:Difazio, William American sociologists American political writers American male non-fiction writers American Marxists Living people 1947 births