Rachel Cargle

{{Short description|American social justice activist, speaker, and author}} {{Infobox person | honorific_prefix = | name = Rachel Elizabeth Cargle | honorific_suffix = | image =  | image_upright = | landscape =  | alt =  | caption = | native_name = | native_name_lang = | pronunciation = | birth_name =  | birth_date =  | birth_place = Green, Ohio, U.S. | baptised =  | education = {{plainlist| *University of Toledo *Columbia University }} | occupation = | years_active = | era = | employer = | organization = | agent =  | known_for = Founder of the Loveland Foundation | notable_works =  | style = | net_worth =  | height =  | television = | title =  | party = | movement = | spouse =  | partner =  | children = | parents =  | mother =  | father =  | relatives = | family = | callsign = | awards = | website = {{URL|https://www.rachelcargle.com/}} | signature = | signature_size = | signature_alt = | footnotes = }}

'''Rachel Cargle''' is an American social justice activist, public speaker, and author.

==Early life and education== Cargle was raised in Green, Ohio by her mother, who has polio. Her father died when she was young.<ref name="Ross">{{cite magazine |last1=Ross |first1=Janell |title=The Radical Joy of Rachel Cargle |url=https://time.com/6278752/rachel-cargle-a-renaissance-of-our-own/ |accessdate=13 August 2023 |magazine=Time |date=11 May 2023}}</ref> Cargle and her mother lived in Section 8 housing in a wealthy suburb, which she stated made her aware of economic differences between herself and her white peers.<ref name="Dirshe">{{cite news |last1=Dirshe |first1=Siraad |title='Dear White Women': The Public Classroom of Rachel Cargle |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2020/06/18/style/self-care/rachel-cargle-anti-racism-ally.html |accessdate=22 June 2020 |work=The New York Times |date=June 18, 2020}}</ref>

After graduating high school, Cargle served in the Air National Guard for six years. She cites her time in the military as making her "more critical about these organizations and not automatically trusting that they're serving the people."<ref name="Justice">{{cite news |last1=Justice |first1=Camryn |title=Voice of change: How Akron native Rachel Cargle became a globally known activist, author and speaker |url=https://www.news5cleveland.com/news/local-news/akron-canton-news/voice-of-change-how-akron-native-rachel-cargle-became-a-globally-known-activist-author-and-speaker |accessdate=13 August 2023 |publisher=WEWS-TV |date=22 April 2021}}</ref>

She attended the University of Toledo for two years, studying anthropology and sociology before moving to Washington, D.C. at the age of 23.<ref name="Ross"/><ref name="Dirshe"/> Cargle later attended Columbia University but decided to leave before graduating in response to an April 2019 incident in which a black male student was followed by university police after declining to present his student identification upon request. Cargle said: “I couldn’t stomach paying the university money anymore.”<ref name="Meltzer">{{cite news |last1=Meltzer |first1=Marissa |title=I Refuse to Listen to White Women Cry |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/magazine/wp/2019/09/11/feature/how-activist-rachel-cargle-built-a-business-by-calling-out-racial-injustices-within-feminism/ |accessdate=22 June 2020 |newspaper=The Washington Post |date=September 11, 2019}}</ref>

==Career and activism== In 2017, a photo of Cargle and her friend holding signs at the 2017 Women's March went viral; Cargle's sign read, "If You Don’t Fight for All Women You Fight for No Women."<ref name="Meltzer"/> The photo brought Cargle national attention and praise for her messaging.<ref name="Justice" />

Cargle began to learn more about feminist issues, and later spoke at several universities with her popular lecture series titled "Unpacking White Feminism". Cargle has fought to promote Intersectionality in her lectures and work."<ref name="Meltzer"/> Layla Saad has stated that Cargle is more willing than some activists to engage in debate and thereby educate her social media followers.<ref name="Meltzer"/> Mainly focused on anti-racism activism, Cargle's Instagram account grew from 355,000 to 1.7 million followers in the years since 2016.<ref name="Dirshe"/>

After a GoFundMe campaign, Cargle founded the ''Loveland Foundation'', a nonprofit organization which works to increase access to therapy for Black women and girls.<ref name="Ross"/><ref name="Valenti">{{cite web |last1=Valenti |first1=Lauren |title=6 Organizations That Support Black Women's Health—And Why the Work They're Doing Is So Essential |url=https://www.vogue.com/article/black-womens-health-support-organizations |website=Vogue |publisher=Condé Nast |accessdate=7 July 2020 |location=The Loveland Foundation |date=24 June 2020}}</ref> Cargle has criticized what she describes as the commodification of wellness.<ref name="grady">{{cite news |last1=Grady |first1=Constance |title=Why the author of Girl, Stop Apologizing had to apologize twice in a week |url=https://www.vox.com/culture/22373865/rachel-hollis-controversy-harriet-tubman-girl-wash-your-face-stop-apologizing-unrelatable |access-date=6 May 2021 |work=Vox}}</ref>

In 2019, Cargle studied at the Brooklyn Institute for Social Research and with Imani Perry of Princeton University.<ref name="Meltzer"/> In 2020 she opened a writing center and bookstore in Akron, Ohio called ''Elizabeth’s Bookshop & Writing Centre.''<ref name="clev19">{{cite news |last1=Nyorkor |first1=Sia |title=The Next 400: Activist & author Rachel Cargle opens bookstore to amplify marginalized voices |url=https://www.cleveland19.com/2020/12/11/next-activist-author-rachel-cargle-opens-bookstore-amplify-marginalized-voices/ |access-date=6 May 2021 |work=Cleveland 19 |date=11 December 2020}}</ref> Cargle has an upcoming book with The Dial Press, examining "the intersection of race, feminism, and womanhood".<ref name="conference">{{cite web |title=Rachel Cargle |url=https://www.maconferenceforwomen.org/speakers/rachel-cargle/ |website=MaConferenceForWomen.org |accessdate=13 August 2023}}</ref> Her work has also been featured in The Washington Post, Glamour Magazine, PopSugar, and Essence.<ref name="Justice" />

For her work educating the public on "matters of racial injustice, systemic racism, feminism, white supremacy, and countless other issue", Cargle was cited by Global Citizen as a notable activist for racial causes in 2020.<ref name="global">{{Cite web |title=14 Racial Justice Activists & Authors You Should Know |url=https://www.globalcitizen.org/en/content/black-activists-authors-us-racial-justice/ |last=McCarthy |first=Joe |website=Global Citizen |date=12 June 2020 |access-date=13 August 2023 |language=en}}</ref>

==Personal life== Cargle is divorced.<ref name="Ross"/>

==Bibliography==

''A Renaissance of Our Own, A Memoir and Manifesto on Reimagining''. Penguin Random House (2023). {{ISBN|9781847926739}}

==References== {{reflist}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Cargle, Rachel}} Category:Living people Category:21st-century African-American women writers Category:21st-century African-American writers Category:21st-century American writers Category:21st-century American women writers Category:American feminists Category:American social justice activists Category:American women activists Category:American women company founders Category:United States Air Force airmen Category:Year of birth missing (living people)