Passing the Torch describes the remarkable achievements of public university students from marginalized populations who transcend oppression and poverty to become powerful leaders for social justice. Ruth and Bill Goldman drew upon their expertise in mental health and higher education to launch a scholarship program in the San Francisco Bay Area which provides assistance to people of color, recent immigrants and others from marginalized populations, in order to help them become leaders for social change. In addition to tuition assistance, they offer a package of wrap around benefits to replicate the support higher income students receive from their families. To date, every single participant graduated from college and more than seventy percent earned graduate degrees from prestigious universities. Ruth Goldman’s personal story as a Holocaust survivor and Bill’s as the grandson of Jewish refugees who fled discrimination inform the program and draw a parallel to the plight of modern day refugees and the disenfranchised seeking opportunity in the United States today. Passing the Torch shows how the New Leader Scholars overcome poverty and discrimination in order to acquire an education while sustaining their idealism as they strive to achieve greater equity and justice for all.
