Stuart Barenbaum was born on April 28^th, 1954, in Philadelphia, the Cradle of Liberty, where the Constitution and Declaration of Independence were penned. His ancestors hail from Kyiv, and thus, he has an ancestral link to social justice insofar as the Ukraine fought both the Tzar and the Soviet Union. He was involved in social movements of the 1960s, protesting the Vietnam War, racism, and injustice. He supported movements like the Black Panthers and was an enthusiastic member of Students for a Democratic Society (SDS). He was also part of the youth counterculture and hitched rides to rock festivals ‘jumping’ from one car to another searching for community and truth. 

As a writer, Stuart released The Dragon of Beijing in 1989, a poetry pamphlet about Chinese student agitation, and The Rite of Liberte in 1992, a dramatic work about the revolution in France. After finishing school, Stuart did social work assisting homeless youth in Covenant House, and ended his working years helping elderly people in low-income residences. His life and work are all about justice, community, and humanity.