Max Specktor was born on March 3, 1989 to parents Maj-Britt Syse and Mordecai Specktor. Living in Minneapolis all his life, Max has always felt the importance of family and friends, and to this day strongly values his home and community.

Growing up, he was taught to question everything and to always stand up for what he believes. On the eve of the Iraq war he walked out of his 8th grade classroom, and throughout high school continued to organize
walkouts against the war and did counter-recruitment organizing around the city.

At the age of 17, Max attended some conflict resolution workshops put on by Friends for a Non-Violent World, where he discovered that the ways in which we relate to each other are very political and can lead to changes on a much larger scale. With this new insight Max began working on smaller projects in his community, volunteering with the Sisters Camelot mobile food shelf and the Jack Pine Community Center.

In the fall of 2007, after graduating from Minneapolis South High School, Max attended the University of Minnesota. That didn’t stop him, however, from studying the things he felt were really important. Max took weeks off from school to go protest the IMF/World Bank meetings in Washington, D.C., where he learned about the politics of globalization and neoliberalism.  He also attended the No Borders Camp on the U.S./Mexico border, where he studied the disastrous effects of “free trade” firsthand.

Max felt it was important to organize against the Republican National Convention, as it was taking place in his hometown, but he didn’t want to disregard the personal politics and anti-oppression work that he valued so much. Working with the RNC Welcoming Committee, Max was able to accomplish all of these goals and learn many new organizing skills at the same time.

Nowadays, Max continues to attend the U of M, works as a personal care attendant for a friend with Down’s Syndrome, and helps out at his mom’s café. When he’s not biking around town, or sitting in legal meetings, Max enjoys going to shows, cooking with friends, traveling, and catching up on current events.

(photo credit: Minnesota Daily)