
My first activist work began during the Viet Namese War, when as the first conscientious objector I knew, even before Martin Luther King, Jr. came out in opposition to the war, I participated in demonstrations. Simultaneously I worked with handicapped children, visited retirement centers, incarcerated men, and facilitated anti-racism workshops. At 23, I became Chairman of Friends for Human Justice, a national Quaker organization that worked across the country on human rights issues.
As General Secretary of the oldest grouping of Quakers I visited several prisons including Attica, Auburn Fishkill, Green Haven and Walkill. For my prison work I received an honorary degree from Wilmington Ohio College. In New Jersey I served as Chairman of the Afri-Male Institute and Boys and Girls Club, mentoring youth. I also served as a board member for the Burlington County YMCA. I also volunteered both for Hospice and a retirement center, both for 9 years.
In Michigan I served first on Detroit’s Open Arms (helping victims of crime, domestic violence, human trafficking and those needing grief support). After moving to Ann Arbor I served first on the ICPJ Board; then on the SafeHouse Board; tutored homeless children for SOS; on the Student Advocacy Center Board; nine years delivering food for Meals on Wheels; eight years as a Human Rights Commissioner, chairing the Subcommittee on Police Oversight; on the Interfaith Round Table for whom I also was Co-Director and Chairman of the Board; and 15 years as a volunteer soothing babies for Mott Children’s Hospital on the Pediatric Cardiology Ward.
When opportunities arise I have spoken multiple times both in support of Responsible Gun Control and the rights of incarcerated women. Since 2009 I have been using FaceBook to pastor, privately helping people navigate cancer, Lou Gehrig’s disease, Multiple Sclerosis, Parkinson’s disease, even as I fought off five cancers of my own and weekly posting programs of jazz, male and female vocalists to support the arts.
For years I have awarded the Hazel Mack Wilson Scholarship to youth reared in my hometown where Mom was expelled from school for being pregnant with the baby who turned out to be me. She was an “A” student who spent her life as a maid, loved reading and died of cancer at 44.