Peterson Toscano's A Musing

Today in the USA we celebrate the life of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Hillary Clinton recently drew fire with her suggestion that President Lyndon B Johnson helped to realize Dr. King's dream with the passage of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 . Visit the National Civil Rights Museum in Memphis, TN. The life, work and death of Dr. King will move you deeply. But Mrs. Clinton raises an important point. It takes a village to raise the issue and to make change happen. With all of his charisma, intelligence and skills, Dr. King relied heavily on others to not only see his dream come to pass, but even to shape the very nature of that dream. I think of the extraordinary efforts and contributions of Bayard Rustin, the Black, gay, Quaker, who fought for civil liberties beginning in the late 1930's. Rustin served as the key organizer of the 1947 Journey of Reconciliation, the very first Freedom Rides. According to Standford University's King Encyclopedia , Rustin became a key advi...

Being single on Valentines Day doesn't ever really bother me because my birthday comes three days later. (Although in my childhood birthday photo, I look like I had a little too much cake and ice cream) Yes, I have officially entered The Birthday Season. This business of just celebrating on ONE DAY is so lame. One's birthday needs to be padded with several days of celebration. This year though I am not just celebrating my birthday. After finishing her book Zami: A New Spelling of My Name , I fell hard for Audre Lorde. What a mind, what a heart, what a woman. Her birthday is February 18 and had she survived breast cancer, she would be 73 this on Sunday. Over at Craig Hickman's blog , he honors Audre with a summary of her life. Here are some quotes by Audre Lorde: “If I didn't define myself for myself, I would be crunched into other people's fantasies for me and eaten alive.” “When I dare to be powerful - to use my strength in the service of my vision, then it beco...