General Discussion

And especially thanks for mentioning Rustin, an important historic figure. He was an influential part in so many of the direct actions that helped to change this country. That includes his assisting in the first of the Freedom Rides long before the more famous ones in the 1960's. (I think in the late 1940s, but being old, my memory isn't always good on dates.)

He would later work with Quakers on "Alternatives to Violence." I took their training years later. Their program eventually was aimed at those incarcerated in jails and prisons, and then expanded to include school children. More, they eventually added things that the Clan Mothers at Onondaga suggested. I would teach it in the clinc's DV groups and the county jail. A few years back, I encountered a gentleman who had been in one of those DV groups, who said it changed his life.

It was a disappointment -- for me, at least -- when Rustin eventually became a neoconservative supporter of Reagan. But I still have great respect for his decades of fighting for human rights. So when you mentioned him, I knew I was in the right place.