Radical

Saul Alinsky

Organize

A great thinker and activist whose book ‘The Rules for Radicals’ remains one of my mantras. He was a great community organizer and stood with and for the legion of oppressed peoples everywhere. His treatises on how to organize down-trodden communities and gain power from an oppressor are still relevant even today. It’s no surprise that he influenced such powerful luminaries as President Obama, Secretary Clinton and Former President Clinton.

Greatest quotes:

Always remember the first rule of power tactics; power is not only what you have but what the enemy thinks you have. 

Levitate

Locomotion

Kill me if you will

I’ll keep myself on this train

Till the end of days

On a cushion of air

Float on, like a modest mouse

Tools of the Trade

bell hooks

Formerly known as Gloria Jean Watkins

She was a great feminist and anti-racist thinker, who has been a quiet influence on me since I first discovered her as a 17-year old.

Greatest quote:

“I will not have my life narrowed down. I will not bow down to somebody else's whim or to someone else's ignorance.”

Carbon Copy

Pressure

A touch of pressure

And time immemorial

Forms a diamond

Precious

Walking Dead

 LSF

Mankind and its ilk

Stumble through a lonely world

Lost souls forever

Zombies, the lot of us

The Right Hand of Justice

Coretta Scott King

The Crusader

Beyond just her influence on MLK, she had a long and effective history as a civil rights and feminist advocate. Her quiet dignity and call for forgiveness and reconciliation after MLK’s assassination helped prevent the outbreak of hostilities. She was an impressive person in her own right, with a long list of accomplishments both before and after MLK.

Greatest quote:

Freedom and justice cannot be parceled out in pieces to suit political convenience. I don't believe you can stand for freedom for one group of people and deny it to others.