Kalamazoo City Commissioner

Candidate, United States House of Representatives, District 6, 2010

Candidate, United States House of Representatives, District 6, 2008

No caucus information on file.

Professor, Western Michigan University, 1977-present

Assistant Director, Lewis Walker Institute for Peace and Ethnic Relations

Co-Director, A Better Chance, Swarthmore, Pennsylvania, 1975-1977

High School Teacher, Saint John's Preparatory, Brooklyn, New York, 1964-1970

Community Worker, Vincentians, 1964-1970

Member, America Friends Service Committee Africa Project

Member, American Association of University Professors

Board Chair, Constructive Community Builders

Founding Member, Kalamazoo Coalition for a Living Wage

Founding Member, Kalamazoo Coalition on Criminal Justice

Founding Board Member, Kalamazoo Communities in Schools

Founding Member, Kalamazoo Non-Violent Opponents of War (KNOW)

Board Member, New Latino Visions

Founding Board Member, Poverty Reduction Initiative

Founding Co-Director, Washington Writer's Academy

Awards:

Legislator of the Year Award, Arab-American Anti-discrimination Committee, Kalamazoo Chapter, 2006; Excellence in Advocacy Award, National Alliance for the Mentally Ill, Kalamazoo Chapter, 2005; KCMHS/KCHSD Black History Month Service Award, 1995; Community Service Award, Western Michigan University, 1995.

Current Car:

2005 Chevy Malibu American; 2005 Chevy Monte Carlo.

Favorite Athlete:

Derek Jeter

Favorite Movie:

On the Waterfront

Favorite Musician:

Frank Sinatra

Favorite President and Why:

Franklin Delano Roosevelt

Favorite Quote:

"Some people see things as they are and ask 'why.' I see things that never were, and ask 'why not.'" -- Tennyson

Favorite Sport:

Basketball

Favorite TV Shows:

Democracy Now

Favorite Vacation Spot:

Michigan's Upper Peninsula

Favorite Websites:

http://www.CommonDreams.org

Name one thing you would most like to do before you die:

Represent residents of Michigan's sixth district in Congress.

Personal Hero and Why:

Martin Luther King, Jr., Robert F. Kennedy, Nelson Mandela and Eugene Debs. Robert F. Kennedy. Here's an excerpt from the eulogy given by his brother at his funeral: "My brother need not be idealized, or enlarged in death beyond what he was in life, to be remembered simply as a good and decent man, who saw wrong and tried to right it, saw suffering and tried to heal it, saw war and tried to stop it. Those of us who loved him and who take him to his rest today, pray that what he was to us and what he wished for others will some day come to pass for all the world. As he said many times, in many parts of this nation, to those he touched and who sought to touch him: "Some men see things as they are and say why. I dream things that never were and say why not."

Pets (include names):

Reba (Dog), Miss Kitty, Bear and Eugene (Cats).

Priority Issues:

Justice, Jobs and A Decent Life for All.

Reason for Seeking Public Office:

To have a part in helping this country live up to its ideals.

Spouse's Occupation:

Social Worker