By Tom Collins
There's some good advice.
It was given by our dear friend, author, and client, Dr. Claudia Thomas — through tears — as she spoke to a crowd gathered to celebrate the 40th anniversary of the Africana Studies program at Vassar College.
Claudia spoke with authority. She risked her future, as a Vassar student back in 1969, leading 33 other young women in the takeover of the college's administative offices. Their purpose was to insist on a list of nine demands, including establishment of the experimental Black Studies program as a degree program with its own faculty and facilities.
From today's perspective, it may be hard to appreciate how much Claudia and her classmates were putting on the line. After all, they won and their story is an accepted part of Vassar's history.
But after making it from P.S 123 in Queens to Vassar, with a future as a pioneer in medicine ahead, the stakes were very high for Claudia. It tells you a great deal about where Claudia acquired the spirit shown in the title of this post and her actions throughout her life that, when she was able to reach her mother by phone during the 4-day occupation, Daisy Thomas told Claudia, "You have my full support. Any leader worth his salt has spent time in jail for protesting."
What has all this got to do with "books, blogs, and beyond"?
Well, as I thought about Claudia's advice to the crowd at Vassar, it reminded me why I so much enjoyed working with her on her book, God Spare Life. The writing mattered. She had experiences she cared deeply about to share.
Sounds a lot like the advice we hear all the time for writing a book. Or posting in a blog.
Or living your life: "Find your passion and stand for something before you die!"
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