Gregory uses his celebrity platform to raise awareness for a number of different issues, including alcoholism, the policies of the Reagan administration, and the the state of the black community today. He is currently on a hunger strike in solidarity with women in support of the Equal Rights Amendment.
Activist Dick Gregory recently gave a speech for the Ford Hall Forum that was recorded by NPR. Today, Fresh Air will play an excerpt of that speech, on the subject "Are Minorities Really Powerless?" The topics addressed in the excerpt are the 1980 presidential election, Gregory's distaste for the concept of "voting for the lessor of two evils," and the "choicelessness" the common voter feels. The speech was given prior to the election.