Born in Los Angeles as one of nine children to a single mother, he will tell you that he has known what it is like to grow up with limited resources.
He will tell you that he has faced his own demons in a battle with alcoholism and in 1993 found himself homeless and living in the Union Gospel Mission in Salem.
Peterson will also tell you that as surely as he is no stranger to adversity, he is also no stranger to change.

"My struggle with alcoholism brought me to a place where I was homeless," he said. "But I was able to reformulate and get a different grasp upon my life.

"I was able to start over again."

Ultimately, through adversity and change, he found success.

In 1998 Peterson realized a dream he has had since the age of nine. He built Broadway Café, a local restaurant that has been successful for ten years. He has seen his daughter Jessica graduate high school and go on to college. He is even planning on returning to college himself.

Having walked the path of change from adversity to success, Peterson wanted to share that success. He wanted to reach out as others had to him.
He has been Vice President of the Salem-Keizer chapter of the NAACP for two years and is currently running for presidency of that group.
Peterson sees this position with the oldest and largest of civil rights group in America as a vehicle for change in the Salem-Keizer area, as a way of giving back.

"We want to help the community work together in partnership," he said.

"Sometimes I think the NAACP gets a bad rap. We just want people to see that we care."

The NAACP will celebrate its 100th anniversary in 2009. According to the group's literature, the organization is involved in education, housing, and labor and industry. The group also works for civic engagement, economic empowerment and international affairs.

The local chapter lists three main community goals in its literature. These include responding effectively to issues of discrimination, providing opportunities for communal sharing and support among people of color, and promoting a strong sense of inclusiveness and cooperation throughout the Salem-Keizer community.

"We are here to advocate for anyone who feels they have been treated unfairly," Peterson said. "We are here for all people, not just black people. We want to be their voice.

"We want to work on housing and development and cultural diversity and competency. We want to become more active in the community. We want Salem-Keizer to see a different face in
this community and we want that face to have some color to it."

He believes that change is strongly centered on youth in the community.

"There are challenges kids face all around this country, especially minorities. I made some bad choices in my life. Had somebody in the community reached out, given different
choices, different opportunities it might have made a difference.

"We say kids make bad choices but sometimes that is all they see."

"We need to give these kids more positive influences," he said. "When all you see in your neighborhood is alcoholism, gangs, and drugs, it is hard to get out of that."

Peterson says that the local NAACP has a vision for change involving the youth in the community.

"We put on an African-American Youth Leadership Conference every year," he said."The NAACP is currently holding a campaign to sponsor youth memberships for the organization. We
want them to be volunteers and actively involved in the community.

"The only way to build future leaders is through our youth.  If the kids see active support for them in the community they will want to be actively involved in the community themselves."

Peterson will also tell you that he believes the community will reach out to the kids.

"It just costs $15 to sponsor one of these kids," he said."The NAACP is a nonprofit organization. We need sponsors as well as volunteers.

"We want to make a difference and we want people to become involved in that."

For more information on the Salem-Keizer branch of the NAACP you can contact them at (503) 566-8876 or you can visit naacp.org.