by Anita S. Lane
I recently took the time to view the landmark series, "Eyes on the Prize," a 14-part documentary of the civil rights movement and its aftermath, spanning from the 1950s through the mid 1980s. As I reflect on the extraordinary movement of the 1950s and 60s, I clearly see why the movement was so successful. We’ve all heard the phrase “everything rises and falls with leadership.” Well, the black community of that day had its fair share of dedicated leaders who set the pace and led a nation of people toward true democracy.
What is it that these leaders did or possessed within them that made them and ultimately the movement, so extraordinary in my opinion? They possessed many qualities. And I realize now that these are the same qualities that the black community needs today in order to move further ahead collectively. “The ultimate measure of a man is not where he stands in moments of comfort and convenience, but where he stands at times of challenge and controversy,” Rev. Martin Luther King, Jr. said. It may not be the 1960s, but the black community yet has challenges and controversy that we need to address.
What have I observed about the leaders of the nonviolent civil rights movement? In short, they were brilliant, courageous, well-read, strategic, team-oriented, persistent, publicly unified, resilient, focused, patient and hopeful. They also embraced the help of anyone who meant the movement well. And most importantly, they drew strength daily from God and from one another.
This is what it took to make an incredible history-changing movement like the one we experienced in the 1950s and 60s and this is what it will take to forever transform our lives in the 21st century.
I heard a message by a Pastor in Virginia who stated that Dr. King knew that in order to help take his people to the “promised-land” that he had to help “plant a dream inside of them.” King knew it would take vision. The pastor went on to state that we need some young people today to “stand up and say, I too have a dream.”
The pastor lamented that in our society today we’re letting secular entertainers shape our children’s dreams. He stated that entertainers like Snoop Dog, Lil’ Kim and Eminem have become the model of success for many young people. Now, I have nothing against individual entertainers who do what they feel they need to do in order to be successful. However, many of the behaviors and character traits they exhibit I don’t want my children to emulate.
The point is, we still need a dream—a dream that’s larger and more profound than a 52-inch plasma TV, or a tricked-out Lincoln Navigator. We need to pinpoint areas in which we have yet to make adequate strides in American Society and strategically set goals to make advances in those areas. We must push ourselves beyond ourselves.
Sometimes I’m concerned that we think we’ve arrived. Yet we really haven’t. According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the poverty rate for African American children is more than twice as high as white children. The college graduation rate for black students is only one-third that of whites, and only about half of all Blacks who enter the ninth grade graduate with regular diplomas four years later.
Clearly we haven’t “arrived.” No, the “struggle” is not over, and there is a lot we can learn from the civil rights movement, its leaders and participants. And we must. If those leaders were to speak to us today, I believe they might say:
We must read books. It makes us smarter.
We must stay in school. It widens the window of opportunity.
We must learn to work well with others. It increases our probability of success.
We must stay the course in spite of opposition. It produces patience and results. We must bounce back after failure. It is the only way to achieve success.
We must be brave. It makes us stronger.
We must keep hope alive. It paralyzes fear.
We must keep our eyes on the prize. It's how endure temporary pain.
We must never give up. Otherwise we will never know what we could have achieved.
We must continually look to the hills from where our help comes. Our help comes from the Lord.
The qualities that empowered the leaders of the modern civil rights movement were not exclusive to them in their time. Those qualities will also work to advance the Black community today.
Copyright ©2005 by Anita S. Lane
Visit my online magazine for moms
Visit my online magazine for moms
No comments:
Post a Comment