By John Pitts
One quote that will always be branded within my subconscious is that, “A true leader is not judged by how he leads while present, but in absence.” The civil rights era was a time compact of stentorian leaders with one of the most well-known Black leaders being Martin Luther King, Jr. His majestic style of leadership sparked effective nonviolent movements across the south, but sadly his time was ended prematurely.
I prelude with this to say lately around the United States, there have been many wrongful deaths of African American males from Trayvon Martin to Mike Brown. Social media has been enthralled in the current events with the trending topic #blacklivesmatter. In addition to the social media trending topic, the Black Lives Matter protest on Highway 280 and the River Chase Galleria was an emotionally appealing sight to see. Not only for the hope of a better future for the lives lost in the past, but because history repeats itself.
Flashback to more than 50 years ago students of schools around Birmingham had the same peaceful protest strategy, but were met with grown men wielding fire hoses and ferocious attack dogs. Why I said history will repeat itself is because it was a point in time where there was worse racism than my generation could envision. Seeing the success of a peaceful protest this past week not only gave me hope as a young Black male in a period of time where we are being targeted, but as a young leader seeing how the best leaders, such as Martin Luther King Jr., lead in absence.
