A couple of weeks ago, like many others, I had the opportunity to watch an amazing documentary about the life of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. by Soledad O’Brien on CNN. Following this incredible news story, I began to not only think about the events that transpired in Memphis, Tennessee the night of Dr. King’s assassination, but I began to think about the impact that this amazing leader along with many other famous African American leaders had on America. For instance, because of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. and all the other leaders of their day, we are now able to be in the same classroom as another, we are now able to sit anywhere on a bus, we are now able to attend any college of our choice, and we are now able to do things that others may have not been able to do less than 100 years ago. In addition to these great opportunities their have been higher voter participation from African Americans, more ownership among African Americans, educational achievement among African Americans, and higher incomes among African Americans according to a 2004 study done by the Urban League.
Although these experiences along with many others have been great for several African Americans over the past forty years following the assassination of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., there is a reason why a 2004 study done by the Urban League revealed that 40% of blacks feel that little progress has been done since the civil rights movement led Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. and many other amazing leaders forty years ago. According to the Center for Disease Control Preventions, in 2005, 49% of new HIV/AIDS cases were African American men and women. In 2006, a Henry Kaiser Foundation study on African Americans found that unemployment amongst African American 16-29 year olds was higher than any other ethnic group. In addition to these two amazing studies, the same Henry Kaiser Foundation study found that less than 45% of African Americans are enrolled in college, 40% of the prison population is African Americans, which is 3 times more than Latinos and 7 times more than whites in America. Added to these numbers are 9 million African Americans in poverty and 65% of black children in single parent households according to a study done by the Annie Casey Foundation in 2006. Unfortunately, these shocking studies do not include racial injustices in America, negative media portrayals in media, and all the other issues that seem to affect the African American culture as well. After reviewing these few negative issues in the African American culture, it does not surprise me at all why do many people have a negative view about Black America following the civil rights movement 40 years ago.
Personally, I believe the history of Black America shows that we will be able to overcome these issues facing our culture, but if it’s going to happen, we must have exceptionally leadership within the black community. These exceptional leaders are not going to just be the preachers, civil rights activists, millionaires, or corporate America executives, but it’s going to be the family, community, and national leaders that are able to develop solutions to some of the major issues facing Black America today. In order to actually execute some of these solutions that I believe many emerging leaders within Black America possess, its going to take effective leadership on all levels, and listed below are seven key leadership principles that I believe all leaders of Black America must possess in order to be effective at combating some of these major issues affecting our communities all across the country.
Integrity
I believe this is a key leadership principle for Black America because without it, how can any person put there trust into you as a leader. In the 2004 presidential elections, it amazed me to see certain individuals within Black America tell others to vote and then failed to vote themselves on the day of the elections. If we are going to see positive change in Black America, it’s going to take leaders who actually live what they preach and do exactly what they say they plan to do in addressing some of the major issues facing Black America today. Without this one leadership principle, things will only get worse and worse in the black communities across the country.
Servant Leadership Model
I believe the second key leadership principle that leaders within Black America must possess is the servant leadership model which deals with the leader focusing on the well being of the people verses themselves. Out of all the negative attributes of leadership affecting various leaders of Black America, one of key problems that exist is the fact that certain leaders are putting money, fame, and power before the well-being of the people they have been fortunate lead in their position of power. For example, a powerful leader of Black America will continue to allow the image of Black America to be tarnished nationally because it makes them lots of money to do it, but ultimately affects the well being of African Americans nationally. If we are going to see positive change within Black America, its going to take leaders who not only put the interests of the people first, but makes sure there is a legacy that follows them in the future.
Courage
I believe the third key leadership principle that various leaders of Black America must possess is courage. Courage to stand for truth, courage to make tough decisions when its not popular to everyone else, courage to step out in faith and pursue their visions and dreams for America, and courage to address those within our community that need to be addressed for tarnishing the image of Black America even if its not the popular thing to address at the time. Thankfully, I have seen many leaders within Black America who have possessed this leadership characteristic, but in order for us to see greater change in Black America, its going to take more leaders with courage.
Vision
I believe the fourth key leadership principle that various leaders of Black America must possess is vision. Vision for the well-being of the people, vision that brings hope to many individuals that feel afflicted and depressed in Black America, and vision that inspires others to want to join the fight in making everyone’s life better in Black America. When I think about Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., he not only had a dream, but he had a BIG DREAM that was clear to understand, concise and to the point, and captivating and inspiring to the people who joined with him to makes his dream a reality. If we are going to see positive change within Black America, it’s going to take leaders with visions that are big, clear, concise, and inspiring to the members of that vision.
Solutions to the problems facing Black America
I believe the fifth key leadership principle that various leaders of Black America must possess is solutions to the problems facing Black America. When you think of the great leaders of our past, they were not just great because they identified the problems, but they were great because they developed solutions to the problems facing their communities or nation. If we are going to see change within Black America, we do not only need leaders who can speak out on the negative issues affecting our communities across the country, but we need leaders within the black community who can develop viable solutions to ending some of the great problems facing Black America. Dr. King was not great because he was an excellent speaker, he was great because he developed viable solutions to the problems facing Black America during his time.
Strategy and Execution
The sixth leadership principle that I believe various leaders within Black America must possess is an effective strategy and execution process to the problems facing Black America. When I learn about the amazing companies across America, one of the keys to their success is an effective strategy and execution process to making their vision of the company a reality. If we are going to see positive change within Black America, its going to take leaders within our communities across the country who are able to develop effective strategies that can executed easily in order to make a positive impact within Black America.
Intergenerational Collaboration
The seventh and final key leadership principle that I believe various leaders within Black America must posses is intergeneration collaboration, which is basically being able to bring the younger and older generations together to address some of the issues facing Black America. One of the key problems that I see within Black America is the disconnect between older and younger African Americans in various communities throughout America. For instance, on popular radio show in Los Angeles, California, I actually heard the radio disk jockey say that he was afraid of young people, which to me is a perfect example of the disconnect between older and younger people within Black America. If we are going to see positive change within Black America, leaders must be able to bridge the gap between the older and younger generations of Black America.
There are definitely more leadership principles that need to be addressed within Black America, but these are seven key things that I believe all leaders must possess within Black America if we are going to see things change. I also believe that we should put more emphasis on highlighting the positive leaders of Black America verses the people who promote things that destroy the image of all African Americans in America.
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