Does the Leadership Void Grow after losing John Lewis and C.T. Vivian?
John Lewis and C.T. Vivian. Their leadership went far above and beyond their titles as it was most evident in their consistent sacrifice for human and civil rights. What both of those individuals did for our country, it feels almost serendipitous that their names be on headlines along with Nelson Mandela this weekend. That being said, I am equally saddened, as I memorialize two more great civil rights leaders while remembering another historic figure, and concerned, as I search through the void of leadership in today’s civil rights movements and only seeing the vacuum grow.
By the time John Lewis was 23 years old, he was already recognized nationally and dubbed one of the Big Six leaders of the Civil Rights Movement. Cordy Tindell (C.T.) Vivian was also just 23 years old when he joined his first protest in 1947 to fight against segregation in cafeterias. Nelson Mandela, at just 25 years old, joined the African National Congress in 1944 when he helped to form the ANC Youth League.
In Selma and other cities around the country, non-violent protests devolved into being beaten and jailed by both racist civilians and police. In South Africa, protests against the apartheid turned into the Sharpeville Massacre killing 69 and injuring another 180. From a very young age until death, between institutional oppression and social dominance, these three individuals were being seared by the fires of injustice and yet continued to sacrifice everything and anything for the equality of freedom.
Nelson Mandela said famously in his Speech on the Dock on April 20, 1964:
“I have fought against white domination, and I have fought against black domination. I have cherished the ideal of a democratic and free society in which all persons live together in harmony and with equal opportunities. It is an ideal which I hope to live for and to achieve. But if needs be, it is an ideal for which I am prepared to die.”
In a time such as this, I wonder what is the level of sacrifice required to make lasting change and who among us is willing to make that sacrifice.
Today, we once again have protests throughout the landscape of our democracy and opposition from those fearful of losing their dominance. The inevitable explosion of pain, fear, and outrage has once again filled our streets with chants of “No Justice, No Peace” and standing against this movement is an opposition to anything that threatens the privileged's status quo. One cannot argue against the timeliness or need for this sort of movement, rather, it should have been expected.
But as many look at this as a repetition of history, I am aware of the similarities but cautioned by the core to what separates these movements beyond just decades and “rights”. Our current movement to fight racism and injustice lacks the necessary social and civil leadership willing to centralize the mission, purpose, and values of our cause and lead Americans into this movement aligned and united.
John Lewis, C.T. Vivian, and Nelson Mandela did not attend their first protests and feel satisfied. They did not get beaten and jailed and ridiculed and spit on, and then stop their efforts by choosing comfort over change. They did not let political and social pressure dissuade them from fighting for what they believed in, even until the day they died.
Even if our collective movement is splintered beyond the capacity for unity at every level and in every discussion, I am hopeful that our current group of those closest to the top of their respective nonprofits and civil movements can find alignment. I am hopeful that people don’t just argue for their individual cause but for the greater cause of the many, just as John Lewis, C.T. Vivan, and Nelson Mandela had done.
I am hopeful that in 55 years from now, we look back on where we are today, and the thing that we ultimately repeated from our history was the legacy and beliefs of those who, through leadership and sacrifice, moved our society closer to equal freedom for all.
These great leaders did not just leave a void, they left a blueprint. It is time to take that blueprint and continue to lead the cause towards effective, lasting change so that hope does not die with those who have lead us before.
