Dec. 4, 2024

(TriceEdneyWire.com) - It was my last year as national president of the NAACP, at the end of 2013 Image Awards. I was with my dear friend Louis Gossett, Jr., the actor and activist who won an Oscar for his role in the film “An Officer and a Gentleman.” Lou said to me, “You know, Ben, I’ve been in this racial justice movement my whole life, but you know, sometimes, brother, I feel like we’re fighting over who’s in first class. What we should be doing is looking out the window, because the plane has fallen like 20,000 feet in the last two minutes.”

He saw I was a little confused. So he continued, “The planet is dying. It doesn’t matter who’s in first class on a dead planet.” 

Lou’s words have stuck with me for over a decade. It was Lou’s voice echoing in my ear that inspired me to get back into the environmental movement and take my current job as the head of the Sierra Club.

December is the customary month of remembrance. A time of year we take stock; a moment on the calendar when we pause to reflect on the giants we have lost.

Louis Gossett, Jr. is one of those giants. He died this past March.

Lou never shied away from using his platform to fight for people and the planet. Remembering his passion for justice and the path he forged can be a guiding light. His example, like that of scores of other Black leaders we lost in 2024, has a special resonance for America’s Black men and boys. But it is an example that should inspire anyone who sees a situation that their own moral calling tells them needs to change.

As a child, Lou loved superheroes. When he did not see anyone who looked like him playing his favorite superhero, Superman, he decided to become one – both on and off the screen. The character he portrayed in “An Officer and a Gentleman,” Gunnery Sergeant Emil Foley, was a soldier highly decorated for his patriotism. Offscreen Lou was a true patriot himself.

Lou often spoke of the need to focus on the “bigger picture.” He pictured concentric circles as he thought about how people could make a difference and have an impact in their family, community, country, as well as the world. He founded the Eracism Foundation to promote cultural diversity, historical enrichment, and anti-violence initiatives for young adults, teens and pre-teens through "Shamba Centers" throughout the country. 

Lou contributed one of the autobiographical essays in my book Reach: 40 Black Men Speak on Living, Leading, and Succeeding. In it, he wrote about meeting Nelson Mandela when the South African leader was finally released from prison after 27 years. Lou said Mandela’s message was simple: there is no time to focus on revenge, which is a “self-inflicting disease;” the only thing we have time to focus on is “uplifting ourselves and one another for the bigger picture, which is the salvation of the planet.”

Lou spoke of the values passed on to him and his cousins by their grandmother: “collective responsibility; empathy; being ready, willing and able to help another person when he or she is down.” Those are values to live by. I can relate. My own grandmother’s wisdom continues to guide me. Her sage advice continues to be one of my mantras in life: "Pessimists are right more often, but optimists win more often. As for me, I'll take winning." 

Of course, in addition to Lou, we lost many Black men this year whose lives and work inspired millions. Icons of stage and screen like James Earl Jones and John Amos, historymaking sports legends such as Willie Mays, and titans of the Civil Rights Movement like Rev. James Lawson, whom Dr. King called “the leading theorist and strategist of nonviolence in the world.” We lost Quincy Jones, who not only left an indelible mark on the music industry but was a champion for civil and human rights. And many others.

In my introduction to Reach, I noted that imitation has always been the first step for those seeking to achieve great things. Children pick up sticks to reenact the battles of warrior heroes. Toddlers preach to congregations, or sing to crowds, of teddy bears and puppets. Babies step into their parents shoes and try to walk. But we cannot imitate – or draw inspiration from – that which we have never seen, heard, or read about. I hope people continue to learn about my friend Louis Gossett, Jr. and the other giants we lost because the examples they set are surely ones to be imitated.

Lou’s hope was that younger generations grow up to remember that bigger picture of which he spoke. That “instead of talking about the salvation of the Irish or the Jew or the Black, they talk about the salvation of mankind and the planet. I think we can ask for and expect nothing less.”

Hear, hear.

Ben Jealous is the Executive Director of the Sierra Club and a Professor of Practice at the University of Pennsylvania.

Nov. 26, 2024

Rep. Shirley Chisholm

(TriceEdneyWire.com) - November 30 is Shirley Chisholm Day in New York, and it’s about time New York the nation, and indeed the world celebrates this Black woman, the first to be elected to Congress in 1969, just five years after the passage of the Civil Rights Act.

Shirley Chisholm was the first Black woman to run for President in 1972. Imagine the racism and sexism she encountered. But it didn’t stop her! She competed in just 12 primaries, as the good old boys worked to prevent her ballot access. Yet she amassed 152 delegates, around 10 percent of the total.

As a member of Congress, Shirley Chisholm authored about 50 pieces of legislation, mostly around race and gender equality, children, poverty, and ending the war in Vietnam. Her boldness was an inspiration for women like former New Jersey Secretary of State Regina Thomas and retiring Congresswoman Barbara Lee, who cast the lone vote against our war in Afghanistan.

If there were no Shirley Chisholm, there would be no Vice President Kamala Harris, whose own Presidential campaign reminds us of Chisholm. Shirley Chisholm was not only a legislator, representing Brooklyn, she was also an educator and activist. She earned a master’s degree in early childhood education from Columbia University, and that educational background gave her a heart for our children. Committed to women’s equal participation in politics she was, in 1971, a cofounder of the National Women’s Political Caucus. In 1977, she became the first Black woman, and only the second woman, to serve on the House Rules committee.

Her contributions are numerous, her impact legendary. She was awarded a posthumous Medal of Freedom by President Obama in 2015. She is an icon for many, especially for Black women, but for too many she is either unknown or forgotten. The sister who described herself as “unbought and unbossed” deserves a lot more recognition than the November 30 festivities, and the day reminds us of the many unsung heroines in our society. It is unfortunate that even in these days of “Black girl magic” we deify men and often ignore Black women.

I don’t know why New York chose to lift Shirley Chisholm up this November 30. Perhaps it is because she embodies the kind of audacity we need in these times. When asked how she wanted to be remembered, she said, “I want to be remembered as a woman who dared to be a catalyst.”

Dared. Catalyst. Audacious words for an audacious woman. And there are so many more than we need to remember, such as Dr. LaFrances Rogers Rose, a scholar who made her transition on November 10. The pioneering leader founded the International Congress of Black Women, was a champion for Black women scholars, and a selfless encourager of others. Like Chisholm, she had audacity.

We don’t have to go to the past, or even to the ancestors to find Chisholm-like women, because they are all around us. Consider, for example, LaTosha Brown, founder of Black Voters Matter. Or Barbara Arnwine, founder of the Transformative Justice Coalition, or Melanie Campbell convener of the Black Women’s Roundtable. So many sisters making a difference, a difference needed now more than ever.

Exceptional audacity is needed during these times. Too many are choosing caution, apprehensive about what the incoming President might do about our rights, our health, and our environment. Too many government workers, many who are Black women, are tiptoeing because the Orange Man has threatened to “streamline” the federal workforce. We need more who, like Chisholm, dare to speak up and speak out. I’m so glad that New York City chose to honor Shirley Anita Chisholm with a day of her own. While she certainly deserves the day to herself, I’ll think of it as Black Women’s Audacity Day in honor of all of those who, like Chisholm, are catalysts for change.

August 11, 2024

To Be Equal   

(TriceEdneyWire.com - “In addition to giving us countless thrilling moments of athletic excellence, the Summer Games have given the DEI movement the greatest gift it could ever hope for: a picture of success that can inspire people from across the political spectrum … They represent what makes America great: individuals from diverse backgrounds, viewing their distinctive identities as sources of pride, cooperating together to achieve excellence and bring honor to their nation.” -- Eboo Patel

The power of the Gumbo spirit was on full display in Team USA at the 2024 Olympic Games in Paris.

The most diverse women’s gymnastics team in U.S. history was the most decorated, with 10 medals total, 3 of them gold, including the coveted individual all-around.

Team USA members of every racial and ethnic background found success in Paris, bringing home the gold in track and field, swimming, and other events. But the diversity of the women’s gymnastics team has captured the world’s attention, given the historic exclusion of women of color from the sport.

When Dominique Dawes competed in the Olympic trials for the 1992 Barcelona Games, she was the first Black gymnast to ever qualify. She was part of the celebrated “Magnificent Seven” in the 1996 Atlanta games who won the first-ever gold medal for the United States in the women's team competition.

A decade after Dawes Olympics debut, Gabby Douglas became the first Black woman of any nationality to win the all-around gold medal in gymnastics.

It would be absurd to argue that Black women were absent from Olympic gymnastics for nearly a century because of a lack of talent. It is an equally absurd argument to make about executive leadership in the nation’s top corporations, admissions to elite colleges and universities, or the Oval Office.

The anti-racial justice extremists who want to ban DEI policies would doom Team USA to mediocrity just to assure their own place on the roster. 

Diverse organizations – from Fortune 500 companies to Olympic gymnastics teams – perform better than exclusive organizations. People from different backgrounds bring a wealth of different experiences, knowledge, and skills. One study found that diverse and inclusive teams made better decisions than individuals 87% of the time.

Diverse companies see higher revenue , with75 percent of companies with strong DEI policies in their management teams will surpass their financial goals.

The gymnastics world did not sit passively by and wait for a fully-trained Simone Biles to find her own way, unbidden, to the National Championships in 2012.  Were it not for a sharp-eyed coach who noticed the tiny 6-year-old on a day-care field trip to a gym, Biles may never have been steered toward the sport.  Today she is almost universally recognized as the greatest gymnast of all time.

The leaders of the so-called “anti-woke” movement would rather dominate second-rate institutions than collaborate to build world-class organizations.

We can give thanks, at least, they’re not entrusted to assemble our sports teams.