Ideas in Antiquity Week 9
Before I start my analysis, I have to give a shoutout to my good sis Ida B. Wells. This history-making woman, who I know scared the living shit out of the men around her, had true power in her words. Reading this small excerpt titled “The Requisites of True Leadership” had me shook to my core. I know for a fact that the racist white men who read this (if they even did) had their jaws hit the floor like this (peep what I put down below).
So let’s get into all this powerful black woman had to say, cause we truly love to see it!!!!!!!!!
Starting with humanity, I wanted to speak upon the idea of it and how it affects true leadership. Humanity in the eyes of Ida B. Wells and Gen Z is a huge disorganized mass of power. It’s biggest problem back then was ironically the separation of church and state. As we still struggle with this today, here are my opinions on it. They should not be connected. I know that may or may not sound weird but it will make sense once I explain myself.
I’m a strong believer in the first amendment but most importantly, I’m pro-mind your business. Everyone is different so it isn’t fair that one specific viewpoint should dictate the lives of people you don’t know. A true leader is one that cares for all people and has morals that don’t dehumanize others. A perfect modern example of this is the potential (I hope not) new Supreme Court Justice Amy Coney Barrett. Her homophobic views are disgusting to me. I will never understand how the happiness of a LGBTQ+ couple can affect homophobic people so much. Either way, her inability to separate church and state is going to cause her to lose out on a great job/duty. There is no official religion of the United States and there shouldn’t be. Everyone needs to be worried about themselves and stop trying to mandate things that don’t even affect them.
A strong example of this is the controversial Roe v. Wade case. Abortion has always been deemed as a taboo thing but I simply cannot find the reasoning for this. A woman’s choice to her body and the life altering decision to bear children is as personal and private (like the 4th amendment) as any member of humanity can get. And yet, the strongest defenders of our crooked Constitution are breaking the laws they’re so ride or die for.
The Constitution is the one piece of paper in this world, besides a check, that holds true power. It is one that defines the nation that Ida B. Wells spoke about and the one we live in today. Both nations that are still a mess and unfair to minorities. The biggest issue in this world is the superiority complex. Everyone wants to be better then or even more powerful than the next person. Some people get so wraps up in it that it consumes them and the last drop of morality they have. Hence, those who are anything-phobic/phobia.
Now back to this nation….
I feel in order to fix all that is broken, besides the inevitable revolution that my generation will be leading, is to acknowledge and accept our history. Like Ida B. Wells says, “the Negro is the backbone of the South.” This country was built on the back of Native Americans and Africans but until the wrongs done against them are properly acknowledged, there is no hope for tomorrow. History is vital as it can teach us many lessons, at least in my family. I didn’t grow up with much materialistic things but I made sure to nurture my mind with physical copy and oral stories of those who came before me.
As many people who come from any type of African or African-American origin, my ancestors/elders play a key role in my life. Not only do they cook the best food (there’s nothing like an old Jamaican woman’s cooking) but they always know what do in certain situations. They grew up in a nation in crazy times as well and can teach you all the right and wrong ways to go about solving significant problems. That is exactly what this nation needs, a Jamaican mother/auntie/elder.
Let me tell you, us Jamaicans can surely whip anything and one into shape. This nation needs people who aren’t afraid to get their hands dirty as this is a mess we’re intending to fix. In the eyes of Ida B. Wells, the necessary things to have the strong great nation people thought they were getting with Trump are the following: Education, Character, Wealth, and Unity. Starting with the least important, I feel that wealth shouldn’t determine how “great” a nation is. I find the fact that a piece of paper can determine how people are treated is ridiculous. Money is not equal to personality or worth. The amount of money someone has should not put them into a certain category as that isn’t fair. I feel that everyone should have the same access to every possible resource to make themselves better but that’s just not the case in today’s modern society.
Next up on the importance scale is education. I feel that this is an area that truly needs fixing. In my case, I wish I had a better one. If it wasn’t for special programs such as Upward Bound and teachers who helped me embrace my intelligence, I highly doubt I’d be here writing this journal. I went to a public school where I had to attend various meetings and sit on many student panels just to beg for the funding that kids attending schools ten minutes away from me got handed to them. If I (and several of my closest friends) didn’t step up and advocate, the students at this same school would still be struggling. And I did this before I even got my high school diploma. Sometimes a higher education should be necessary for certain fields but not for everything. I have been inspired and led by people who didn’t even make it to their freshman year of school. A person’s education doesn’t determine how great of a leader they’ll be as everyone is different. Inspiration and true leadership don’t come from how much of the times table you know or the how many historic people’s names you can remember.
True leadership comes from the next thing on my list: Character. This is something that I look for when it comes to building any type of relationship. I enjoy people who are empathetic and funny. As someone who loves to laugh, I can’t be around people who are serious all the time. True leaders are understanding, loving, honest, and sincere with everything they do. I can’t stand people that are selfish and power/money-hungry. There’s more to life than being ahead or “better” than the person next to you. Ambition is not the same as working hard just to brag. If there’s one thing that I’ve learned from living my life and learning from those before me, your ultimate goal in life should be happiness and comfort. You should wake up in the morning smiling and ready to do/be with what you love. Though there’s always going to be bad in the world and your life, you should still be grateful and accept the darkness. After accepting it, you must be bright and shine through all of the bad around you. Shout out to my therapist for teaching me this, she really is amazing!
And finally, we have Unity. A true leader is one who can not only address the needs of everyone around them but have the ability to bring everyone together. After all, teamwork does make the dream work. Everyone needs help from someone else for something in their life. Whether it’s big or small, the act of helping others is what makes the world go round. No person can do everything by themselves. I feel that true leadership often involves some type of team. Whether it’s several companies or even a group of four, true leadership must have more than one person. Things get accomplished when people use their individual talents in order to contribute to a group effort.
Back to Ida B. Wells, there’s a reason for the title of this work. Her requisities for leadership follow the example of Jesus, whom leaders should strive to be like. Although I’m against tying leadership into one specific religion, I do believe in her requisites. In order to be a leader, you must have these things: 1. Devotion to principle/courage of conviction, 2. Perseverance, 3. Patience, 4. Self-control, and 5. Love for humanity.
I personally related with the perserverance part. As someone who has been through some pretty rough times, I’ve had to learn this. Like I mentioned before, I try my hardest to remain positive (and bright) when times get dark. I always remember that my dark moments are only temporary and exist to make me better and stronger. True leaders understand this too. Leadership is not just about the fancy positions/titles but the journey to get there. There’s not one leader in this world that can say their journey was easy or never in the slightest bit difficult. Every person has moments where they want to give up but how you get through those points of time is what defines you as a leader and a person.
The other one that stuck out to me next was patience. I still struggle with this. I’ve always been known as the “wise/mature” friend which causes me to want to rush my journey towards my definition of success. I’m quick to jump towards opportunites as I’m eager for the pot of gold at the end of the rainbow. Some describe me as overly ambitious as I often try to balance too many things on my plate and end up with the meanest stress headache of all time (yes I have one now). True leaders use patience as good things come with time. Time is on your side but that doesn’t mean you should waste it. After all, nothing lasts forever so you must seize the day when you can.
Overall, this reading has been one of my favorites from this course. It taught me that I must slow down and that I must keep going, even when I want to give up. The timing was perfect as it’s midterm week and it’s difficult navigating online courses. Thankfully, there are amazing professors who can teach me something valuable to my life. So for that Dr. Sandridge, I thank you.
Now what’s going on next week?
