Wow by Char
A Lost Soul Can’t Lead the People
Dear Readers,
As I type this article on Election day 2020, I can not help to think about the past four years and the role of leadership. I’m writing this essay from Los Angeles, where businesses from Inglewood to Beverly Hills have boarded-up their store windows as we anticipate the local and federal election results. I can not help to question how these events-- the 2020 election, COVID-19, economic and racial injustice-- relate to other eras in American history.
On my way to the airport my great aunt, Dorothy, and I discussed the troubles she and her peers had lived. She was a little girl when the Vietnam War was finally concluding after
twenty years of intense guerilla warfare. Today, with deepened division between partisan groups--democrats and republicans-- some American cities are resembling domestic war-zones. In times of trouble, I have been taught to lean on my faith. Everything around us seems questionable, but the grace of God.
We, Black people, have survived many troubles; however, my goal for us is to thrive! When
describing a leader, one must first be able to lead themselves in an upright, thoughtful manner. Because if you can not lead yourself in a positive fashion, why would others follow you if you towards a path of destruction? In short, we will witness the blind leading the blind. Leaders from the pulpit to the oval office must be held accountable. This is why I suggest we bridge ideas between the youth and elders. I’m requesting that elders speak of their wisdom and that the youth share their modern experiences. We have to facilitate the change we want to see, like Black people always have, in order to thrive; because regardless of mailing that ballot in, not one politician has explicitly stated 1) reparations for descendents of slaves 2) Black liberation 3) ending police brutality and putting our kids in cages.
All in all, my prayers are with you! Stay encouraged and optimistic, even in the face of adversity. We shall overcome.
Best Regards,
Chardonnay Beaver
