Legacy of a Leader for Social Change

In case you couldn't attend the Martin Luther King, Jr. celebration at the Boys & Girls Club of Stoneham on Monday, here is a look at the speech I gave during the event:

Distinguished guests, ladies and gentlemen,

My name is Bob Lee. I am an attorney and I am an instructor at the Body Mind Systems martial arts school in Stoneham. I have had the opportunity and privilege in recent years to help the personal growth of Stoneham’s residents.

I want to thank Randy Perillo, the Boys & Girls Club of Stoneham, and the Stoneham Martin Luther King, Jr. Celebration Committee for the opportunity to say a few words about the legacy of Martin Luther King, Jr.

Read the news and you will see stories of a great war, a presidential election, extreme economic and social inequalities, protest, drug abuse, poverty, and technological change bringing us closer to both mastering and destroying our environment.

I’m speaking, of course, of 1968.

At every point in human history, singular individuals have arisen to lead their community through the challenges of their time.

You can tell the impact of a person on humanity and society by the size of their effect and influence on people. And usually when a person has a larger effect on people, there will be some that will try to destroy him or her.

Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. was and is one of these singular persons in recent memory.

What is a leader? A leader has a vision of the future who knows why that vision is important for the good of many, and takes action to bring others to that vision.

A leader is not swayed by doubters, detractors and naysayers. A leader walks a lonely path only because they have to be the one to cut the path where no else has gone before them.

But when they turn around, they see they are not alone because of the many who are following behind him or her.

On April 3, 1968 at the Mason Temple in Memphis, Tenn., Martin Luther King was speaking to the people about his arrival there to support striking black sanitation workers who were demanding better pay and treatment.

During this speech, Martin Luther King talked of being stabbed, he talked of his flight to Memphis having to be carefully checked to make sure everything was alright. He talked of threats being made because he was in Memphis.

In his speech he says:

"That's the question before you tonight. Not, 'If I stop to help the sanitation workers, what will happen to my job?' Not, 'If I stop to help the sanitation workers, what will happen to all of the hours that I usually spend in my office every day and every week as a pastor?' The question is not, 'If I stop to help this man in need, what will happen to me?' The question is, "If I do not stop to help the sanitation workers, what will happen to them?' That's the question.

"Let us rise up tonight with a greater readiness. Let us stand with a greater determination. And let us move on in these powerful days, these days of challenge to make America what it ought to be. We have an opportunity to make America a better nation. And I want to thank God, once more, for allowing me to be here with you.”

This year marks the 44th year since Martin Luther King’s passing. We live in a time of great economic challenge, war and protest. We live in a time of great technological wonder with communication, choices, and opportunity.

So much has changed and so much remains the same in 44 years.

But then, what era of humanity has wealth, war, protest, communication, choices and opportunity never been a challenge?

In 1968, Martin Luther King painted a picture to his audience that night about traveling through the course of human history up to the present day saying:

"If you allow me to live just a few years in the second half of the twentieth century, I will be happy. Now that's a strange statement to make, because the world is all messed up. The nation is sick. Trouble is in the land. Confusion all around. That's a strange statement. But I know, somehow, that only when it is dark enough, can you see the stars. And I see God working in this period of the twentieth century in a way that men, in some strange way, are responding--something is happening in our world. The masses of people are rising up. And wherever they are assembled today, whether they are in Johannesburg, South Africa; Nairobi, Kenya: Accra (Aw-Craw), Ghana; New York City; Atlanta, Georgia; Jackson, Mississippi; or Memphis, Tennessee—the cry is always the same—'We want to be free.'"

He adds:

“…I'm happy to live in this period…we have been forced to a point where we're going to have to grapple with the problems that men have been trying to grapple with through history, but the demands didn't force them to do it. Survival demands that we grapple with them. Men, for years now, have been talking about war and peace. But now, no longer can they just talk about it. It is no longer a choice between violence and nonviolence in this world; it's nonviolence or nonexistence.”

At the end of his speech, Martin Luther King says:

“Well, I don't know what will happen now. We've got some difficult days ahead. But it doesn't matter with me now. Because I've been to the mountaintop. And I don't mind. Like anybody, I would like to live a long life. Longevity has its place. But I'm not concerned about that now. I just want to do God's will. And He's allowed me to go up to the mountain. And I've looked over. And I've seen the promised land. I may not get there with you. But I want you to know tonight, that we, as a people will get to the promised land. And I'm happy, tonight. I'm not worried about anything. I'm not fearing any man. Mine eyes have seen the glory of the coming of the Lord.”

As a martial arts practitioner, as a warrior, as a leader, as a human being, you have three things in life: You, your sword and your enemy (sometimes known as life’s challenges).

If you have trained so strongly that you have complete trust in your abilities, if you made your sword so strong that you know it will cut true and never break, and if you know your enemy so well you will defeat him, you will always win.

That was where Martin Luther King was at the end of his life, a warrior and a leader. He had full confidence in himself, full confidence in the ways he needed to get there and no doubt that the people he led would overcome any obstacle to get there.

Forty-four years since Martin Luther King’s passing and humanity is still battling the same battles. But look at the opportunities that lay before you. In each of us there is a Martin Luther King, a warrior and a leader. We all have the ability to help not just ourselves but others for the better.

We each have to lead in our own way.

We each have to first learn to lead ourselves. We each cut a path to help others and lonely as it may seem, you have to trust and know that you are following a path that is meaningful to you and don’t let anyone limit you from anything that you want.

You take your talents and your passion and you help others. When you do, they will want to help you.

If you are selfish and only help yourself, only one of you can help you.

If you are generous, and you help 10,000 people, 10,000 people will help you back. The best leaders know this. The successful entrepreneurs know this. The most charitable know this.

Martin Luther King won the Nobel Peace Prize before there was any Twitter, any Facebook, any cell phone, any 24-hour news cycle. He used his voice, his convictions, his personality, his willpower, his determination, his focus, his patience and his actions to steer the world in a better direction.

If you are tempted to be cynical, jaded or negative about life, life will return you more of the same. As a leader, you have to be optimistic, passionate, decisive, and willing to take action. Life will reward you with more of the same.

Martin Luther King’s life ended while he was in the service of others. He led and served so much so that 44 years later, we still speak of him on a day that America named after him.

Find in you that warrior, that servant, that leader. Train yourself to lead, to fight, and to conquer any obstacle, any enemy, any doubt you may have. When you do, everything is possible and everything you could want for you and society will be yours.

Martin Luther King may not have lived to see the full impact of his life on the planet. But he didn’t have to, because his mind already saw it and it was real.

That was his leadership.

Thank you.