Last week I attended Tavis Smiley's panel discussion which addressed the question "Is there a brighter future for the next generation?". While listening to the panel of guests, one voice in particular stood out to me. Dr. Cornel West sat on the stage of scholars, journalists, and media personalities and poignantly addressed issues and queries concerning the future of this nation. While his quick wit and keen intellect were alluring, it was his humbling sense of concern for humanity that really struck me. Amid fielding questions about President Obama's performance, international relations, and the Tuscon, Arizona shooting, Dr. West consistently constructed a picture of the faces and conditions of brown people in "Chocolate cities" and pointed out how the care of these (our) communities was central to any hope for a promising tomorrow. I found in this conversation an encouragement to plant wholesome seeds for the next generation rather than idly watch in fear and anger, bracing for what would come.
So, yesterday, instead of basking in a "day off", I participated in a Day of Service with my classmate. At 9:30am we set out to Springarn High School in Northeast, DC. By 10am we gathered in the auditorium with about 200 other volunteers and got our instructions. For about three hours, we transformed the hallways of Springarn by adding fresh yellow and green paint to the halls and bathrooms on the first floor of the building.
While I understood that coats of paint wouldn't cover up the atrocity of America's segregated, poorly funded and under-resourced schools, there was still beauty in this moment. It was precious to look around and notice that mentors had brought mentees, and families had brought little children who delighted in climbing ladders and crawling on floors, using their little hands to get paint into places adults couldn't fit.
Today, while reading an article by Margaret Wheatley, I came across the following:
"For
too
long,
too
many
of
us
have
been
entranced
by
heroes.
Perhaps
it’s
our
desire
to
be
saved,
to
not
have
to
do
the
hard
work,
to
rely
on
someone
else
to
figure
things
out.
Constantly we
are
barraged
by
politicians
presenting
themselves
as
heroes,
the
ones
who
will
fix
everything
and
make
our
problems
go
away.
It’s
a
seductive
image,
an
enticing
promise.
And
we
keep
believing
it.
Somewhere
there’s
someone
who
will
make
it
all
better.
Somewhere,
there’s
someone
who’s
visionary,
inspiring,
brilliant,
trustworthy,
and
we’ll
all
happily
follow
him
or
her. Somewhere…
Well,
it
is
time
for
all
the
heroes
to
go
home,
as
the
poet
William
Stafford
wrote.
It
is
time for
us
to
give
up
these
hopes
and
expectations
that
only
breed
dependency
and
passivity,
and that
do
not
give
us
solutions
to
the
challenges
we
face.
It
is
time
to
stop
waiting
for
someone
to
save
us.
It
is
time
to
face
the
truth
of
our
situation—that
we’re
all
in
this
together,
that
we
all
have
a
voice—and
figure
out
how
to
mobilize
the
hearts
and
minds
of
everyone
in
our
workplaces
and
communities".
I reflected on yesterday's day of service as an opportunity to be among a group of individuals who at least took one day not to wait on Superman. I imagined that the students who attend Springarn High School would have been able to walk in their building today and see the fruits of labor of people who unearthed themselves from the myth of the hero, "[faced] the truth of the situation" and banded together to make a difference, one bright yellow and green stroke at a time.
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