According to Clennon King, each of us has a role in how to improve the lives of those around us.
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Clennon King |
The event celebrates Black History Month and is part of the Diversity Lectures and Cultural Arts Series 2010-2011.
Why is courage in the workplace important?
In the workplace, courage is what produced many of the protections American workers take for granted. Take the Civil Rights Act of 1964 that banned discrimination in the workplace or the Occupational Safety and Health Act Discrimination in Employment Act (OSHA) or the The Family and Medical Leave Act. None would exist without workers who mustered courage. There comes a time when one must take a position that is neither safe, nor politic, nor popular, but he must do it because conscience tells him it is right. The next logical step then is to act with courage.
Why should we concern ourselves with social change?
Because so many of the benefits we enjoy today are the results of hard-fought battles waged for social change. The American Revolution was — at its heart — a fight for social change. The Civil War and Civil Rights Movement were battles for social change. Women’s suffrage, gay rights and bids to protect the disabled were all about improving people’s lives by way of positive social change.
The fact is helping others is part of the price we pay to be on this earth. To do anything less is to accept the status quo. So, we, all of us, must give meaning to our creed that all men are created equal and have rights that guarantee that. To ensure that, we must all be agents of social change. Our liberty and democracy depend on it.
Why is it important to recognize Black History month?
It’s an important opportunity to celebrate the achievements of black people, who have contributed so much, with so little, against all odds. I am a firm believer in the adage, “Those who cannot learn from history are doomed to repeat it.” Ours has been especially brutal. So, why needlessly repeat painful chapters that have already been covered?