(ThyBlackMan.com) Social Movements…
They are born out of inspiration, passion, unity, perseverance and determination. Whether or not you believe in the mission or objectives of some of the prominent movements in history, it is still inspiring. When many gather for one cause, and fight for it because they truly believe, it is impressive.
Sometimes, looking at a social movement and what was necessary in order to achieve the goals of the movement, it can be impressive to the point of 
being overwhelming. For instance, the Saffron Revolution in Myanmar during September of 2007 was a great example of uniting for a cause, but what faced them was violence and persecution. Some protesters had to be concerned about the livelihood of families or had to hide themselves or seek asylum in countries because to profess that they did not support the military junta governing Myanmar was to become a target.
I know for me, I often wonder – what makes individuals stand up for a cause that they know will have such strong backlash and consequences? Is it something unique about these individuals? Anything more unique than the will to stand up for what you believe until change has come?
Maybe this feeds into the apathy of people today – because we cannot see ourselves sacrificing so much for something. Maybe it is just that an issue has not come along yet that you are willing to give your all for. My guess is though, that there is nothing separating us from those Buddhist monks in that Saffron Revolution except the will and motivation to see your goals and beliefs through.
Or what about the leaders of these movements? Something that becomes apparent to me as I look at movements within our history as a world is that many times, the leader was not the most obvious, seemingly most qualified, or the most willing.
For instance, Martin Luther King, Jr. happened upon the Montgomery Bus Boycott and also the leader of a civil rights movement in the U.S. as a young preacher of the SCLC. He was not as prominent in Montgomery as other preachers like Fred Shuttlesworth, nor was he as active in civil rights up to that point. He did not ask nor submit his name to lead the boycott, but he was selected because of his relative anonymity in Montgomery, because it was assumed he was less known by the whites in Montgomery and would be less prone to backlash.
Or Rosa Parks. She was not the first black to be asked to give up her seat and refuse. In fact before it happened to her, it happened to a Mary Louise Smith. The Negro establishment however chose Rosa Park’s refusal and arrest as the proper time to strike. Parks case was selected as a battle to fight not because of her maneuvering as a leader, but because it seemed like a better catalyst.
Or whether you are Christian, Jewish or neither, the Bible relies heavily on teachings where the spiritual leader or great leader of a people is not the one with the most obvious leadership background – Moses, King David, Noah, etc. Whether or not you accept the Bible as historically accurate, a recurring theme in leadership is that it doesn’t take the flashiest, smartest, most powerful or strongest person to motivate entire populaces, but the motivation and belief/faith that you can accomplish what you set out to do.
What this tells me is that leadership and action are not reserved for a ”certain” type of person. We do not refrain from action because we are naturally incapable, but because we convince ourselves it is insurmountable. As grand a goal many leaders of social movements hoped to accomplish…as huge an obstacle individuals who were inspired to follow these leaders without fail into these social movements…they all still believed they had the power to bring about change.
They were not superhumans…they had no genetic mutation altering their capacity for suffering or capacity for leadership…they had passion, inspiration, determination, and perseverance.
So if there is a cause you believe in or a problem you see in this world today…what is your reason for remaining inactive…remaining on the sideline?
Staff Writer; Corey P.
