African American leaders see hope instead of problems

Booker is Mayor of Newark, N.J.

When you think about leaders who are African American, of course you think of politicians and our president, Barack Obama.

Even though Obama's election to this prestigious office was a monumental event, several Black leaders are managing major organizations in the U.S.  Blacks are running some of the largest institutions in the world. This shows that Blacks are doing more than being housed in jail cells or living on the streets in America which is often portrayed in the media.

This week, Rev. Fred Luter, Jr. became head of the Southern Baptist Conference. Lee Saunders was elected president of the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees.  They have just been added to the list of African Americans who have been elected to lead.
 
In 2011, The Root introduced its list of 100  influential Blacks. Corey Booker, Mayor, Newark, N.J., came in as No. 1.  Booker is also featured in the current issue of Leaders Magazine. (http://www.leadersmag.com/issues/current_issue.html)

In the magazine, Booker is interviewed concerning his bold vision. "If you see hope every time you open your eyes, then you can help, but if all you see are problems, that’s all there will ever be," Booker said. On The Root list, Booker is followed by movie mogul Tyler Perry, singer John Legend, hip-hop artist Jay-Z, and news anchor Soledad O'Brien.

Savoy Magazine's 2012 top 100 list of influential Blacks in corporate America are listed alphabetically on its website and includes CEO Herman Bulls of Public Institutions, Jones Lang LaSalle; Rhonda Mims, President of ING Foundations; Gerard Gibbons, President of U.S. Sales, UPS; and Dennis Maple, President of ARAMARK Education.  
(http://savoynetwork.com/category/the-list/)

Although they killed Martin, Malcolm, and Medger and criticize Jesse and Al, Black leadership is not dead. We move on to the higher calling of serving humanity, saving communities, and uplifting ourselves.

Photo: Bbsrock,  Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 3.0 Unported license.

©2012 Tomi Johnson. All rights reserved.