Women Are the Leaders We Have Been Looking For
In his new book, We Are the Leaders We Have Been Looking For, Eddie S. Glaude, Jr. invites readers to consider the opportunity for everyday people to have a significant impact on the well-being of democracy. The premise of this read is that individuals have been “outsourcing our responsibility for democracy to others,” – to politicians, community leaders, civic and civil rights organizations throughout American society. He argues that our democracy is in trouble; and “the only way it can be saved is by us ‘everyday, ordinary people.”
We are the Leaders We Have Been Looking For explores a number of points:
- Individuals must stop outsourcing responsibility to leaders.
- We are the [reader insert as appropriate: prophets, leaders, heroes, heroines] we are looking for. Glaude proports that “If we use our own minds we can be heroic in the moments we live.”
- Doing this will reaffirm that our democracy is truly one that is of, for, and by the people. Once again, we are those people.
Glaude expounds from a liturgical stance, “We need a ‘pew-centered democracy. Not a pulpit-centered democracy.” He goes on, “We need the folk in the pews to take hold and shape the direction of the country and world.” To explore this concept, Glaude reflects on his own superheroes: Reverend Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., Malcolm X, and Ella Baker. He dives into the following questions: “Who do I take myself to be? Understanding the history that makes [us], who am I?” and “What can I do with a world that has been bequeathed to me?”
While it is perfectly fine to see celebrities and public influencers as role models or examples of who we want to emulate, Glaude argues that it is not ok to usurp our voices, power, or sense of being to them. The prophet in Reverend Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., the heroism of Malcolm X, and the represented leadership of Ella Baker resides in each of us; and because of this we are [already] the leaders we are looking for. Moreover, we are the leaders our democracy desperately needs. Glaude urges the reader not to become overpowered by the images, thoughts, words, works, and outcomes of our heroes, but to instead strive to seek within ourselves to become better and thus the leaders we all seek.
How do we make Glaude’s insights tangible? How do the ideas translate for SC Women in Leadership’s (SC WIL)? To Juneteenth? How can we apply Glaude’s message toward achieving the mission of equal representation in South Carolina (and other states)? How can we use it to build women up from the ground level to seek elected or appointed office?
We do it one woman at a time. By empowering women to seek or support women in pursuing public office, SC WIL encourages women and their advocates to one by one step up to leadership opportunities and become the heroines needed to represent women at all levels. By preparing women with the proper resources, SC WIL effectively encourages women to seek, own, and embody or emulate the responsibility of our democracy and democratic processes – rather than outsourcing it to others.
To refer to Glaude’s analysis, while Ella Baker was largely behind the scenes for decades promoting and fighting for civil rights, SC WIL invites women throughout South Carolina – both behind the scenes and in clear public view – to become the heroines we are seeking. We are steadily witnessing this as published in a recent SC WIL Voter Alert:
A 2024 survey of American women shows that pretty much everyone thinks the country would be better off if more women held office.
125 female candidates have Primary Elections on June 11, and if [voters] wait until November to turn out to vote, it may be too late. Those Primary Elections will determine who will be on the General Election ballot in November.
If Ella Baker could inspire the likes of Rosa Parks in one of her leadership conferences during the 1960’s, then surely with their informed and engaged grassroots plan of action and support, SC WIL can do the same to impart even more women to seek public office.
In the spirit of freedom that marks this Juneteenth holiday, women throughout our state and union must look individually within ourselves and collectively to activate our own freedoms and engender democracy. We need more women to seek office rather than continuing to rely upon [as Glaude purports] “outsourcing” power and leadership to others.
Hannah E. Parker is a Greenville, South Carolina native who currently resides in Florence, South Carolina. She is a supporter of SC WIL, Founder and Principal Consultant of HE Consulting with more than 20 years Global Human Resources experience, serves as a board member and DEI Director for the League of Women Voters of South Carolina, and holds various leadership positions at the local, state, and national level for the organization.