Excellence Settles The Issue

Things have changed! "There comes a time when silence is betrayal, said Dr. King." I can relate to Dr. King's statement more punctiliously now, after making a critical and analytical assessment, of the Black Community's perspective or POV (point-of-view), on where we are forty years later after his death. Many people looked into television camera's all across this nation yesterday and said nothing has changed. In the wake of "Hurricane Katrina" and "Jena 6", it's easy to understand why so many Black Americans launch great debates about the issue of equality. Right is right and wrong is wrong - I agree.

Looking back, at pre-civil rights life, through the lenses of injustice and inequality I find it hard to form my lips to say 'nothing has changed.' Educational and economic opportunities for blacks/minorities are more accessible today than they have ever been. During the 1960's the citizens of this country would have never considered a black man or a woman as formidable candidates for the country's highest office, yet you say nothing has changed?

American Express: Kenneth I. Chenault is president of the Consumer Card and Financial Services Group, USA, of the American Express Company's Travel Related Services Division. Chenault, who is based in New York City, is also chairman of AMEX Life Assurance Co. and president of American Express Centurion Bank, yet you say nothing has changed?

Xerox: A. Barry Rand is group vice president of Xerox Corporation and president of the company's U.S. Marketing Group, based in Rochester, N.Y., with a team of 35,000 staffers responsible for sales, service, administration and distribution of Xerox products, yet you say nothing has changed?

Campbell Soup: Brenda E. Edgerton is vice president and treasurer of the Campbell Soup Company based in Camden, N.J., where she is responsible for all financings, investments, pension funding and cash management, yet you say nothing has changed?

Dr. King once said, "freedom is never voluntarily granted by the oppressor; it must be demanded by the oppressed." The question is how do you demand equality in a society where inequality exists? I recently read a true story about a young man who was taken captive to a foreign land (which made him a slave) where the laws were not user-friendly for slaves. After a short time in the land, the existing political leadership began to take notice of him. Soon, he was given a high position that was always occupied and reserved for someone native to the land. It is said that he distinguished himself above the other leaders with an excellent mind-set. Excellence in a practical sense means to desire to do better. It means going beyond what's required and expected. Excellence means doing a little bit better today than you did yesterday.

The truth is we need to stop playing the blame game and start sharpening our axes. We are trying to chop down trees (obstacles, impossibilities) and pierce corporate veils with dull axes. No human being should expect to rise to the top of anything if they aren't doing what it takes to become excellent. Once you distinguish yourself to the point of excellence you cannot be overlooked. If a young slave boy can rise to the top in a country considered to be a world power at the time of his promotion - so can you. If your axe remains sharp and you keep on swinging it the tree has to fall. When circumstances tell me I'm not gonna make it, I say timber! When I say timber it's a warning to all the spectators and the haters to get out of the way because this huge tree (obstacle, impossibility) is coming down and I am coming up.


Where injustice does exist give voice to it consistently and strategically until justice is granted. Excellence must flow out of our lives like a rushing mighty river. The desire to be better, live better and treat others better should define the very content of our character that Dr. King spoke of. In a speech by Dr. King called "What Is Your Life's Blue Print?", he said that "number one in your life's blueprint is a deep belief in your own dignity and number two you must have as the basic principle the determination to achieve excellence in your various fields of endeavor."

Six months before he was assassinated, Dr. King spoke to a group of students at Barratt Junior High School in Philadelphia on October 26, 1967. In this same speech Dr. King said that "doors would be opening to us that were not open to our fathers and mothers." The challenge is to be ready to walk through these doors when they open. Are you ready? Things have changed. The question is have you?