Secrets of a Reluctant Leader

[Music]

211

212. what’s the difference

for those of us who believe in science

the difference

between 211 degrees and 212 degrees

just one degree is the difference

between hot water

and boiling water and when water boils

it produces steam steam produces power

power to run trains power to even run

entire cities one degree

just one degree makes a huge difference

no matter where you stand on the issues

i think you’d agree with me that america

has reached a boiling point 212 degrees

but the question we must ask ourselves

is will we panic

pass the blame or solve the problem

as exciting and as patriotic as that may

seem

a boiling point is scary uncertain

unprecedented even and it’s a cause for

panic

or passing the blame unless of course

your reluctant leader that pivots into

problem solving

can i tell you a secret i’m what some

may call a reluctant leader

reluctant leaders are there to do the

work we’re here for the greater good

we’re fine working behind the scenes and

i was comfortable

for many years doing the work behind a

great leader

the late great betty jean kerr a former

nurse

whose legacy is visible through a

network of community health centers in

st louis

as a visionary servant goes i was good

at my job

until one day she tapped me to be a part

of her executive team

and that was esteem started

my engine

at the same time someone also saw my

steam

my power and asked me to lead they asked

me to run for state representative

my first response no

my second response ah no thanks

my third response was still no

fun fact did you know that a woman has

to be asked to run for office on average

seven times before she says yes

probably because if you’re a wife or a

mother

you have 99 problems and politics just

isn’t one

but the more they asked the more i

considered saying yes

and so reluctantly

i started to wrap my mind around being a

public servant

being a state representative and just

as the train was about to leave the

station

14 years ago we were moving towards

being a state representative

then it happened i got knocked up

and just like a train slows down to a

complete stop

and the steam spews out of the pipe and

goes poof

so did my dreams of being a public

servant

and i once again had to say no to

running for office

but my mama god rest her soul once told

me

that the quickest way to make god laugh

is to tell him what you would never do

so i started to wrap my mind again

around running for public service

and i had two friends men nonetheless

who constantly convinced me that i had

to run

despite all of the questions i had like

how am i going to be a single mom

and how am i going to supplement my

income on a state rep salary

and all of the questions but we had a

little conversation

and it went something like this i’m

pregnant

i’m not going to run for state

representative i can’t i have to stay at

home and take care of my baby

well congratulations that’s wonderful

when are you due i’m due in september

well when does filing open

filing opens five months later in

february

oh well that’s perfect you can have a

baby take a few months off and launch

your campaign right before christmas

are you crazy trust us

it’ll all work out we got you

and just like that this train was back

on the tracks and leaving the station

although i look like i was in control

inside

i panicked i panicked at the thought of

being a single mom

i couldn’t pass the blame because i was

in the driver’s seat here

so i did exactly what every reluctant

leader does

i pivoted to problem solving

if being a single mom and a public

servant

was my path then i was going to embrace

that

unapologetically after my son was

born my motivation changed for being a

public servant

he was my motivation my why

before he was born i was running to be

somebody

after he was born i was running to do

something

motherhood was my boiling point and it

was the steam

that pushed me into public office

but just like me i had a boiling point

there are several others over history

who’ve had boiling points

let’s talk about a few of them some may

think

that kamala harris shattered the glass

ceiling for women in the executive

branch

but what if i told you that she wasn’t

the first

let me introduce to some and present to

others

edith wilson the first female president

in late 1919

president woodrow wilson had a stroke

and guess who assumed the duties of his

office while he was recovering

not the vice president edith

she stepped up and used her steam to

lead this country

until the end of his presidency in 1921.

in america we take several things for

granted like the education of young

women and girls

we tell our young girls that they can be

anything they want to be when they grow

up

but in pakistan only 13 of women

are still in school by the ninth grade

this was the boiling point for malala

yousafzai

she spoke up in the support of education

of young women and girls

and unfortunately that made her a target

and the taliban

attempted to assassinate her but that

didn’t stop her

she continued to speak up most famously

saying

one child one teacher one book

one pen can change the world

and as a result at 17 years old she

became the youngest person to receive

the nobel peace prize

and last but certainly not least on

august 9

2014 we reached our own boiling point

in our own backyard in ferguson missouri

in the aftermath of the death of mike

brown

several reluctant leaders turned

activists

used their locomotive force for change

bruce franks was elected to the state

legislature

rasheen aldridge was appointed to

president obama’s

task force on 21st century policing and

also

elected to the legislature kimberly

gardner

and wesley bell became the first black

elected prosecutors

in the city of saint louis and the

county of st louis respectively

and most recently corey bush

a single mom a nurse and a pastor

became the first black woman elected to

congress from the state of missouri

in all these examples these reluctant

leaders reached a turning point

a tipping point a moment

that pushed them to leave

currently our country has reached a

boiling point

a tipping point we’re in the middle of a

global pandemic

millions are facing eviction there’s

unprecedented unemployment a national

reckoning on racial justice

the list goes on and on but the question

is what will it take you

to reach 212 degrees your boiling point

your tipping point

what will it take for you to produce

steam

steam produces power and

power could be enough power

to change the world you