Martin Luther King Jr. lived many years ago.
You’re alive today.
What’s yours to do?
We celebrated the life of Martin Luther King Jr. on Monday, January 20th.
His contributions simply astound us and is a testament to the power of
love.
Martin Luther King Jr. made his mark.
He dedicated his life to being a drum major for justice, focused on eradicating racial inequities that are woven into the very fabric of America. Standing on the shoulders of countless people throughout the ages who worked alone and with others to resist, sit in, stand up, and risk life and limb to move America forward, MLK Jr. amplified the Civil Rights movement and led it to unimagineable heights.
MLK believed that the “arc of the moral universe is long, but it bends towards justice”. We wholeheartedly agree with him, but the arc bends only if we bend it.
We are alive today. What’s yours to do?
The threads of woven fabric loosen over time and wear out. We can unstitch the threads of inequity about race and other marginalized identities woven into America where we work, where we live and in our daily interactions. MLK Jr did his part. We can do ours. We’re here now and can make a difference.
To start, or deepen your impact, develop a daily habit of asking yourself: what is mine to do? Steve Heller, a fellow Georgetown University Leadership Coach and CPL team member placed that question on my heart several years ago. It lives there today.
The very question calls me to lean in to make a positive difference for Blacks, other People of Color and marginalized identities. He did. You can.
The first step is to decide that you have a role in eliminating injustice. MLK Jr. could have retreated into the woodwork and thrown up his hands that he was just one person. Or he could’ve been paralyzed by the enormity of the task, America’s legacy of unfairness or prioritized his personal comfort over making a difference.
We’ve heard these reasons from people who were born into advantage and those who have influence by simply being in the room. They are made by many at all levels and from all walks of life. These comments and many like them drive inertia and reinforces America’s staus quo.
Our response is the same: you still can rise, you have agency, you can make fairness reign in the spaces you’re in. One statement, one action, one invitation, one decision at a time. The arc bends toward justice with human hands. Your hands. Let’s carry on the dream of Martin Luther King Jr.
Tracy
Tracy Carmen-Jones
Partner
ChoicePoints Learning
www.choicepointslearning.com
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About the Partners of ChoicePoints Learning
Tracy Carmen-Jones, Steve Galloway and Linda Bidlack are the Partners of ChoicePoints Learning. They are committed to building Beloved Community that fosters ways we can be Better Together at work and in life.
Tracy has extensive senior leadership experience in Fortune 500 companies in utilities, oil & gas, technology, financial services and management consulting.
Tracy earned PCC level certification training in leadership coaching at Georgetown University, MBA from J.L. Kellogg School of Management, Northwestern University and BSBA, Georgetown University. Steve Galloway is a dynamic and thoughtful transformation change, organizational and leadership development consultant and coach. The thrust of Steve’s work is helping organizations and their people develop the skills, practices, insights, relationships and strategies required to reach peak performance and the realization of their desired business and personal developmental aims.
Steve has served a wide variety of private/public sector, intelligence and defense organizations providing dedicated consulting support addressing organizational change challenges, emerging business transformation initiatives and leadership development.
Steve’s educational background includes a M.A., Political Science/Policy Analysis, Southern Illinois University, B.A., Political Science, Edinboro University, Change Management Advanced Practitioner (CMAP), Georgetown University, Executive Leadership Coaching, Georgetown University, Washington, DC, Fellows in the Management of Change, Johns Hopkins University.
Linda Bidlack has a passion for coaching leaders to find and use their voice, presence, and values to elevate their entire organization while also flourishing as human beings. Linda’s clients are high achievers who want to take their impact to the next level but realize that a shift is required – what got them to where they are now is not going to work as well on a bigger playing field. Also an award-winning workshop designer and facilitator, she has helped hundreds of people develop capacities they didn’t know they had, build their authentic presence and influence, address their blind spots, or wrestle with what they want to do next. Linda’s educational background includes an Executive Certificate in Leadership Coaching, Georgetown University; Professional Certified Coach; MA in Counseling, University of Maryland; BA in Anthropology, Hiram College.
About ChoicePoints Learning
Our mission is to help people notice and choose actions that promote mutual understanding, appreciation and respect across all aspects of identity. Our goal is to build Beloved Community across races in order to create results that/ matter.