Who Shall Lead Us- Chapter1, Bynoe

Chapter 1 of Stand & Deliver begins with a quote that summarizes what I believe as the goal and understanding of this chapter, “…Waiting for the Messiah is a human weakness that is unlikely to be rewarded more than once in a millennium.” This chapter focuses on civic leadership and the separation of Black and White leadership. I believe this quote summarizes the chapter because often times we think as leaders that are more prominent and popular within the society, such as someone that holds a significant position. However, like the quote says- real leaders or a Messiah only appear once in a millennium. Bynoe urges Blacks specifically that communities cannot depend on leaders like these but rather the everyday leader who is knowledge of the community and the issues it faces. Consequently, choosing one leader to represent an entire community is impossible and irreverent for the individual to be knowledgeable of all the issues that are prevalent.

Therefore, there are two types of leaders Bynoe describes, a Charismatic Leader and a Citizen Leader. A Charismatic Leader has three distinct characteristics: they are envisioning, energizing, and enabling. In essence they are the cheerleaders in our community who advocates specific issues and need for change. They empower others to therefore make the changes necessary by stating what steps are needed. A Citizen Leader on the other hand, is the person who performs the actions or steps needed for change. They are often less well-known but are the “nuts and bolts” of change. Bynoe urges the Black community to be Citizen Leaders because compared to Charismatic Leaders, they get the job done and are depended upon more heavily. I agree with this but I also think that Charismatic leaders give the “extra push” that many of us need in order to promote a desired behavior. We need people who can talk for us, specifically in politics, who can advocate the issues many of our communities face.

Earlier I mentioned the second theme of the chapter which is the separation of Black and White leadership and the idea of a Black and White America. Because of racial discrimination and past rulings such as Jim Crow laws, society has always separated Blacks and White, often resulting in Blacks being treated unjustly and unequally. However, as a bi-racial woman of both races and the progression society has made, I feel that I have never experienced the unjustness or supremacy that those before may have or still do. But I do believe that there are separations of each race present because there are still many stereotypes and disadvantages that these groups as well as many others, face. I do not believe there is a white or black America but rather “America” in general. Our nation was founded upon immigrants of different backgrounds and different beliefs. America does not discriminate, its people do. Society and citizens are the blame for emphasis to certain races but America is itself diverse and does not favor one specific race. The idea of a white and black America is in my opinion a stereotype of the type of lifestyles that are present for each race. These are simply generalizations as a result of narrow-minded thinking.