Who was the greatest leader...ever?
We wanted to know who you think the greatest leader has ever been!
Robert Claney answered that call and has won a pair of tickets to see President Bill Clinton at the Shaw Conference Center on June 20th, a chance to meet Clinton himself backstage and a signed copy of his autobiography "My Life."
Here's Robert's entry that won him this fantastic prize!
Having spent my first university year (1968-69 – Mississippi College) in a place called Clinton, Mississippi, after having taken a leave of absence –without pay I might add – from the Edmonton Police Department, after completing nine years of service, I think that I’m more than qualified to put forward my nomination for the “greatest leader” who is the late Dr. Martin Luther King. I know, I know, that name was on the web site page, but it really is the truth.
At the time I attended school in Clinton, which is just outside of Jackson, Mississippi, Bernie Ebers, of World Com fame, had recently graduated from that institution and was starting off in the world of business which resulted in a less than honourable business venture in the end, of course, but I digress.
Having lived all of my life, up until then, in Edmonton going far away into the Deep South of the United States of America was indeed a great adventure. At that time, there were few black people in Edmonton, most were either attending or teaching at the University of Alberta or professional athletes and were accepted as equals in all but a few isolated cases.
As you might recall, the US was in turmoil with racial tensions running high and Mississippi was but one of the “States in the Union” where Blacks were treated like dirt. This mind set was clearly evident in the Deep South but there were other places in the US where racisim existed albeit more discreet and under the surface, but it was indeed present. I recall arriving in Jackson and finding such things as water fountains in some public places such as the bus depot or airport terminal as having signs above them indicating “White Only” while often tucked away in a corner was this filthy spigot sticking out of the wall that was intended for Blacks to use, if one was even available.
Even in the local physician’s office there was graphic evidence of the “separation” mentality where there were different waiting room for Whites and Blacks. The White side was clean, with a tiled floor, reasonably furnished with the usual two or three year old magazines, while the Black side was an old worn and oiled wood floor with similar wooden benches in an area that obviously seldom saw even a broom pass through the place. This was difficult enough for me to understand but the true irony of this mentality came crashing through when I realized that there was only one examination room to which both Blacks and White were ultimately ushered into.
I have a hundred stories about the school year that I spent in Mississippi, but how could anyone deny the unqualified recognition of the strength, courage and calming leadership that Dr. King continued to display in the face of all the obstacles and real or underlying barriers that Blacks, particularly in the Deep South, faced. You can read about some of the difficult times he struggled through but unless you lived in those turbulent times and in his company, one can only imagine how much adversity he stood up to and conquered. Can anyone really understand just how strong his belief in why “Right Would Prevail”, his continued encouragement to overcome the prejudice with faith in God and the need to refrain from violence ultimately permeated the psyche of the tens of thousands of equally courageous Blacks in the US? I accept that pockets of racial prejudice still exist but the significant shift in the average person toward his fellow countryman has been something that Dr. King’s sowing of the seeds has continued to grow. For that we should all be grateful. He did, in the end, really entrench the idea that he expressed in his speech “I have a Dream”.
Were it not for the leadership of Dr. King, the continuation of Black people who would follow his path even after his assassination and hold up his values and preaching’s as a banner, the face of the United States would not have ultimately changed and, after all, still continues to evolve. Indeed, it is widely held that he, and he alone, was responsible for avoiding a conflict that could have cost tens of thousands of lives. For that reason, I suggest Dr. King was without argument the greatest leader of the past century.
Congratulations Robert!
