It's Always More Than One ??????????

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It’s Always More than One Person

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Black History Month is a great time to learn more about the contributions African Americans have made in the United States. Concentrating on the stories of the individuals who overcame odds to achieve success can inspire, pushing us to be our best, and reassuring us that we can overcome our own struggles.?

At the same time, it’s important to remember that history is the story of many people working together, and as we consider what makes for effective movements, we must remember it’s always more than one person.

For example, Martin Luther King, Jr., became the face of the civil rights movement, but that movement began with the Montgomery Bus Boycott. He was elected to lead that campaign, speak to reporters, and present messaging, but there were vital figures before him that made this change possible. To both celebrate those lesser-known contributors and learn a lesson about how to make change in the DEI space, let’s examine this boycott and how it involved different people. Doing so, we can see that there are at least five different kinds of personalities needed to make effective change.

1.Engagers ????????

Before Martin Luther King, Jr., became the spokesperson for the Montgomery Bus Boycott, Rosa Parks disobeyed segregationist law by refusing to give up her seat for a white passenger. Before making that bold move, she spent time working with her local NAACP chapter. Before her, Claudette Colvin was arrested for also defying bus segregation, but because she was fifteen years old, pregnant, and unmarried, her case inspired scrutiny that kept her out of the spotlight. Both of these stories show the value of engagers. They have the personality, skills, and courage to confront obstacles. Like Parks, they can become celebrated for their courage. Like Colvin, they could just as likely face demoralizing criticism. Because of these risks, it is important to identify, celebrate, and support engagers.?

2.Articulators ??????????

While it is important to assist engagers, it’s also important to have articulators who can give meaning to that engagement. By the time Parks and Colvin broke the law, Jo Ann Robinson had already been organizing for civil rights. When these two women refused to give up their seats on the bus, Robinson had laid the groundwork that helped frame their deeds as acts of civil disobedience. In addition to her work, the Women’s Political Council (WPC) worked to take what could have otherwise been the isolated acts of two engagers and connected it to broader movements. So when you’re working to make change, ensure that you bolster the articulators who take individual acts of engagement and connect them to larger meanings.?

3.Organizers?????????

Beyond those who link isolated events, effective movements require organizers who can formulate strategy. In this particular case, there was the Montgomery Improvement Association (MIA). This group of ministers and community leaders like Ralph Abernathy, Edgar Nixon, and Alfonso Campbell helped turn Park’s defiant act into a city-wide boycott. To make that widespread effort successful, they organized a complex system of carpools and taxi drivers that would ensure those who refused to take the bus had transportation options. Similarly, if you want your DEI strategy to be sustainable, look out for people who have an eye for logistics. Oftentimes, this attention to brass tacks doesn’t get the praise received by other roles, but the efforts of engagers and articulators also requires the work of organizers.

4.Policy-changers ????????♂?

At first, this movement had smaller demands. Initial publications called for first-come, first-seated rules and Black bus drivers. Interestingly, it took people who were thinking about bigger demands to achieve these smaller ones. For example, Fred D. Gray represented Colvin, Aurelia Browder, Susie McDonald, Mary Louise Smith, and Jeanetta Reese, all Black women who had faced discrimination under the Montgomery bus system. Rather than deal with the city, he took the case of Browder v. Gayle to the U.S. District Court. That audacious move led to the U.S. Supreme Court case that finally led to the legal integration of Montgomery buses more than a year after the boycott began. So, if you’re thinking about your inclusion strategy, watch for those who have the talent and temperament for navigating the bureaucratic structures behind the issues.?

5.Motivators ??????????

On the one hand, there were public figures like Martin Luther King, Jr., the engagers, the articulators, the organizers, and the policy-changers. On the other, there were 40,000 Black Montgomery residents who boycotted for 381 days. Between the two groups, there were countless friends, ministers, elders, big mamas, and community organizers who kept people going. How many hundreds of conversations had to take place to convince a factory worker short on cash to spend more money on gas so he could drive his coworkers home? How many thousands of discussions had to occur to persuade maids that they should walk an hour to endure ten hours of humiliating work only to end the day with another hour walk home? And who were the unsung motivators who somehow strung together the combination of words that made those seemingly impossible arguments persuasive? As you’re working hard to make change, ensure that you work just as hard to cultivate the motivators that will make that change possible.

Identify Your Place

Many consider the Montgomery Bus Boycott to be the first widespread civil rights program that served as the model for the larger civil rights movement that would follow, and that movement provides valuable examples for any other attempt at organizational change. During Black History Month, we may foreground the stories of individuals. That is important, inspiring, and good. But while we celebrate individual persons, it is also vital to remember that movements require all kinds of different personalities. To achieve success, the Montgomery Bus Boycott needed King...and the many other people and organizations acknowledged above. Learning from this chapter in history, we can conclude that a more just future requires heroes but also engagers, articulators, organizers, policy-changers, and motivators. Why? Because when it comes to the factors that make sustainable change, it’s always more than one person.?

What part could you see yourself doing?

Some immediate ways Uplifting Impact is overhauling workplace culture:

• Professional DEI Certification Program
• Uplifting Impact Podcast
• “How to Be an Ally” Virtual Summit

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Being an #ALLY is ongoing work. Any uplifting impact we make now, no matter how big or small, will build a better world for future leaders and generations to come. So, let’s keep working together to affect change. Subscribe to continue these Uplifting Conversations!?