Bob Woodson contacted YAAHA several years ago concerning the first book that we wrote. He left his cell phone number and wanted me to call to arrange a phone meeting. I had been following him for years and knew how important he was in the civil rights movement and in the communities he served so well. Here, in his own words, is his message at the beginning of his great book, Lessons From The Least of These, published in 2020.
A Note From Bob
As a Black man who grew up primarily in a low-income neighborhood. I am well aware of the legacy of slavery, Jim Crow laws, and legalized racial discrimination. My mother was one of the many Black parents from that era who told me that I would have to work twice as hard in order to prove myself. I took her advice and did just that, putting myself through school, serving in the military and leading various urban renewal organizations across my career.
Though I have witnessed and experienced incidents of racism throughout my 80-plus years, not once did I consider myself a victim. Never have I thought that my destiny was dependent upon others acknowledging their privilege of advantage through circumstances. In fact, I know from experience the only path for bettering oneself and one’s life is through taking responsibility for one’s own uplift.
This message is becoming lost in today’s society, where tribalism is taking root along political, ideological, and racial lines and with each camp entrenched in bitterness and anger. Today’s youth are being told that they are either victims of oppression or are oppressors themselves, purely based on their skin color. And it is happening in a time when people of all races in this country enjoy unprecedented freedom and opportunity.
But not all are faring well. Many are suffering in neighborhoods across our country – in cities and towns of all sizes. The $22 million that our government has spent on social welfare programs over the last 50 years has not moved the needle on ending poverty. The disintegration of the family, lack of economic opportunity, a substandard education system, gangs, violence, drugs and an overarching lack of hope define life for many in these blighted places.
It is clear we need a different approach…and I have found it where you would least expect.
Grassroots leaders who live in the most toxic, broken areas of our nation are solving the problems associated with poverty in ways that no faceless government program can. In many cases, they have perpetrated themselves the kinds of problems they are now solving. Nearly 80 percent have the title “ex” in their biography.
But the reason these grassroots leaders are effective is because they are witnesses of transformation in their neighborhoods. They also recognize that solutions are usually found among those closest to those suffering the problem. They may not have university degrees, but they hold doctorates in overcoming life’s obstacles. And the foundation of their beliefs and actions revolves around the idea of personal redemption (and agency). They reach out to those in need with the attitude and belief that people are capable of being agents of their own uplift.
For nearly 40 years I have been identifying and amplifying the work these grassroots leaders do, walking alongside them, helping them be more effective in their ministering to people in their communities. In this book I distill the many lessons I have learned from working with these leaders into ten principles that you can apply not only to how you approach your own efforts to helping the poor but to your own life as well.
Now, let’s get on with the work that needs to be done.