I Finally Had The Privilege of Meeting Mr. Bob Woodson Today
And the man is chock-full of wisdom
My family and I are attending the Douglass Leadership Institute conference in Atlanta, Georgia. We are here both representing our organization, and to network. I ran into Robert Woodson, founder of the Woodson Center. We had an amazing conversation, he and I, along with my mother and wife.
Mr. Woodson dropped many gems in just a 10 minute conversation, but I want to share one of the things he said with you. We were getting deep into a discussion about Black/Jewish relations; how we have always come together even in ancient history, and how much more we can do together today. He loves the work that we do, and gave some incredible wisdom. In his wisdom, he said the following:
“I think the best way to bring two peoples together is to give them a task that helps a third-party in need. It’s much better than lighting candles and singing ‘Kumbaya.’”
As we say in church, “you could shout on that right there.”
That really is it, isn’t it? We could come together on our shared misery, of which there is plenty, and have enough to talk about until Jesus comes back, but what would we have accomplished after all that?
alternatively, we could continue to move the needle forward by being the voice for those who can’t speak, and giving hope to those who are often forgotten.
Then we spoke of tangible steps.
I do not take lightly that I am able to glean from this 85-year-old stalwart and godfather of the civil rights movement at this time in my life. There are so many more pearls of wisdom he gave to me in my time here, but I will perhaps share them at another time.