An Era-Shifting Speech on Education (III)

PART 4: The Miracle of SAL in Underprivileged Communities

Unfortunately, SAL principles are often most shunned in those sectors of society where it is most needed. Worse still, some parents and leaders of students in these same sectors actually perpetuate the problem. From some so-called Civil Rights leaders who primarily promote grievance over proactivity and possibility, to parents who instill seeds of failure by negatively affirming their own child’s lack of worth, our nation too often fails our students who are most vulnerable to negative peer pressure, and most at risk of sliding into lifestyles that perpetuate intergenerational poverty.

From Orphan to Executive: Self-Action Leadership in Real Life

Today I share the real life Self-Action Leadership story of Dr. Nathaniel J. Williams. 
Little Nat Williams started out life as an orphan in the Bronx with all the strikes against him.  The 11th of 12 children, Nat never knew his father, and attended his mother's funeral at age five.  He still remembers the five taxis all lined up to haul him and his nine brothers and sisters under the age of 18 to different foster homes throughout New York City.  

It was in a foster home a few years later that Nat had an experience that would forever change his life.  The value of the experience was discovered not in what happened, but in how Nat chose to interpret the experience and allow it to influence his behavior.  Here is what happened...

Self-Action Leadership in Real Life: Success from Chicago's South Side

What does Self-Action Leadership look like in real life?

Meet Felicia Cockrell. Her success story highlights the impact of Self-Action Leadership application in communities where structural inequalities and other difficulties play a prominent role.

Felicia was born in Chicago's infamous "South Side," where drugs, gangs, and murder have been, and continue to be, dangerously prevalent. It is a challenging place to grow up.