Why I Fight for My People
I am often asked what is it that drives me to fight for my people. The answer to the question is actually quite simple, but it sparks a need to discuss something that I believe is lacking among far too many blacks — an individual responsibility that is connected to their purpose.
Allow me to share something with you. I once read that the great orator, Daniel Webster, who was held in very high regard among his contemporaries, was asked by a reporter, “What is the greatest thought to ever occupy your mind?” Webster’s response was succinct, but profound. He said, “My individual responsibility to God.” I immediately began to contemplate the magnitude of that statement and how it applied to me.
After anatomizing the statement for some time, I came to the reality that the individual responsibility that Webster was speaking of was actually his purpose. He was saying that he believed in his design and purpose, and that his purpose was the greatest mental revelation that he has ever had.
I am a proponent of people becoming acquainted with their purpose, and I often tell people I counsel and teach that discovering their purpose will explain their pain. Purpose is what drives passion. One of the greatest reasons that so many blacks seem to be lost and unsure is because they have no sense of identity, nor do they have a sense of purpose. So, they wonder aimlessly about accomplishing nothing of any intrinsic value.
I believe that one of the most powerful things we can do for our youth is to introduce them to their purpose through the conduit of their identity and design. We need to spend enough time with our youth and young adults to recognize their gifts, and then we need to spend the time and energy necessary to cultivate those gifts while reinforcing the concept of purpose.
Purpose has the ability to drive you far past the point of giving up or giving out. It is purpose that pushes you forward when all of your strength has been diminished. Purpose will drive you to push through the obstacles of fear and trepidation. Purpose will make you stand tall when others are cowering and retreating.
Yes, it is purpose that drives me, for it is my purpose that is inextricably bound to my individual responsibility to God.
I encourage each of you to become acquainted with your purpose, and commit yourself to walking in your purpose. You will find a sense of solace and peace when you are encapsulated within your purpose. Not even the possibility of death can rob you of this peace. We, as a race of people, must embrace the responsibility associated with our purpose.
Identity and purpose serve to take us out of our narcissistic mindsets and it reminds us that this journey is not about us, and we are a part of something that is bigger than us. I dare you to live in your purpose! ~ Dr. Rick Wallace, Ph.D.