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Merits and demerits of charismatic leadership
Merits and demerits of charismatic leadership
Charismatic vs visionary leadership
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In the field of black studies we are exposed to a plethora of important figures that have made a significant impact in black history. These leaders fit, and can often be placed, into two categories: charismatic leaders and bridge leaders. Belinda Robnett, the woman who came up with the concept of bridge and charismatic leaders, defined charismatic leaders as “actors who occupy organizational offices which entail power and who also have personal power over subordinates”. Bridge leaders, on the other hand, are described as “actors within the organization who have personal but not official power over lower participants.” (Robnett, American Journal of Sociology pg. 64). In other words, a charismatic leader is someone who is a figurehead or spokesperson of a movement, while a bridge leader is the person with no official power but is instead the link between the people and the charismatic leader, often making the most impact in a movement but most commonly unrecognized. (Robnett, American Journal of Sociology pg. 64) This notion of charismatic and bridge leaders is clearly visible in many of the assigned readings, and plays a significant role in an authors’ concepts of radicalism. Radicalism simply cannot ascribe to one definition, it varies with each radical figure.
In David Walker’s Appeal, Walker sent out a call for action against slavery. He was tired of the abuse, of the wrong doing against Negroes and insisted that Negroes had just as much right to be free as white men did. To achieve this Walker formed three main concepts of radicalism; one fell into the area education, another in the category of violence, and the last in the field of religion. As mentioned, one of Walker’s methods of radicalism stems from education. He stat...
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...hemselves regardless of the violence inflicted upon them. (Ransby 212) This is also another instance where Ella Baker wasn’t worried about upsetting the charismatic leader, Martin Luther King Jr., but was simply speaking her mind out of what she thought best for the movement, which definitely set her apart from any other.
So while there were many important figures that had their own brands of radical, they tended to believe in one of two concepts: charismatic leadership or bridge leadership. Walker, Turner, and DuBois seem to mostly identify with the idea that a charismatic leader was necessary, whereas Baker strongly believed in bridge leadership much more. Radicalism has no one definition, as it varies with each radical figure. Regardless, Baker, DuBois, Turner, and Walker each had their own special brand of radicalism that is still very much remembered today.
Walker never experienced slavery but was only a witness to the cruel institution. It is in his travels and observations that he becomes convinced of the cruelty of the institution in which he says “inhuman system of slavery, is the source from which most of our miseries proceed” (Walker Page 5). Although he had never been a slave, the racism and prejudices that existed still caused difficulties for him.
During a period of time, the world lost its values due to ambition. Blacks were enslaved for being different. Races became a huge part of people’s everyday talk and to succeed, farmers and business owners had to make African Americans do their dirty work for them. During this period of time, people like Joe Starks from “The Eyes Were Watching God” and people like Frederick Douglass’s slavemasters became abundant in the world. The belief that they were superior to everyone else lead them to impose power in a way that even themselves could not tolerate. Even though “The Eyes Were Watching God” was written after slave abolition, Joe Starks and Douglass’s slavemasters have many characteristics in common and differences which are worthy to be noticed.
...icit in the cause of white supremacists, and is in fact as personally involved with the subject of his scholarly article as Wright is with his own less academic essay. Phillips’s evidentiary support is subject to a striking caveat, one which puts almost any source to work for his purposes, “When…slavery was attacked it was defended not only as a vested interest, but…as a guarantee of white supremacy and civilization. Its defenders did not always take pains to say that this was what they chiefly meant, but it may nearly always be read between their lines.” This has the effect of providing an assumed motive for all of his sources; Phillips’s reader also begins to ‘read between the lines.’ The most troubling aspect of his article is that, in the guise of a serious historian, he twists historical fact to suit his thesis, rather than suiting his thesis to the facts.
Hinks, Pete P. To Awaken My Afflicted Brethren: David Walker and the Problem of Antebellum Slave Resistance. 1997
The Nation of Islam, which Malcolm X was an important member of, is not a religious organization as the name suggests but rather an organization whose goal was to make the lives of African Americans better instead of actually teaching the proper ethics of Islam. One of the main objectives of this organization was Black Nationalism, through which Black leaders can control the areas where there is a majority of African Americans. This cause was greatl...
The world as we know it today, is one very different to the world even 50 years ago. Technology has advanced, frontiers have been reached and surpassed, and people are more free than ever. The catalyst for a large percentage of human freedom in particular was the African-American Civil Rights movement, from the mid 1950’s, to the late 1960’s. Headed by multiple prominent figures throughout its duration, the following essay will be comparing and contrasting Martin Luther King Jr., and Stokely Carmichael, and then determining which of the two was a more effective leader. If the definition used were to be “The act of leading, or the ability to be a leader”, (Webster 2003, p.264) then both Carmichael and King would finish in a similar position,
The Appeal thus stands as an early manifestation of radical black slavery. David Walker’s Appeal is not only inspired the early abolitionists, but also facilitate the American Revolution of the abolishment for slavery. David Walker’s attitude and opinions are very radical in the Appeal; he encouraged colored slaves to fight for their freedom, challenged and questioned Mr. Jefferson (whom represented the authority) and the Declaration of Independence. In addition, he also utilized religions and the writing style in the Appeal to alert all his American fellows to abolish slavery. Though David Walker's Appeal is very radical, his behavior and action is very reasonable. Precisely because of his radical, more and more people were inspired and start to support abolition slavery. His radical is a logical extension of the principals of the American Revolution.
Ella Baker and Martin Luther King Jr. did have their similarities as leaders of the Civil Rights Movement, but there were vast differences as well. Their differences allowed the Civil Rights Movement to be more encompassing while fighting for the same cause. Baker and King both grew up in the South, had religious upbringings, had at least some level of a higher education, and were public speakers. What set them apart was their differing opinions on who contributed to social change, and how. This is expressed through the varying social classes they depended on, importance placed on reputations developed through public associations, and nonviolence tactics that used to fight for equality. Even though Baker and King had different methods in which
Ogbar, Jeffrey. Black Power Radical Politics and African American Identity. Baltimore: John Hopkins UP, 2004, 124.
This paper will discuss the different stages of thought processes the former Nation of Islam minister, Malcolm X went through during his lifetime in terms of how he viewed white people, but more specifically “the white man” in America. The reason the focus is on White Americans is because these were the people outside of the Nation of Islam that shaped his life good or bad and put him on the path where he eventually transformed from Malcolm Little to Malcolm X who was one of the most polarizing and controversial figures during his lifetime and even nearly 50 years after his death the name Malcolm X causes certain people to shudder. Malcolm X became a well-known figure during the 50’s and 60’s during the civil rights movement which involved figures such as Martin Luther King Jr. This was a pivotal era in American history because for the first time that there was major push towards full rights for African Americans. When Malcolm X came on the scene he put fear into White people because they weren’t used to hearing the truth about race relations in America and many of them felt that things were just fine because they themselves were living life high on the hog while at the same time exploiting Blacks. Because this type of talk from a black person was new to them they misinterpreted his views as “hate speech” and accused him of trying to incite violence when he was simply trying wake his people up to properly deal with what was happening to them.
Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass, An American Slave, brings to light many of the social injustices that colored men, women, and children all were forced to endure throughout the nineteenth century under Southern slavery laws. Douglass's life-story is presented in a way that creates a compelling argument against the justification of slavery. His argument is reinforced though a variety of anecdotes, many of which detailed strikingly bloody, horrific scenes and inhumane cruelty on the part of the slaveholders. Yet, while Douglas’s narrative describes in vivid detail his experiences of life as a slave, what Douglass intends for his readers to grasp after reading his narrative is something much more profound. Aside from all the physical burdens of slavery that he faced on a daily basis, it was the psychological effects that caused him the greatest amount of detriment during his twenty-year enslavement. In the same regard, Douglass is able to profess that it was not only the slaves who incurred the damaging effects of slavery, but also the slaveholders. Slavery, in essence, is a destructive force that collectively corrupts the minds of slaveholders and weakens slaves’ intellects.
Robert F. Williams was one of the most influential active radical minds of a generation that toppled Jim Crow and forever affected American and African American history. During his time as the president of the Monroe branch of the NAACP in the 1950’s, Williams and his most dedicated followers (women and men) used machine guns, Molotov cocktails, and explosives to defend against Klan terrorists. These are the true terrorists to American society. Williams promoted and enforced this idea of "armed self-reliance" by blacks, and he challenged not just white supremacists and leftists, but also Martin Luther King Jr., the NAACP, and the civil rights establishment itself. During the 1960s, Williams was exiled to Cuba, and there he had a radical radio station titled "Radio Free Dixie." This broadcast of his informed of black politics and music The Civil Rights movement is usually described as an nonviolent / peaceful call on America 's guilty conscience, and the retaliation of Black Power as a violent response of these injustices against African Americans. Radio Free Dixie shows how both of these racial and equality movements spawned from the same seed and were essentially the same in the fight for African American equality and an end to racism. Robert F. Williams 's story demonstrates how independent political action, strong cultural pride and identity, and armed self-reliance performed in the South in a semi-partnership with legal efforts and nonviolent protest nationwide.
Black Status: Post Civil War America. After the emancipation of slaves in 1862, the status of African-Americans in post-civil war America up until the beginning of the twentieth century did not go through a great deal of change. Much legislation was passed to help blacks during this period. The Civil Rights Act of 1875 prohibited segregation in public facilities and various government amendments gave African-Americans even more guaranteed rights.
Freedom was knowledge, education and family, but “The root of oppression decided as a “tangle of pathology” created by the absence of male authority among Black people” (Davis, 15). Therefore, they enjoyed “as much autonomy as they could seize, slave men and women manifested irrepressible talent in humanizing an environment designed to convert them into a herd of subhuman labor units” (Davis). Instead of being the head of the “household”, he and the women treated each other as an equal. This thought would soon become a historical turning point that initiated the fight for gender
Our world is filled with many successful leaders. The gift of being a leader can be learned; however some individuals have a natural born talent to be a leader. Each leader has his or her own unique leadership style. The gift of being a leader can be learned. Certain individuals are born with a charismatic style and can easily be a leader. A successful leader is one who can inspire and motivate people towards a goal. Martin Luther King Jr. was an individual with a born gift to lead people. The following paper will discuss how Martin Luther King Jr. was able to inspire and motivate people with his effective leadership style.