Perseverance

Fiona Stewart
Jan 19, 2020
2 min read

Updated: Jul 12, 2020

On this day when we remember the Reverend Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., I’m reminded and in awe of how important perseverance is for leadership.

As Dr. King reminded us, “The arc of the moral universe is long, but it bends towards justice.”

The way forward can be long and filled with challenges. Leaders must persevere and remain dedicated to a greater vision of what can be. As I wrote in my book, “For people to have trust in leadership, they need to know that the leaders are dependable. Leaders provide stability and can be counted on when the road is unclear or difficult….To remain dependable, leaders must persevere even when times get tough” (p. 18).

We are often taught history as if it was a series of events and that struggle over time and perseverance weren’t part of it. The Reverend Lissa Gundlach noted in a sermon that sometimes it’s almost like people think the civil rights movement was three simple events: Rosa Parks not giving up her seat on the bus, Dr. King’s speech, and then the Civil Rights Act passing - as if the years of perseverance and struggle didn't happen.

The Montgomery bus boycott alone continued for 381 days. For more than a year and estimated 40,000 people walked miles to work, carpooled, organized, and persevered. And Rosa Parks wasn’t the first to be arrested for not giving up her seat. This activism and planning regarding the unjust laws had been in the works for months and months. And Rosa Parks wasn’t just some tired seamstress, she was a community leader and civil rights activist, including serving as the secretary for the local NAACP chapter.

To remain steadfast and persevere through the challenges is not easy and takes facing fear and hardship. But as Rosa Parks stated, “I have learned over the years that when one's mind is made up, this diminishes fear; knowing what must be done does away with fear.”

To persevere towards the moral arc bending towards justice.

“If you can’t fly, then run,

if you can’t run, then walk,

if you can’t walk, then crawl,

but whatever you do, you have to keep moving forward.”

- The Reverend Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.