Explorations in Black Leadership

Co-Directed by Phyllis Leffler & Julian Bond

The Value of Strong Community

DOVE: And the community — My neighbors, the whole community, was so much more closely knit than communities as I see them today. I knew that neighbors were watching out. Sometimes that was good and sometimes for ill, but the fact is you knew that everybody had your back and that if something good happened to you, you could be sure that when you were walking down the street, they would yell it out or something and if you did something wrong, they would give you lots of advice. I had come to value that kind of connection and I think it made quite an impression on me in terms of my own writing to realize that all of these people who never make it into history books or anything like that are full and complete and heroic people actually who had survived and were making it and were teaching I think the young people just by example that you take care of yourself and your kin and someone is always watching you and so just don't try to slip by. All of those examples.