Explorations in Black Leadership

Co-Directed by Phyllis Leffler & Julian Bond

Leadership: Vision, Philosophy, and Style

BOND: Let me ask you a philosophical question. Think about vision, philosophy and style. What is the difference between these for you? What is your vision? What is your philosophy? What is your style?

MOORE: I think vision requires people to see beyond what they can see immediately with their physical eye or even their imagination. It really requires almost having a third eye. It also requires that you have — that you’re willing to put the work and effort into something and you won’t necessarily see the results. It’s what Dr. King talked about when he said, “I have a dream that one day my four children will be judged by the content of their character, not the color of their skin,” that he was not going to make it to see that. Moses was not going to be able to see that and I think that that’s — you’ve got to be willing to work and not be able to participate necessarily in the spoils of it. That’s what vision is about — looking at the greatest good for the greatest number of people and being selfless, being able to take yourself out of the equation. I think leadership was your next —

BOND: Philosophy.

MOORE: Philosophy. Philosophy is your own personal belief, and I mean, it’s — you have amassed information. It’s an intellectual process, I believe. And perhaps you have changed or altered your lifestyle based on some beliefs that you have about empirical — some empirical experiences that you have had.

BOND: And style?

MOORE: And style is how you present to the world. You know, I think — you know, some people are very quiet. Some people are loud. Some people — I’m sort of loud and how does that fit in with being shy? I think that I could really feel the push and the momentum and the inertia of all the people that I’m representing, and it sort of pushes out of me and it’s something that comes through me rather than from me. And people have a different way of presenting either their own philosophy or their vision, and style is something that is unique to that person’s character.