It should not be a surprise that there are individuals who excel and accomplish much despite their environment and circumstances. Why the death of Professor John Hope Franklin caused me to stop and reflect was a surprise, however. Franklin died on March 25, 2009. He was 94. Maybe it was the idea that there is no 'glass ceiling' for those who are good (at what they do). This was said of John Hope Franklin by Theodore Currier.
Franklin served as a Distinguished Professor at Duke University. His illustrious career included writing a series of books. His volume, From Slavery to Freedom: A History of African-Americans (1947), is considered a seminal text that gave language to social activism and the black struggle. He was winner of the Presidential Medal of Freedom, the highest honor the U.S. can confer on a citizen. He received his undergraduate degree from Fisk in 1935 and his MA and PHD from Harvard University. Franklin was a professor at Howard University (Washington, DC) from 1947-1956, and served as chairman of the History Department of Brooklyn College. The latter appointment was significant for a first black head at a historically white college.
Most important was that Franklin lent his ideas and intellect to the social and political struggles of the day, interacting with Rosa Parks, Martin Luther King, Jr., Jesse Jackson, and Thurgood Marshall. He did the historical research on the Brown versus the Board of Education case that outlawed school segregation.
While there are yet challenges for minorities (ethnic, gender, size, etc.) to rise to one's desired heights, this statement about 'no glass ceiling' felt energizing and empowering to me. It says to me that good people get beyond the real and perceived barriers that face them. They seem to move past, around, over, and under barriers seemingly without missing a step. They see barriers to success (glass ceilings) as challenges to overcome, not as immovable objects. Each time I read about a person who has faced the challenges and has succeeded, I like to cheer. It is a reminder that we, too, may have control over our destiny. We won't know if we can succeed unless we take up the challenge. Maybe If we don't dwell on the glass ceiling, it won't be a barrier!
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