Covington on Leadership

Perhaps the most daunting aspect about today’s Black leadership is its seeming failure to recognize that the dominant struggle is no longer Civil Rights, but Silver Rights. We all applaud the efforts and contributions of current members of the Congressional Black Caucus and countless other local and state leaders born out of the Civil Rights struggle. But those of us engaged in Silver Rights issues must also help them to understand that their historical status as effective leaders of the Civil Rights era does not necessarily qualify them for 21st Century leadership. When you look at their past experiences, they center on civil rights issues, not business creation issues. Therefore, with few exceptions, they are simply not prepared to deal with this new economic challenge.

So we must awaken the new leaders of this generation to take on their historic responsibility and charge them with the task of launching this 21st Century Movement for Silver Rights. These leaders are members of the emerging black business class, primarily those high-level managers whose business knowledge and expertise gained in Corporate America give them the best chance for entrepreneurial success and economic success for us all in this Silver Rights Movement.

Covington believes that new leadership, with tested and effective Wealth-Acquisition strategies, is necessary to carry our community into the 21st Century.  Only new leadership, fresh thinking, and a focus on wealth-generation can restore the faith of our community in its leadership and rejuvenate the hope for solving the problems of our communities. Leadership requires a vision, an ability to garner widespread support for that vision, and the wisdom to know when changes to the first two qualities are necessary.