As I have always said, those closest to the pain should be closest to the power.
Interpretation
Empower those who experience hardship to have a voice in decision-making.
Ayanna Pressley's quote emphasizes the importance of including individuals who directly experience pain and hardship in positions of power and influence. It underscores the belief that those who understand and endure struggles are best equipped to lead and advocate for meaningful change, as their insights can drive actions that truly address the needs of the affected communities.
In practice
In a discussion on social justice, one might say, 'As I have always said, those closest to the pain should be closest to the power.'
I'm not naive. All politics is about identity, right? Neighborhood politics, cultural politics, issue politics. It's not as though I don't get that. It's just - it has to be, I think, tempered in a way that is for our overall advancement and not to our detriment or obliteration. When I say 'our,' I don't mean just communities of color.
We should be uncomfortable with the growing gaps in our society, and we cannot allow ourselves to become desensitized to these injustices.
We desperately need comprehensive immigration reform in this nation, and yes, comprehensive immigration reform proposals are nuanced and complicated, but you know what shouldn't be? Our capacity to see each other's humanity.
You cannot have a government for and by the people if it is not represented by all of the people.
Raising me as a single parent, my mother held many jobs. Most of them had to do with the betterment and the advancement of our community and society at large. I grew up seeing her active in ministries at our church, with the homeless, as a social worker, with elderly, with youth, as a children's rights organizer with the Urban League of Chicago.
At the women's march, we held signs that said, 'Today we march, tomorrow we run.' They didn't believe us, but it's coming to pass.
We periodically note that there are no silver bullets, there are no magic formulas, there's no single action or component of the overall... comprehensive civil-military approach.
This is one of the innovator’s dilemmas: Blindly following the maxim that good managers should keep close to their customers can sometimes be a fatal mistake.
People ask me what's the most important function when you're starting an organization or setting up the kind of culture and values that are going to endure. The discipline I believe so strongly in is H.R., and its the last discipline that gets funded.
The topic of leadership is a touchy one. A lot of leaders fail because they don't have the bravery to touch that nerve or strike that chord. Throughout my years, I haven't had that fear.
Teamwork does not come naturally. Let's face it. We are born with certain inclinations, but sharing isn't one of them.
The true leader - the genuine world-builder - lives to the point. Acutely concentrated on the few high priorities that will deliver the life of their greatest aspirations. At the end.
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