June 2015 Leadership Reflection

June Leadership Reflection:

Moving the Wheels of the World

        The pages of history books are filled with the names of great leaders – or rather, with the names of leaders whom historians consider to be great. There is no doubt that great leaders recognized by historians have made a tremendous impact on world history, but there are perhaps even more “unsung heroes” in human history than “famous heroes.” These largely unknown people were leaders and shapers of our world, just as much as the “big names” were, but they are seldom – if ever – remembered, and some historians might even try to denigrate their contributions or dismiss them as wholesale fantasy.

        But we know better, don’t we? As J. R. R. Tolkien observed, “Yet such is oft the course of deeds that move the wheels of the world: small hands do them because they must, while the eyes of the great are elsewhere” (The Lord of the Rings: Book 2, Chapter 2). Even though few (if any) of us will ever become well-known or “famous” enough to be mentioned in history books, we know that our work at the University of Illinois is both meaningful and impactful. The administrators, faculty, and students whom we support are slowly but surely changing the world for the better through teaching, research, and public engagement. As we walk down the hall in our office building, one day we just might meet the next Harriet Tubman or Thomas Edison unawares! World-changers and world-impactors are all around us, and we can join with them in their great tasks just by doing our work each day. Even if we don’t live to see the seeds that we sow come to full fruition, that shouldn’t hinder us from doing what we do with hopefulness and helpfulness, because the end results of our labors may be far better than we can possibly imagine from the limited perspective of a single human lifetime.

        As the Illinois summer opens with a parade of patriotic holidays like Memorial Day, Flag Day, Juneteenth, and Independence Day, let us remember the example of Betsy Ross (1752-1836), an upholsterer and seamstress from Philadelphia. According to longstanding tradition, she was commissioned to create the first American flag, designed to symbolize the unity of the thirteen disparate colonies as a single nation. Widely known as the “Betsy Ross Flag,” it features thirteen horizontal stripes in alternating red and white, with a circle of thirteen white five-pointed stars on a blue field in the upper left corner. The thirteen stars and stripes represented the thirteen American colonies that were declaring their independence from Great Britain.

        Historians may dispute the claim that Betsy Ross created the first American flag, but let us put the academic controversies aside and simply enjoy the story of how one woman, who didn’t achieve fame or fortune in her own lifetime, has had an enduring (and endearing) impact on the American people, and especially on all the brave men and women who have sacrificed their lives so that we could live out our own lives in peace and freedom. Look no further than Betsy Ross to learn how doing our everyday work can change the world for the better – both in the present day and for future generations yet to come. That’s what leadership is all about – doing what we do every day, with a hopeful and helpful mindset, working for better times ahead.

“Betsy’s Battle Flag”

By Minna Irving (1872-1940)

1. From dusk till dawn the livelong night

She kept the tallow dips alight,

And fast her nimble fingers flew

To sew the stars upon the blue.

With weary eyes and aching head

She stitched the stripes of white and red.

And when the day came up the stair

Complete across a carven chair

Hung Betsy’s battle-flag.

2. Like shadows in the evening gray

The Continentals filed away,

With broken boots and ragged coats,

But hoarse defiance in their throats;

They bore the marks of want and cold,

And some were lame and some were old,

And some with wounds untended bled,

But floating bravely overhead

Was Betsy’s battle-flag.

3. When fell the battle’s leaden rain,

The soldier hushed his moans of pain

And raised his dying head to see

King George’s troopers turn and flee.

Their charging column reeled and broke,

And vanished in the rolling smoke,

Before the glory of the stars,

The snowy stripes, and scarlet bars

Of Betsy’s battle-flag.

4. The simple stone of Betsy Ross

Is covered now with mold and moss,

But still her deathless banner flies,

And keeps the color of the skies.

A nation thrills, a nation bleeds,

A nation follows where it leads,

And every man is proud to yield

His life upon a crimson field

For Betsy’s battle-flag!

Resources for Further Exploration

·        http://historicphiladelphia.org/betsy-ross-house/what-to-see/ à This is the official website of the Betsy Ross House in Philadelphia.

·        http://www.ushistory.org/betsy/ à Visit the Betsy Ross Homepage to learn more about the life and legacy of this great American leader!

Summer Solstice Weekend!

Dear Members, Alumni, & Friends of the James Scholar Advisory & Leadership Team:

This coming Tuesday, June 23^rd, is Midsummer Eve – a traditional holiday that celebrates the long days and short nights of summertime with bonfires, dancing, feasting, and singing under the stars. In areas north of 50 degrees latitude, the night sky never becomes completely dark at the Summer Solstice, resulting in a faint twilight glow that lingers all through the night. The following poems, drawn from Robert Louis Stevenson’s (1850-1894) classic treasury, A Child’s Garden of Verses (1885), celebrate the long days of summer and the timeless magic of a starry night. This weekend, be sure to look for the Moon, Venus, and Jupiter, clustered together in the western sky, about an hour after sunset!

“Bed in Summer”

In winter I get up at night

And dress by yellow candle-light.

In summer, quite the other way,

I have to go to bed by day.

I have to go to bed and see

The birds still hopping on the tree,

Or hear the grown-up people’s feet

Still going past me in the street.

And does it not seem hard to you,

When all the sky is clear and blue,

And I should like so much to play,

To have to go to bed by day?

“Escape at Bedtime”

The lights from the parlor and kitchen shone out

Through the blinds and the windows and bars;

And high overhead and all moving about,

There were thousands of millions of stars.

There ne’er were such thousands of leaves on a tree,

Nor of people in church or the Park,

As the crowds of the stars that looked down upon me,

And that glittered and winked in the dark.

The Dog, and the Plough, and the Hunter, and all,

And the star of the sailor, and Mars,

These shone in the sky, and the pail by the wall

Would be half full of water and stars.

They saw me at last, and they chased me with cries,

And they soon had me packed into bed;

But the glory kept shining and bright in my eyes,

And the stars going round in my head.

“The Moon”

The Moon has a face like the clock in the hall;

She shines on thieves on the garden wall,

On streets and fields and harbor quays,

And birdies asleep in the forks of the trees.

The squalling cat and the squeaking mouse,

The howling dog by the door of the house,

The bat that lies in bed at noon,

All love to be out by the light of the Moon.

But all of the things that belong to the day

Cuddle to sleep to be out of her way;

And flowers and children close their eyes

Till up in the morning the Sun shall arise.

“The Summer Sun Shone Round Me”

The summer sun shone round me,

The folded valley lay

In a stream of sun and odor,

That sultry summer day.

The tall trees stood in the sunlight

As still as still could be,

But the deep grass sighed and rustled

And bowed and beckoned me.

The deep grass moved and whispered

And bowed and brushed my face.

It whispered in the sunshine:

“The winter comes apace.”

This fortnight’s Quotemail is dedicated to all my friends at the Center for Children’s Books at the University of Illinois. Please visit them @ http://ccb.lis.illinois.edu/ to learn more about their programs and publications highlighting the best new literature for children and young adults.

Merry Midsummer, everyone! :)

Rob

Two Sesquicentennials in One Week!

Dear Members, Alumni, and Friends of the James Scholar Advisory & Leadership Team:

This month includes two noteworthy sesquicentennials – 150^th anniversaries – that are celebrated in this week’s edition of Quotemail.

The Irish poet, essayist, and folklorist William Butler Yeats (1865-1939) was born 150 years ago this Saturday, June 13^th. Yeats was a literary luminary who helped to spearhead the “Keltik Renaissance” of the late 19^th century in Ireland, paving the way for a greater appreciation and study of Irish literature and mythology in the 20^th century. Here’s my favorite poem by Mr. Yeats.

“The Song of Wandering Aengus” (1899)

By William Butler Yeats (1865-1939)

Editor’s Note: From the Emerald Isle comes this love-quest poem inspired by classical Irish mythology (see http://www.maryjones.us/ctexts/oengus.html). Yeats’ poem in turn served as the basis of “Rogue Planet,” the 18th episode of the 1st season of STAR TREK: ENTERPRISE.

I went out to the hazel wood,

Because a fire was in my head,

And cut and peeled a hazel wand,

And hooked a berry to a thread;

And when white moths were on the wing,

And moth-like stars were flickering out,

I dropped the berry in a stream

And caught a little silver trout.

When I had laid it on the floor

I went to blow the fire a-flame,

But something rustled on the floor,

And someone called me by my name:

It had become a glimmering girl

With apple blossom in her hair

Who called me by my name and ran

And faded through the brightening air.

  

Though I am old with wandering

Through hollow lands and hilly lands,

I will find out where she has gone,

And kiss her lips and take her hands;

And walk among long dappled grass,

And pluck till time and times are done,

The silver apples of the Moon,

The golden apples of the Sun.

Juneteenth (next Friday, June 19th) is an upcoming patriotic holiday that celebrates the proclamation of freedom given to African-American slaves in Texas on June 19, 1865. These were the last slaves to be freed in the American South after the conclusion of the Civil War two months before. The observance of Juneteenth, at first focused in Texas, has since spread all over the United States. In our own century, Juneteenth serves to remind us of the plight of millions of people throughout the world who still need liberation from the bondage of slavery.

In honor of the sesquicentennial of Juneteenth, and of all the heroes who have sought to abolish the slave trade from ancient times to the present, here is a “culture vulture” article that I penned six years ago for the honors newsletter about Sojourner Truth, Harriet Tubman, the abolitionist movement, and the Underground Railroad.

Sojourner Truth and Harriet Tubman: Leaders and Liberators

By Rob Chappell

Reprinted from CURSUS HONORUM (COURSE OF HONORS) IX: 8 (March 2009)

       In honor of Women’s History Month, the Culture Vulture would like to share the stories of two women who were prominent leaders in the American abolitionist and women’s suffrage movements during the nineteenth century. These courageous leaders have inspired countless women after them to work for liberty, justice, and equality for all people. The two African-American heroes highlighted in this article are Sojourner Truth (1797-1883) and Harriet Tubman (1820-1913).

       Sojourner Truth (originally named Isabella Baumfree) was born a slave in upstate New York, at a time when slavery had not yet been abolished throughout the North. She obtained her freedom in 1826 and worked at various jobs until she found her lifelong vocation in 1843: campaigning for human rights. On June 1 of that year, she changed her name to Sojourner Truth and began traveling and speaking throughout the northeastern states. During the 1840s and 1850s, she enthralled hundreds of audiences with her spirited addresses advocating the abolition of slavery and women’s suffrage, while her autobiography (NARRATIVE OF SOJOURNER TRUTH, A NORTHERN SLAVE), published in 1850, continued to galvanize the abolitionist movement.

       Truth’s most famous address, AIN’T I A WOMAN, was delivered before the Ohio Women’s Rights Convention in Akron during 1851. She worked for the Union Army and the Freedmen’s Bureau in Washington, DC during the Civil War and continued her speaking tours on behalf of women’s suffrage until her eventual retirement in Battle Creek, Michigan. Because of her championing of equal rights for African-Americans and for all women, she became known as the “Miriam of the Latter Exodus.”

       Harriet Tubman (originally named Araminta Ross) was born a slave on the Eastern Shore of Maryland. After escaping to freedom in Pennsylvania at the age of 29, she returned to Maryland several times to liberate other slaves. Tubman became a “conductor” on the Underground Railroad, clandestinely leading Southern slaves to freedom in the northern United States or in British Canada, where slavery had been abolished since 1833. She conveyed secret messages to her “passengers” on the Underground Railroad through songs like “Follow the Drinking Gourd.” This ingenious piece of music taught runaway slaves how to use the Big Dipper to find the North Star, which would guide their nocturnal journeys to freedom in the northern United States or British Canada:

“When the Sun comes back,

And the first quail calls,

Follow the Drinking Gourd.

For the old man is a-waiting

For to carry you to freedom,

If you follow the Drinking Gourd.”

       During the Civil War, Tubman served in the Union Army as a scout and guide, and in June 1863, she became the first woman in American history to lead a combat operation, in which hundreds of slaves were liberated in South Carolina. After the Civil War, she worked tirelessly for women’s suffrage and full equality for African-Americans, finally obtaining a government pension after decades of struggle in 1899. She made her home in Auburn, New York – the center of her humanitarian work for the last 44 years of her life.

       The legacy of Sojourner Truth and Harriet Tubman continues today as courageous women of the 21st century work, as Sojourner Truth said, “to set [the world] right side up again.” Through writing, speaking, researching, and volunteering, the successors of these two liberating leaders are helping all of us to build a brighter future for all people.

Webliography

•       http://www.sojournertruth.org/Default.htm (Sojourner Truth Institute)

•       http://www.harriettubman.com/index.html (Harriet Tubman Infohub)

•       http://www.freedomcenter.org/ (National Underground Railroad Freedom Center)

•       http://quest.arc.nasa.gov/ltc/special/mlk/gourd2.html (Text of “Follow the Drinking Gourd” with Commentary from NASA)

•       http://nationaljuneteenth.com/ (National Juneteenth Observance Foundation)

I look forward to seeing Harriet Tubman’s portrait on a future $20 bill!

Until next time –

Rob

Keep Your Eyes on the Grand Old Flag!

Dear Members, Alumni, & Friends of the James Scholar Advisory & Leadership Team:

June has arrived, and (once again) I have so much seasonal material to share with you that Quotemail will be published every Friday this month! :)

First up, we have two patriotic holidays to celebrate and remember: D-Day on June 6^th and Flag Day on June 14^th. Longtime listmembers will recall that I first “met” my favorite Flag Day poem at my elementary school in Bethalto, Illinois. Here it is for your reading pleasure:

“BARBARA FRIETCHIE” (1864)

BY JOHN GREENLEAF WHITTIER (1807-1892)

“This poem was written in strict conformity to the account of the incident as I had it from respectable and trustworthy sources. It has since been the subject of a good deal of conflicting testimony, and the story was probably incorrect in some of its details. It is admitted by all that Barbara Frietchie was no myth, but a worthy and highly esteemed gentlewoman, intensely loyal and a hater of the Slavery Rebellion, holding her Union flag sacred and keeping it with her Bible; that when the Confederates halted before her house, and entered her dooryard, she denounced them in vigorous language, shook her cane in their faces, and drove them out; and when General Burnside’s troops followed close upon Jackson’s, she waved her flag and cheered them. It is stated that May Quantrell, a brave and loyal lady in another part of the city, did wave her flag in sight of the Confederates. It is possible that there has been a blending of the two incidents.”  -- JGW

Up from the meadows rich with corn,

Clear in the cool September morn,

The clustered spires of Frederick stand

Green-walled by the hills of Maryland.

Round about them orchards sweep,

Apple and peach tree fruited deep,

Fair as the garden of the Lord

To the eyes of the famished rebel horde,

On that pleasant morn of early fall

When Lee marched over the mountain wall;

Over the mountains winding down,

Horse and foot, into Frederick town.

Forty flags with their silver stars,

Forty flags with their crimson bars,

Flapped in the morning wind; the sun

Of noon looked down, and saw not one.

Up rose old Barbara Frietchie then,

Bowed with her fourscore years and ten;

Bravest of all in Frederick town,

She took up the flag the men hauled down;

In her attic window the staff she set,

To show that one heart was loyal yet.

Up the street came the rebel tread,

Stonewall Jackson riding ahead.

Under his slouched hat left and right

He glanced; the old flag met his sight.

“Halt!” -- the dust-brown ranks stood fast.

“Fire!” -- out blazed the rifle-blast.

It shivered the window, pane and sash;

It rent the banner with seam and gash.

Quick, as it fell, from the broken staff

Dame Barbara snatched the silken scarf.

She leaned far out on the window-sill,

And shook it forth with a royal will.

“Shoot, if you must, this old gray head,

But spare your country's flag,” she said.

A shade of sadness, a blush of shame,

Over the face of the leader came;

The nobler nature within him stirred

To life at that woman’s deed and word:

“Who touches a hair of yon gray head

Dies like a dog! March on!” he said.

All day long through Frederick street

Sounded the tread of marching feet;

All day long that free flag tost

Over the heads of the rebel host.

Ever its torn folds rose and fell

On the loyal winds that loved it well;

And through the hill-gaps sunset light

Shone over it with a warm good-night.

Barbara Frietchie’s work is o’er,

And the Rebel rides on his raids no more.

Honor to her! and let a tear

Fall, for her sake, on Stonewall’s bier.

Over Barbara Frietchie’s grave,

Flag of Freedom and Union, wave!

Peace and order and beauty draw

Round thy symbol of light and law;

And ever the stars above look down

On thy stars below in Frederick town!

Keep your eyes on the Grand Old Flag! :)

Rob