c. 2005 Religion News Service

(UNDATED) “Sankofa.” This Akan word is a popular African expression I learned on a recent mission trip to Kenya and Uganda. It simply means “to be looking back while flying forward.”

That hindsight, that retrospect, that sankofa … is what needs to motivate our people to nurture the leaders of tomorrow. The big question is: Now what?

Are African-American leaders still on the balcony in Memphis? Is there an African-American leader today who will step forth to address the AIDS epidemic in Africa, the incarceration crisis with nearly 50 percent of our people behind bars, the alarming illiteracy rate in our schools, or our youths’ rush to be proud consumers but reluctance to become contributing producers?

It is my generation’s turn to produce the next great African-American leader. We all have a mental prototype of what our leaders ought to look and sound like, but the method for motivating the African-American people toward a common dream has shifted and the new generation must respond to the change. This new paradigm demands a new type of leader!

This is the first time in modern history when our community has been devoid of a strong and common voice. Yes, we have leaders today, but Kweisi Mfume is nearing retirement, Jesse Jackson has taken a sabbatical from the media spotlight, and Barack Obama is just coming out of orientation.

I carried that question of leadership with me to Africa last summer. The Potter’s House of Dallas dedicated three newly drilled water wells that will provide communities with unfathomable benefits, help ensure the health of subsequent generations and provide an entire village a means to thrive. I was reminded then how action, not rhetoric, makes leaders of men _ sankofa.

In Kenya, we acted upon the needs of a country and in turn moved multiple generations. Those wells serve as a reminder that some people, when united, can still do great things and when people do great things, they become leaders.

It did not matter if The Potter’s House, the White House or your house brought these wells. All that mattered was that someone cared enough to do something. The tribal leaders of these ignored countries were not impressed because an American preacher was there. The people dancing in pools of fresh water were not moved because it was a church. The only source of joy was that someone cared and someone acted.

Much like those happy people in Africa, our American forefathers became leaders and icons of our community not by words of passion alone. It was a trip on an “underground railroad.” It was a bold move to keep a seat on a bus or a walk across the Edmund Pettis Bridge. Whatever was needed to reach out to a segment of society, it required much more than commentary. It required action.

Our leaders today may be sitting behind desks of mahogany cluttered with folders full of unresolved congressional acts. Others are in places of higher learning with remarkable ideas to affect young people, yet struggling to be heard in a classroom. Many may be standing in pulpits talking about a world in need of salvation; nevertheless, they can’t find the strength to urge their own churches to have a homeless outreach.

Wherever that leader is, some sort of obstacle always seems to be in the way.

As I was reminded in Africa, there seems to be a great openness to anyone _ of any affiliation or denomination _ who is serious about making an impact and taking action. Those who step forward might come from faith-based organizations, political office or down the street.

When they do, it will be imperative that we are ready to respond. I believe we are ready. Will the African-American leaders of tomorrow please stand up?

MO/PH END RNS

(Bishop T.D. Jakes, noted as “one of the top 25 most influential evangelicals in America” by Time magazine, is founder and senior pastor of the 30,000-member Potter’s House church in Dallas.)