A Confession About Late 2008

Nearly three years ago, in the immediate aftermath of the 2008 presidential election and Barack Obama's entry into the presidency, I decided to offer a leadership seminar that included Obama. I put together a session looking at the leadership experiences of Obama, Martin Luther King, Jr. and Booker T. Washington. Given Obama's emergence as the self-proclaimed first black president, I thought the … [Read more...]

My Speech Today–You Would Have Known It

Today I will be presenting at the downtown Indianapolis Kiwanis Club. The luncheon’s topic is Martin Luther King, Jr. My part of it will be one of my most popular subjects, the last full day of King’s life. I have entitled the talk with purposeful irony—“A Day of Meetings.” King participated in—endured, might be a better word—four different meetings on April 3, 1968. As far as he was concerned it … [Read more...]

The Result of My Presentation on the Last Full Day of Martin Luther King Jr’s Life

Well, it's done. Went super. Standing ovation from some in the crowd. Nice to see. I could tell that people were shocked to learn the story of King's last full day of life. The point about having meetings is one that many of us know in our own lives. Moreover, it's easy to overlook the fact that King's leadership on April 3, 1968 had very little to do with popularity. That's because he's quite … [Read more...]